The Cedar Creek Furnace (also known as the Alabama Iron Works) is a former blast furnace site near Russellville in Franklin County, Alabama, United States. It was the first iron ore furnace in Alabama, preceding an industry that would come to dominate the state's economy in the late 19th and early 20th century.
The furnace was erected in 1815 by Joseph Dilliard, who used the iron to make utensils for early settlers. Iron came from surface hematite ore smelted by charcoal fires.[2] The Dilliard family into which Joseph was born had experience running iron works, beginning in Jamestown and later in Middleburg, Virginia. Originally they used wood coal fired furnaces forging arms, utensils, and farm necessities. Later, as the Colonies expanded and coal was discovered, wood was replaced by coal and later coke as the primary heat source for iron works across the South developed by the Dilliard family. The iron works were located in Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee, and Alabama, and were fed by coal mined from holdings in West Virginia and Alabama. Buff Warren, Dilliard's overseer, operated the property in Franklin County around 1818 using initially slave labor, which was later compensated at the request of General Grant with a parcel being laid out in Gibson County, Tennessee, for 75 acres in the name of a Negro woman named Sarah P. Dillard and her infant child, Samuel, which was later confiscated by East Tennessee puppet scalawags and carpetbaggers.[3] A cholera outbreak in 1820 killed Buff's foreman, a free Negro named Ed Haslam, and several of the slaves who operated the furnace. All were given a proper Christian burial.[4]
The furnace and site were sold by transfer of title and purchased in November 1825 by Joseph's son, John Henry (J.) Dilliard, a native of LaGrange, Tennessee. They were registered in deed of title to James Joseph (Jeff) Dilliard, originally of Limestone County, Alabama (later Greenwood, Mississippi), to Dr. John Henry Dilliard, of Hardeman County, Tennessee, November 15, 1825, and were registered originally in the county seat of Decatur County, Alabama, in Woodville. Decatur County would later be abolished by the Alabama Legislature, as the main landowner Henry Benton Dilliard discovered upon survey dated 1818 that the size of the county did not meet Alabama Constitutional minimum size requirements for an independent county. He petitioned that his plantation be divided at the natural boundary between Jackson and Madison Counties, allowing commerce and development in what would become New Madison and Scottsboro, both stops on the Memphis and Charleston Railroad later constructed. The original land deeds of title remained in Jackson County at the courthouse in Scotsboro until shortly after April 11, 1862, when federal troops occupied Limestone County, Alabama. As a favor to Dr. John (J. J. Ames Kensington) Henry Dilliard, General Grant ordered original deed registries removed from courthouses in territories ravaged by lawless guerilla vigilantes, while using his home Resolute as headquarters in Berlin, Tennessee. Dr. John H Dilliard, a fierce Southerner loyal to the South yet overwhelmingly opposed to secession, left numerous volumes of first-hand diary entries of Grant's time in Berlin and Grand Junction, referred to by affectionately by locals to this day as Little Greenwood. Dr. John Henry Dilliard, affectionately known as Jake by his beloved wife, was later killed in an ambush outside of Holly Springs, Mississippi, along with his teenage daughter Annabella. The area now known as LaGrange, Tennessee, lies directly north northwest of what is now known as Michigan City, Mississippi.[5]
Joseph's son John Anderson Dilliard Sr. was later killed by the same vigilantes, better known in West Tennessee as Fielding's Army – a paid group of assassins from East Tennessee more interested in theft and the murder of innocent civilians and wounded Union and Confederate soldiers alike in order to illegally acquire land and assets than rules of war or law and order.[6] While caring for his son, Captain John Anderson Dilliard Jr., who was wounded fighting for the South at Shiloh, was suddenly removed from his home in the middle of the night by Fielding Hurst and strung up in the front yard while the women and children were forced to watch. The act was done in an attempt to torture Dilliard until he revealed where the family's gold and silver had been buried. After refusing to do so, he was taken by the guerillas and later murdered outside Fort Smith, Arkansas.[7]
John Henry Dilliard (Jones) operated the iron works and implemented many improvements to the process; the furnace became a commercial success producing high quality product. The furnace operated until around 1859 to 1863, possibly due to flooding of the creek that reached the furnace – extinguishing it, hardening the metal, and rendering the furnace inoperable. More likely, according to family oral history, was that the furnace was ordered shut down by John H. Dilliard in a word of honor agreement between General Grant and Dilliard in return for not burning his main plantation Home Resolute, which was later burned by Union deserters from Ohio, and safely transferring documents to federal safety. Woodlawn, the home of John Anderson and Sarah Nutt Dilliard of Natchez, is now referred to as the Michie Home, and was General Sherman's West Tennessee headquarters. Grant used Woodlawn while planning Garrison's Raid, then transferred his West Tennessee headquarters to Resolute while planning the operation to take Memphis, Tennessee.[5] Resolute was located 3.5mi (5.6km) miles to the southeast of Grand Junction at the end of a .2mi (0.32km) White Post oak and Eastern red cedar-lined alley running north from the main east–west state line road, running parallel to the old Memphis and Charleston Railroad bed, now Highway 72.
