The Sloss Mines are a group of mines in southwestern Jefferson County, Alabama, United States. [1] They were established by the Sloss Iron and Steel Company and its successor, the Sloss-Sheffield Iron and Steel Company, on the southern end of Red Mountain. [2] The Sloss Iron and Steel Company itself was founded by James Sloss in 1881 as the Sloss Furnace Company. [3] The Sloss Mines produced iron ore from 1882 until the 1960s. The ore that these mines produced were essential to the production of iron at the Sloss Furnaces, making them an important element in the formation of adjacent Birmingham and Bessemer as cities. [4]
An accident in January 1895 killed two people. [5]
Red Mountain Park is an urban park that runs 4.5 miles (7.2 km) from east to west along the mountain. Red Mountain Park now owns the Sloss No. 2 mine site. Park officials plan to open a portion, but not all, of the area that the mines operated on to the public. Although the entrances have for the most part been sealed, The Tenn Coal and Iron mines 10, 11, 13 and 14, located in Red Mountain Park, are planned for development into interactive visitor sites. In addition, walking trails on the former mining sites have been developed, as well as the preservation of a mine worker's cemetery and many historic mining structures. [6] [7] [8]
Brookside is a town in north-central Jefferson County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 1,363. It is a former mining town.
The Vulcan statue is the largest cast iron statue in the world, and is the city symbol of Birmingham, Alabama, United States, reflecting its roots in the iron and steel industry. The 56-foot (17 m) tall statue depicts the Roman god Vulcan, god of the fire and forge, with ironworking equipment. It was created as Birmingham's entry for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, Missouri. While it is the world's largest made of iron, it is also among the nation's tallest statues of any kind.
Red Mountain is a long ridge running southwest-northeast and dividing Jones Valley from Shades Valley south of Birmingham, Alabama. It is part of the Ridge-and-Valley region of the Appalachian mountains. The Red Mountain Formation of hard Silurian rock strata lies exposed in several long crests, and was named "Red Mountain" because of the rust-stained rock faces and prominent seams of red hematite iron ore. The mountain was the site of several mines that supplied iron ore to Birmingham's iron furnaces. Most of Birmingham's television and radio stations have transmission towers located on Red Mountain.
Sloss Furnaces is a National Historic Landmark in Birmingham, Alabama in the United States. It operated as a pig iron-producing blast furnace from 1882 to 1971. After closing, it became one of the first industrial sites in the U.S. to be preserved and restored for public use. In 1981, the furnaces were designated a National Historic Landmark by the United States Department of the Interior.
Republic Steel is an American steel manufacturer that was once the country's third largest steel producer. It was founded as the Republic Iron and Steel Company in Youngstown, Ohio in 1899. After rising to prominence during the early 20th Century, Republic suffered heavy economic losses and was eventually bought out before re-emerging in the early 2000s as a subsidiary. The company currently manufactures Special Bar Quality (SBQ) steel bars and employs around 2,000 people. It is currently owned by Grupo Simec, based in Guadalajara, Mexico.
The Birmingham District is a geological area in the vicinity of Birmingham, Alabama, where the raw materials for making steel, limestone, iron ore, and coal are found together in abundance. The district includes Red Mountain, Jones Valley, and the Warrior and Cahaba coal fields in Central Alabama.
Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve is a 1,038 acres (4.20 km2) nature preserve located in the eastern portion of Jefferson County, Alabama, in the City of Birmingham's historic South East Lake neighborhood. The preserve includes a visitor center containing native Alabama animals including raptors, snakes, turtles, and owls. The Ruffner Mountain area was home to iron ore mines and stone quarries, supplying the area's steel mills.
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 2,063-acre (835 ha) park includes: the John Wesley Hall Grist Mill; the May Plantation Cotton Gin House; and the Iron & Steel Museum of Alabama.
The Hull–Rust–Mahoning Open Pit Iron Mine in Hibbing, Minnesota, United States, is the largest operating open-pit iron mine in Minnesota. The pit stretches more than three miles (5 km) long, two miles (3 km) wide, and 535 feet (163 m) deep. It was established in 1895 and was one of the world's first mechanized open-pit mines.
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.
Mountain Iron Mine is a former mine in Mountain Iron, Minnesota, United States. Opened in 1892, it was the first mine on the Mesabi Range, which has proved to be the largest iron ore deposit ever discovered in the United States. Mining operations at the site ceased in 1956. The bottom of the open-pit mine has filled with water but its dimensions are readily visible. The city maintains an overlook in Mountain Iron Locomotive Park.
The Iron & Steel Museum of Alabama, also known as the Tannehill Museum, is an industrial museum that demonstrates iron production in the nineteenth-century Alabama located at Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park in McCalla, Tuscaloosa County, Alabama. Opened in 1981, it covers 13,000 square feet (1,200 m2).
Adger is an unincorporated crossroads community in Jefferson County, Alabama, southwest of Birmingham.
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 Wenonah community was the name of one of a series of Red Mountain ore mining camps for employees of the Tennessee Coal and Iron Company (TCI).
The Woodward Iron Company was founded on December 31, 1881, by brothers William and Joseph Woodward. William was the company president and Joseph was the company secretary. The company operated iron and coal mines, quarries and furnaces; these were connected by a private industrial railroad based in Bessemer, Alabama. The company administrative office was located near Woodward Ore Mine #1, south of Paul's Hill in Bessemer.
The Shelby Iron Company was an iron manufacturing company that operated an ironworks in Shelby, Alabama. The iron company produced iron for the Confederate States of America and was destroyed towards the end of the American Civil War. The company continued to produce iron until the early part of the 20th century.
Allan Harvey "Rick" Woodward was an American businessman and baseball team owner.
Coalburg is an unincorporated community in Jefferson County, Alabama, United States.