Union City Iron Furnace

Union City Iron Furnace is a Michigan historical marker in Union City, Branch County, dedicated 1963.

Coldwater Road, Union City

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On March 17, 1847, the Union City Iron Company was incorporated with leading citizens of the town as stockholders. The company was formed to produce iron from the bog and kidney iron ore deposits in Union and neighboring townships. A furnace was built, and in May 1847, it produced what was apparently the first iron made from Michigan ores. Earlier Michigan iron furnaces used imported pig iron. The percentage of iron in southern Michigan's ores was too small, however, to make their use profitable. Thus, in a few years Union City's pioneering furnace ceased making pig iron and turned to the production of plows.

TodayHistorical map

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University Library, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Historical maps covering this location

1841 · Ohio (H. S. Tanner, 1841) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1850 · Indiana (Tanner/Cowperthwait, 1850) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1853 · Map of the surveyed part of Michigan (Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library)
1853 · Western Tourist And Emigrant Guide (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1854 · A map of the surveyed part of Michigan / by John Farmer ; engraved by S. Stiles & Co. (University Library, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)

Map of the surveyed part of Michigan, 1853, covering the location of Union City Iron Furnace, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — Map of the surveyed part of Michigan, 1853, covering this location. Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library. The pin is ours, placed from the marker's coordinates.

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Marker data: Michigan History Center
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