Before the furnace was constructed, most local blacksmiths used imported iron. The furnace's pig iron was used by locals and also transported to the Tennessee River at Middleburg Landing, later renamed Pittsburg Landing, then shipped east to Cuba Landing in Waverly, Tennessee, and shipped to New Orleans, Mobile, and Biloxi. It was then shipped overseas to London and Paris, and as far away as St. Petersburg, Russia.[citation needed]
Site
The furnace was situated in a bend of Cedar Creek, from which it gets its name. The furnace was 15 feet (4.6 meters) high, 25–30 feet (7.6–9.1m) in diameter at the base tapering to an 8 feet (2.4m) diameter chimney at the top. It was built of limestone quarried nearby and lined with refractory brick made on site. It was fired with charcoal made from the surrounding forests. A bellows which supplied the furnace with air was powered by a 12-foot (3.5-m) wide mill race which was diverted from the creek. The mill race also powered a forge hammer, grist mill, and saw mill. A warehouse was built on the river bank, only the foundation of which remains. The overseer's house was located northeast of the furnace. A small cemetery near the site contains about a dozen graves, mostly unmarked.[3]
Related Research Articles
The Burden Iron Works was an iron works and industrial complex on the Hudson River and Wynantskill Creek in Troy, New York. It once housed the Burden Water Wheel, the most powerful vertical water wheel in history. It is widely believed that George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., inventor of the Ferris wheel, had occasion to observe the wheel while a student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The iron works site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as an archaeological site in 1977. The Burden Ironworks Office Building was previously listed in 1972.
The Colorado Fuel and Iron Company (CF&I) was a large steel conglomerate founded by the merger of previous business interests in 1892. By 1903 it was mainly owned and controlled by John D. Rockefeller and Jay Gould's financial heirs. While it came to control many plants throughout the country, its main plant was a steel mill on the south side of Pueblo, Colorado, and was the city's main industry for most of its history. From 1901 to 1912, Colorado Fuel and Iron was one of the Dow Jones Industrials. The steel-market crash of 1982 led to the decline of the company. After going through several bankruptcies, the company was acquired by Oregon Steel Mills in 1993, and changed its name to Rocky Mountain Steel Mills. In January 2007, Rocky Mountain Steel Mills, along with the rest of Oregon Steel's holdings, were acquired by EVRAZ Group, a Russian steel corporation, for $2.3 billion.
Montgomery Bell was a manufacturing entrepreneur who was crucial to the economic development of early Middle Tennessee. He was known as the "Iron Master of the Harpeth" and the "Iron Master of Middle Tennessee". Today he is remembered mostly for founding Montgomery Bell Academy, one of the largest private non-sectarian all-boys high schools in the United States.
The Tannehill Ironworks is the central feature of Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park near the unincorporated town of McCalla in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Tannehill Furnace, it was a major supplier of iron for Confederate ordnance. Remains of the old furnaces are located 12 miles (19 km) south of Bessemer off Interstate 59/Interstate 20 near the southern end of the Appalachian Mountains. The 1,500-acre (610 ha) park includes: the John Wesley Hall Grist Mill; the May Plantation Cotton Gin House; and the Iron & Steel Museum of Alabama.
Pine Grove Furnace State Park is a protected Pennsylvania area that includes Laurel and Fuller Lakes in Cooke Township of Cumberland County. The Park accommodates various outdoor recreation activities, protects the remains of the Pine Grove Iron Works (1764), and was the site of Laurel Forge (1830), Pine Grove Park (1880s), and a brick plant (1892). The Park is 8 miles (13 km) from exit 37 of Interstate 81 on Pennsylvania Route 233.
James Withers Sloss was a planter, industrialist, and the founder of the Sloss Furnaces, and a leading figure in the early development of Birmingham, Alabama.
Cornwall Iron Furnace is a designated National Historic Landmark that is administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in Cornwall, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The furnace was a leading Pennsylvania iron producer from 1742 until it was shut down in 1883. The furnaces, support buildings and surrounding community have been preserved as a historical site and museum, providing a glimpse into Lebanon County's industrial past. The site is the only intact charcoal-burning iron blast furnace in its original plantation in the Western Hemisphere. Established by Peter Grubb in 1742, Cornwall Furnace was operated during the American Revolution by his sons Curtis and Peter Jr. who were major arms providers to George Washington. Robert Coleman acquired Cornwall Furnace after the Revolution and became Pennsylvania's first millionaire. Ownership of the furnace and its surroundings was transferred to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1932.
The Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company (1852–1952), also known as TCI and the Tennessee Company, was a major American steel manufacturer with interests in coal and iron ore mining and railroad operations. Originally based entirely within Tennessee, it relocated most of its business to Alabama in the late nineteenth century, following protests over its use of free convict labor. With a sizable real estate portfolio, the company owned several Birmingham satellite towns, including Ensley, Fairfield, Docena, Edgewater and Bayview. It also established a coal mining camp it sold to U.S. Steel which developed it into the Westfield, Alabama planned community.
The Ghost Town Trail is a rail trail in Western Pennsylvania that runs 36 miles (58 km) between Black Lick, Indiana County, and Ebensburg, Cambria County. Established in 1991 on the right-of-way of the former Ebensburg and Black Lick Railroad, the trail follows the Blacklick Creek and passes through many ghost towns that were abandoned in the early 1900s with the decline of the local coal mining industry. Open year-round to cycling, hiking, and cross-country skiing, the trail is designated a National Recreation Trail by the United States Department of the Interior.
The Brierfield Furnace, also known as the Bibb Naval Furnace and Brierfield Ironworks, is a 486-acre (197 ha) historic district in Brierfield, Alabama, United States, that includes one building and nine sites. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 20, 1974. The Alabama Historic Ironworks Commission maintains 45 acres (18 ha) as Brierfield Ironworks Historical State Park.
The Knoxville Iron Company was an iron production and coal mining company that operated primarily in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, and its vicinity, in the late 19th and 20th centuries. The company was Knoxville's first major post-Civil War manufacturing firm, and played a key role in bringing heavy industry and railroad facilities to the city. The company was also the first to conduct major coal mining operations in the lucrative coalfields of western Anderson County, and helped establish one of Knoxville's first residential neighborhoods, Mechanicsville, in the late 1860s.
Eldad Cicero Camp Jr. was an American coal tycoon, attorney and philanthropist, active primarily in Knoxville, Tennessee, and the vicinity. He was president of the Coal Creek Coal Company, president of the Virginia-Tennessee Coal Company, a director of Knoxville's Third National Bank, and at his height, was one of the wealthiest men in East Tennessee. His prominent North Knoxville mansion, Greystone, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Isabella Furnace was a cold blast charcoal iron furnace located in West Nantmeal Township, Pennsylvania. The furnace was named for Isabella Potts, wife of one of the partners, a member of the Potts ironmaking family. Isabella was the last iron furnace to be built in the county, in 1835, and was operated by members of the Potts family and their partners until 1855, when they lost control of it in a bankruptcy. It returned to the family in 1881, when it was purchased by Col. Joseph Potts, who modernized it. The furnace, the last to operate in Chester County, went out of blast in 1894, a few months after Col. Potts' death, but remained largely intact until after his son's death in 1943. The remains of the furnace complex have been listed in the National Register of Historic Places since 1991.
The Pine Grove Iron Works was a smelting facility in southcentral Pennsylvania during the Industrial Revolution. The works is notable for remaining structures that are historical visitor attractions of Pine Grove Furnace State Park, including the furnace stack of the Pine Grove Furnace. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 13, 1977 for its significance in architecture and industry. It includes seven contributing buildings, two structures, fourteen sites, and two objects.
Alabama and Tennessee River Rail Road Company was incorporated under act of Alabama on March 4, 1848. With John Anderson Dilliard being principal shareholder. J. A. Dilliard a LaGrange, Tennessee, native originally from Decatur, AL was also a principal owner in the Lagrange and Memphis Railroad which became the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, along with Joseph Dilliard and H.B. Dilliard.
Washington Iron Furnace is an historic iron furnace, located in Rocky Mount, Franklin County, Virginia. The granite furnace was built around 1770, and measures 30 feet high on its south face. It helped establish industry in the county, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
Henry Fairchild DeBardeleben was an American coal magnate and town founder from Alabama.
Henry Ticknor DeBardeleben was an American coal magnate from Alabama.
Cedar Grove Iron Furnace is a disused 19th century double-stack iron ore furnace located in Perry County, Tennessee. Sources differ on its construction date, but it was probably built between 1832 and 1834 near the mouth of Cedar Creek on the Tennessee River by William Dixon.
1 2 Stell, Jackson R. (April 22, 1976). "Alabama Iron Works". National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form. National Park Service. Archived(PDF) from the original on March 30, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2014.See also:"Accompanying photos". Archived(PDF) from the original on March 30, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
↑ "Cedar Creek Furnace". Alabama Ironworks Source Book. Alabama Historic Ironworks Commission. Archived from the original on July 2, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
