The Cottage Furnace is an old iron
furnace in rural Estill County that produced "pig iron"
in the middle to late 1800's. The remains are in very good condition.
Legend has it that there was a slave that had escaped from his
cruel master and began working at this furnace. One day the cruel
master found the slave and began chasing him. Rather than return
to slavery and regular beatings, this slave jumped headfirst into
the furnace and burned to death in the molten iron ore.
Tragedy also shut this furnace down. In 1879, the owner
of this furnace received word that his son had suddenly died.
While in shock, the owner shut the furnace down while it was still
in full blast. The iron ore solidified and completely blocked
the furnace. Because of this fact, the furnace was never able
to be fired up again. The iron ore remains inside this furnace
to this day. (With permission to use by the Estill Development
Alliance) It has a nice parking/picnic area so bring your family,
friends, and food and stay awhile.
Directions: Take I-75 North to exit 90 and I-75 South to exit 90A. Follow
25/421 south for 4.2 miles to stoplight at the 52 East junction.
Turn left onto 52 E and travel into Irvine. After the bridge crossing
the Kentucky River, take a right and continue following 52 E to
Highway 213 on your left. Follow 213 to Marbleyard Road on your
left. You will see a sign for the Cottage Furnace on the right
side of the road. After entering Daniel Boone National Forest,
you will see a Recreation Area sign on the right. Merge left at
the fork and follow the gravel road to the picnic area. Watch
closely as one can walk right by this furnace and never see it.
