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However, by the early 20th century, the furnaces were, despite sporadic improvements, technologically out-of-date,and were reputedly the last anthracite iron furnaces to operate in the United States. President B.F. Fackenthal, of Thomas Iron, recommended they be decommissioned upon his resignation in 1913.
However, Fackenthal's successor, Ralph Sweetser, pursued the opposite course. Concurrently, anthracite was replaced by coke as a fuel for the furnaces. However, modernization was not enough to save the Lock Ridge furnaces, and iron was last made there in 1921.
Excerpt from Wikipedia.org