In the early years most people made a living by farming, limestone extraction and timbering for the furniture industry. One early industry was the salt works in 1822 and the Virginia Iron Works, which made a variety of iron kettles and other goods. Seward's blacksmith shop opened in 1821. Seward was most famous for creating the courthouse fish and beautiful iron fences. Water problems arose again. Lake Lemon was built in the 1950s. The US Corps of Engineers built Lake Monroe in Salt Creek Valley in the early 1960s for flood control for the White River and its tributaries.