In 1801 Charles Wallis Sutherland built Ontario’s first iron smelter at what would become Furnace Falls. The name stems from the location of the smelter’s blast furnace which was situated at the base of the falls. In addition to the smelter, Dr. James Schofield built an iron forge that manufactured the first iron made in Upper Canada.

A fire in 1811 destroyed the iron works which was never rebuilt as the quality of the ore was poor to begin with.

A siding was built on the Irondale, Bancroft and Ottawa Railway (IB&OR) and was situated between the communities of Irondale and Howland. A grist mill, sawmill and carding mill were all built by 1827 and brought life to the area. Charles and Jonas Jones laid out a town plot and construction began on homes for the town. A school serviced the needs of the children.

J.C. Parry opened a saw and shingle mill. He also built a store in 1883 which served as the settlement’s post office. After Parry’s run as postmaster ended, Jeremiah Herlibrey took over from 1886 until he died in 1910. Two years later the Carr family took over the store until 1967 when it closed for good.

Furnace Falls boasts the oldest stone bridge in Ontario (designed by John Roddick) which was built in 1856 and is still used to this day. The town was renamed to Lyndhurst in 1851

Today the only remains of Furnace Falls is the falls itself. You can find the town in Haliburton County. From Highway 503 take the exit to White Lake Road. Continue on this road for 1.2 kilometers. The former town site is situated where the fork in the road leads off to Fortescue.