Heroult Electric Arc Furnace

ASM International - The Materials Information Society - has designated Heroult Electric Arc Furnace an Historical Landmark. In 1907, at Shasta County, the first electric arc furnace in the western hemisphere was utilized for the direct production of iron from this area’s indigenous resources of magnetite (Fe3O4), charcoal, limestone, and hydro electricity. It operated at the town of Herouit, CA, named in honor of the furnace inventor Paul Herouit of France (who assisted in the installation). The town site, located at the Pitt and McCloud rivers, was subsequently submerged by the rising waters behind Shasta Dam in 1945.