Black-and-white photograph of a long, partially ruined stone industrial structure with a row of arched openings, surrounded by leafless trees and brush, with large mounds rising in the background.

Coke & Coke Ovens

Greene River Trail, History, Recreation

The invention of the beehive oven was a major advance in the production of coke. Beehive ovens were large masonry domes and named according to their shape. Constructed in long rows for ease of loading and unloading, workers would bring the coal from the nearby mines, dump the coal in the opening in the top, ignite the coal and seal the ovens to let the coal smolder.