History & local legend
Eliza Furnace stands beside Blacklick Creek and the Ghost Town Trail near Vintondale. David Ritter and Lot Irvin built the iron furnace in 1846. Workers carried ore, charcoal, and limestone over a bridge to load the stack from above; the operation struggled financially, and the property was sold by the sheriff in 1848.
Later stories give Ritter a continuing presence at the site. An Outside Online account recounts hikers' claims of seeing a man in soot-darkened work clothes among the trees behind the furnace. They identify him with the former owner. Other reports, attributed to children, describe dirty-looking workers passing through the bars at the furnace entrance.
