Editing Columbia, Pennsylvania (section)

====Flourishing industry====
By the mid-19th century, Columbia had become a busy transportation hub with its ferry, bridge, canal, railroad and wharves. It was a major shipping transfer point for [[lumber]], coal, grain, [[pig iron]], and people. Important industries of the time included warehousing, tobacco processing, [[Iron#Main industrial route|iron production]], [[clockmaking]], and [[boat building]]. Prominent local companies included the [[Ashley and Bailey Silk Mill]], the Columbia Lace Mill, and H.F. Bruner & Sons.

From about 1854 to 1900, an industrial complex existed in and around Columbia, Marietta and Wrightsville that included 11 [[anthracite iron]] furnaces and related structures, as well as canal and railroad facilities servicing them. By 1887, that number had grown to 13 [[blast furnace]]s, all operating within a {{convert|3|mi|adj=on|0}} radius of Columbia. The furnaces, which produced pig iron, exemplified the technology of the day through their use of anthracite coal and [[hot blast]] for [[smelting]] iron ore, a process that dominated the iron industry before the widespread use of [[Coke (fuel)|coke]] as a fuel. Since [[northeastern Pennsylvania]] was a rich source of [[anthracite]] coal, anthracite-fired furnaces using locally available iron ores were built throughout eastern Pennsylvania, helping to make the state a leader in iron production in the latter half of the 19th century. Lancaster County also became a leader in pig iron production during this time, with the river towns' complex of furnaces contributing significantly to its output.