The skeletons of a blast furnace and charcoal kiln stand as silent, lone remnants of the Katahdin Iron Works. Between 1843 and 1890, these structures pulsed with activity as part of Maine's only nineteenth century iron works operation. The fires of the blast furnace flamed non-stop, glowing against the night sky. Such sights and sounds must have seemed out of place in the Maine wilderness. Yet, it was the wilderness, with its ready supplies of iron ore, fuel wood, and waterpower that brought the iron works industry to this site.