The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1882-02-22
IRON IN TENNESSEE.
Its Early Manufacture in the
State and Primitive Charac-
ter OF. Iron Works.
s W. swank in Census Report OF 1ss

! Jas, W. swank in Census Report of 1880.
Nashville was founded in 1880,
and a few years later iron ore was
discovered about thirty miles west
Of the future city. between 1890
and 1895 Cumberland furnace was
erected on Iron fork of Barton's s
creek, in Dickson county, seven
miles northwest of Charlotte. This
furnace was rebuilt in 1925, and
was in operation in 1880. Dickson
county and its neighbors, Stewart
and Montgomery counties, after
wards became very prominent in
manufacture of charcoal pig iron.
Other counties in the same section
of the State have also, but in a less
conspicuous degree, made iron in
charcoal furnaces. The first furnace
in Montgomery county was prob
ably Yellow Creek, fourteen miles
southwest of CIarksville, built in
1902. ..
The iron industry of Tennessee
mads steadyprogress after the open
ing Of the present century. Both
furnaces and bloomaries multiplied
rapidly. In 1855 Lesley enumerat-
ed over seventy five forges. and
bloomaries, seyenty-one furnaces and
four rolling mills in Tennessee,
each of which had been in operation
at some peroid after 79O. of the.
furnaces twenty nine were in East
Tennessee, and forty two in Middle
and West Tennessee. OF the latter,
fourteen were in Stewart county,
twelve in Montgomery, seven in
Dickson, two in Hickman, two in
Perry, two in Decatur, two in
Wayne, and one in Hardin county.
There were at one time forty-one
furnaces on the Cumberland river in
Tennessee and kentucky. The
furnaces in East Tennessee were
mainly in Sullivan and Carter
counties-Sullivan having fye and
Carter seven-but Johnson, Wash
ington, Greene, Cooke, SEWER, Mon
roe, Hamilton, Claiborne, Campbell,
Granger and Union counties each
had one or two furnaces, while
Roane county had three There
was a very early furnace in Polk
county, which is not noted by Les
ley, but is mentioned by Bishop.
The forges and bloomaries were
mainly located in East Tennessee.
johnson county contained fifteen;
Carter, ten; Sullivan six, Washing
ton three, Greene ten, Campbell
seven, Blount four, Roane seven,
Rhea, three, and q few others coun-
ties one and two each. Nearly all
of these were bloomaries. In West
Tennessee there were less than a
dozen refinery forges, and one or
two ,bloomaries. The forges of West
Tennessee, like those of, Kentucky,
were mainly employed from about
1926, to 1860 in the manufacture of
blooms for rolling mills in the Ohio
valley Most of thefurnaces, forees.
and bloomaries enumerated by Les
ley have long been abandoned,
There still remain in Tennessee
twenty charcoal furnaces and about
the same number of forgeso and
bloomaries. There were also in the
State in 1880 FIVE bituminous. fnrn-
aces-all of recent origin, four roll
ing mills, and two steel works.
Cumberland rolling mill, on the left
bank of the Cumberland river, in
Stewart county, was built in 1929,
and was probably the first rolling
millin the State. 1t was the only
rolling mill in Tennessee as late as
1856. tal i
Since the close of the civil war
CHATTANOOGA has hacoma the most