In 1851–1852, a plank road was built from Iron Mountain to Ste. Genevieve via Farmington, which gave a new impetus to trade. In 1854, Prewitt and Patterson erected some bloom furnaces three miles (5 km) east of Farmington on the plank road where it crossed Wolf Creek, which gave employment to a great number of men and teams. The ore was hauled from Iron Mountain and the iron to Ste. Genevieve for shipment. In 1858, this furnace, known as Valley Forge, became the property of Chouteau, Harrison and Vallé, Charles A. Pilley, superintendent, and was profitably worked until 1863 when the machinery was removed and the buildings and lands sold.