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All the United States Ohio Leetonia Leetonia Beehive Coke Ovens

Leetonia Beehive Coke Ovens

Rows of 19th-century brick ovens used to process coal into coke form the center of a wooded park.

Leetonia, Ohio

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elisabethrnelson
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At oven level. A narrow canal separates the banks.   elisabethrnelson / Atlas Obscura User
Rows of coke ovens.   Roseohioresident/public domain
Wild phlox make the creepy lovely in the spring.   elisabethrnelson / Atlas Obscura User
One bank of ovens. Each hole is a separate beehive oven.   elisabethrnelson / Atlas Obscura User
Historical marker at the park entrance.   elisabethrnelson / Atlas Obscura User
  mate / Atlas Obscura User
  mate / Atlas Obscura User
  mate / Atlas Obscura User
  donovankth / Atlas Obscura User
  lstraubbruce / Atlas Obscura User
  donovankth / Atlas Obscura User
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  Gael / Atlas Obscura User
  mate / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Make your way down a back road on the outskirts of Leetonia, Ohio, and you’ll see dirt banks lined with small arched openings. Those are coke ovens, 200 in total, once used to turn the locally mined coal into purified coke, the preferred fuel in iron and steel mills. 

The structures are in various states of disrepair, and almost a little creepy; it’s easy to imagine an army of trolls crawling out the holes in these cave-like structures in the dark of night. But it’s also beautiful, with wildflowers and woods around the ovens and all throughout the park.

The ovens were built in 1866 by the Leetonia Iron and Coal Company, later renamed the Cherry Valley Iron Works. When the company closed in 1930, the site was abandoned and neglected for over 50 years, until restoration efforts began.

Today there are walking trails that go along and above the beehive ovens, but take care not to walk on top of the ovens themselves—they are crumbling, and the foliage hides multiple holes that once functioned as loading holes or chimneys. 

Related Tags

History Parks Coal Infrastructure Industrial

Know Before You Go

Leetonia Beehive Coke Ovens (also known as Cherry Valley Coke Ovens Arboretum) is a town park and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Go past the Leetonia police and fire stations, and you’ll find it. Parking lot, port-a-potty, and hiking trails. Also mosquitoes.

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elisabethrnelson

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Meg, mate, Gael, lstraubbruce...

  • Meg
  • mate
  • Gael
  • lstraubbruce
  • donovankth

Published

May 29, 2019

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  • https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherry_Valley_Coke_Ovens
Leetonia Beehive Coke Ovens
999 Cherry Valley Rd
Leetonia, Ohio
United States
40.886104, -80.755756
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