Tannehill Ironworks: Difference between revisions

	Tannehill Furnace
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, USA
Coordinates	33°14′52″N 87°4′4″W / 33.24778°N 87.06778°W
Area	2,063 acres (835 ha)
Built	1859-62
Built by	Hillman, Daniel
Website	Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park
NRHP reference No.	72000182
Added to NRHP	July 24, 1972

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Revision as of 22:59, 6 August 2022

The Tannehill Ironworks is the central feature of Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park near the unincorporated town of McCalla in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama.^[1] Listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Tannehill Furnace, it was a major supplier of iron for Confederate ordnance.^[2] 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.^[1]

History

Ironmaking at the site began with construction of a bloomery forge by Daniel Hillman Sr. in 1830.^[3] 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 Nos. 2 and 3 were equipped with hot blast stoves and a steam engine. Brown iron ore mines were present two miles (3 km) distant.^[4]

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 during Wilson's Raid. The ruins remain today as one of the best preserved 19th-century iron furnace sites in the South.^[5]

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 (Jefferson County).^[6]

Listings

The furnace remains and its reconstructed portions were named an American Society for Metals historical landmark in 1994.^[7] The park is a designated Civil War Discovery Trail site,^[8] a stop on the Alabama Appalachian Highlands Birding Trail,^[9] and was listed among the top 10 Alabama parks and nature areas visited in 2016.^[10]

References

^ ^a ^b "Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park". Alabama Historic Ironworks Commission. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
^ "Tannehill Furnace". National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form. National Park Service. June 5, 1972. Retrieved February 8, 2017. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
^ "Tannehill Furnaces". Alabama Ironworks Source Book. Alabama Historic Ironworks Commission. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
^ Armes, Ethel (2011). The Story of Coal and Iron in Alabama. Library Alabama Classics. University Alabama Press. p. 158. ISBN 978-0817356828.
^ Bennett, James R. (1999). Tannehill and the Growth of the Alabama Iron Industry. Alabama Historic Ironworks Commission. pp. 152–154. ISBN 0967445507.
^ Bennett, pp. 95-96.
^ "ASM Historical Landmarks". ASM International. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
^ "Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park". Civil War Discovery Trail. Civil War Trust. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
^ "Tannehill State Historical Park". Alabama Birding Trails. University of Alabama Center for Economic Development. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
^ Alabama Tourism Department (February 3, 2017). "Top 10 Parks and Natural Destinations 2016" (Press release). Retrieved February 8, 2017.

External links

Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park Alabama Historic Ironworks Commission
Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. AL-276, "Tannehill Furnace (Ruins), Mud Creek vicinity, Bucksville, Tuscaloosa County, AL", 7 photos
Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. AL-122, "Tannehill Furnace, 12632 Confederate Parkway, Tannehill Historical State Park, Bucksville, Tuscaloosa County, AL", 13 photos, 1 color transparency, 2 measured drawings, 15 data pages, 2 photo caption pages

[park-1] "Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park". Alabama Historic Ironworks Commission. Retrieved January 28, 2016.

[nrhp-2] "Tannehill Furnace". National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form. National Park Service. June 5, 1972. Retrieved February 8, 2017. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)

[sourcebook-3] "Tannehill Furnaces". Alabama Ironworks Source Book. Alabama Historic Ironworks Commission. Retrieved January 28, 2016.

[armes-4] Armes, Ethel (2011). The Story of Coal and Iron in Alabama. Library Alabama Classics. University Alabama Press. p. 158. ISBN 978-0817356828.

[bennett-5] Bennett, James R. (1999). Tannehill and the Growth of the Alabama Iron Industry. Alabama Historic Ironworks Commission. pp. 152–154. ISBN 0967445507.

[bennett95-6] Bennett, pp. 95-96.

[asm-7] "ASM Historical Landmarks". ASM International. Retrieved January 28, 2016.

[cwtrail-8] "Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park". Civil War Discovery Trail. Civil War Trust. Retrieved January 28, 2016.

[birding-9] "Tannehill State Historical Park". Alabama Birding Trails. University of Alabama Center for Economic Development. Retrieved February 8, 2017.

[tourism-10] Alabama Tourism Department (February 3, 2017). "Top 10 Parks and Natural Destinations 2016" (Press release). Retrieved February 8, 2017.

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 ==See also==
+*[[Birmingham District]]
 *[[Brierfield Furnace]]
 *[[Shelby Iron Company|Shelby Ironworks]]

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