Henry Ford bought it in 1920 & had new tracks built that ran through town for hauling pig iron to Detroit. It was replaced by the Detroit, Toledo, & Ironton Railroad which was in operation from 1905 – 1983. The railroad was later bought out by the Cincinnati, Hamilton, & Dayton RR, & then sold to the B & O who reconstructed the tunnel in 1916 but that line of tracks was abandoned the following year. It was constructed by the residents of Blackfork. Portions of the old railroad platforms are still visible there & the railroad’s tunnel # 2, built in 1882, is about 4 miles south of town under an overpass on Dry Ridge Rd. The brickyard also had a rail yard on the Toledo, Cincinnati, & St. The land where the coal mines were got sold to the Cambria Clay Products Company who dealt in clay mining & had a brick making plant. It was in operation from 1853 until the late 1800’s & what’s left of it can be found in the woods off a gravel road on the south side of the intersection of Blackfork – Firebrick Rd. The Washington Furnace was built in the early 1850’s. Blackfork’s first biggest sources of income were the Blackfork Coal Co. It was originally a log cabin structure but was replaced in the late 1800’s. The Union Baptist Church was organized in 1819. They were all paid the same wages by the local businesses during a time when racial prejudices were still running rampant in most of the rest of the country. Blackfork was settled next to Black Fork Creek by a mix of runaway slaves from the south, Native Americans, & European immigrants. Blackfork, Ohio Location: Washington Township, Lawrence County – Near the intersection of Blackfork Firebrick Rd.
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