Tannehill Ironworks
The Tannehill Ironworks, near Bessemer, is one of the first iron making operations in the Birmingham District and is an Alabama state historic site, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Tannehill was a major supplier of iron for Confederate ordnance. Remains of the old furnaces are the central attraction of Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park located 12 miles south of Bessemer off I-59/20 near the southern end of the Appalachian Mountains.
The 1,500-acre historical park also includes the John Wesley Hall Grist Mill, May Plantation Cotton Gin House and the Iron & Steel Museum of Alabama.
Ironmaking at the site began with construction of a bloomery forge by Daniel Hillman, Sr in 1830.
Built by noted southern ironmaster Moses Stroup from 1859 to 1862, the three charcoal blast furnaces at Tannehill could produce 22 tons of pig iron a day, most of which was shipped to the Naval Gun Works and Arsenal at Selma. Furnaces 2 and 3 were equipped with hot blast stoves and a steam engine. Brown iron ore mines were present two miles distant.1.
The Tannehill furnaces and its adjacent foundry, where kettles and hollow-ware were cast for southern troops, were attacked and burnt by three companies of the U.S. 8th Iowa Cavalry on March 31, 1865 (Wilson's Raid). The ruins remain today as one the best preserved 19th century iron furnace sites in the South.2.
Also known as the Roupes Valley Iron Company, these works had significant influence on the later development of the Birmingham iron and steel industry. An experiment conducted at Tannehill in 1862 proved red iron ore could successfully be used in Alabama blast furnaces. The test, promoted by South & North Railroad developers, led to the location of government-financed ironworks in the immediate Birmingham area, specifically Oxmoor and Irondale in Jefferson County.3.
The furnace remains, including reconstructed portions, are an American Society for Metals international historic landmark and have been designated as a Civil War Discovery Trail site. The park attracted over 425,000 visitors in 2005.4.
References
- Armes, Ethel (1910) The Story of Coal and Iron in Alabama Birmingham: University of Alabama Press. Reprinted 1972 Book-Keepers Press, p. 158.
- Bennett, James R. (2005) Tannehill and the Growth of the Alabama Iron Industry. Alabama Historic Ironworks Commission, 2nd Edition. pp. 152-154.
- ibid. pp. 95-96.
- "Tannehill Ironworks." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 9 Sep 2006, 02:49 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 26 Nov 2006 [1].
External links
- Tannehill Historical State Park website