Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1883-02-24
PIONEERS IN TIE IRON BUSINESS IN DICK.
sou COUNTY, TENNESSEE.

DiVhson was written and furnished
us by gentleman of this city, but
VINO IS a native and once a resident
OF Dickson county. He is person
ally thoroughly familiar with the
facts of which he writes, and his ar
ticle Is perfectly accurate and cor
rect.-ED.
An article first appeared in the
Nashville American of recent issue
and reproduced by the GAINESVILLE
Tobacco Leaf of Feb. 10, 1888, upon
the subject of iron making in Ten
nessee, by Mr.. w. r. Hughes. This
article of Mr.. Hughes, as produced
by the Leaf, is so full of error as to
facts and data as to render it en-
tirely unreliable. Mr.. Hughes pro-
poses, as we perceive, TO furnish an
other article ON the subject at some
future time, If he should it is to be
hoped he will be better informed
and more guarded in his statements
in his forthcoming article.
See what Mr.. Hughes says: az
shall proceed at once to gather all
the information / can in relation to
these and other pioneer furnace
men, who first planted furnaces in
old Tennessee"
In Mr.. Hughes article under con-
sideration, he says: montgomery
Bell was the pioneer of the iron bus
iness in Dickson county, and run
Old Cumberland as far back as 1880
near the present site." The truth
is, Montgomery Bell, as the success
sor of Gen. James Robertson, sold
Cumberland Furnace, on Barton's
Creek, and Jones' Creek Forge, on
jones' Creek, to A. w. Vanleer in
1857, and was not a pioneer in the
iron business in Dickson county by
near or quite quarter of IA century,
having been preceded by Gen. Rob
ertson and the Napiers In the iron
business in Dickson county-befOre
Dickson was a county in fact.
In order TO correct some of the
errors of Mr.. Hughes article as TO
the "pieneers of the iron business in
Dickson county," we shall give as
succinet an account as we can, with
out the precise data as to when the
.frst furnaces and FORCES were built,
but our article shall be correct rs to
the men who were the pioneers.
-E. NASHVILLE.
Nashville was settled in 1850, or
ganized in 1884. Gen. James Rob-
ertson, one of the citizens and
founders of the city and the chief
spirit in the Bluff" built Cumber-
land Furnace on Barton's Creek,
near where its successor now stands,
before Dickson county had an ex-
istenee as county; possibly before
Tennessee had an existence as
State, since the settlement at Nash
Vile had been established as early
as 1850, the State not till 1876.
AT what precise date Gen. Rob-
ertson built Cumberland Furnace is
not known TO the writer, but it is
fair to presume it was built near the
date of the settlement at Nashville,
and was in fact built for the purpose
of supplying Nashville and other
pioneer settlements with cooking
utensils, wash and salt kettles, and
irons, sad-irons, wagon material, &C.,
in constant demand by the ever i'm
creasing settlements.
When Gen. Robertson built Cum
berland Furnace the entire country
around was a wilderness. uninhab-
tied by others than Indians and
wild beasts. This furnace was run
by water power and worked by
slave and hired labor; the hands
being fed by supplies furnished by
Indians, as the writer was informed
by the late A. w. Vanleer. Gen. |
James Robertson died at the Chick
aSaW Agency sept. L, 1914.
TRANSFER OF CUMBERLAND FUR
MACE.
When Cumberland Furnace was
transferred to Montgomery Bell is
unknown to the writer. MOntgom-
cry Bell was in possession, as sue
cessor of Gen. Robertson, of Cumber-
land Furnace in 1872. And the
best contract he ever made he made
with the L. s. Government, and |
the best job he ever executed was
in fulfillment of his government
contract, which was to furnish Gen.
Andrew Jackson with ball, shot |
and shell at New Orleans, to slay |
Lord Packenham and his hosts. |
On the 8th of January, 1915, Jack
son appropriated Bells quarter.
master supplies from Gen. Robert
sons old Pioneer Indian Furnace
all from the land of Dickson and
Tennessee. No wonder Cumber-
ldIlu II uEudCS SuININCS wall pCoAA- |
lence and famine hers is record
which deserves more than passing |
notice.
sECONDTRANsFERO OF CUMBERLAND |
FURNACE.
Montgomery Bell sold and trans
ferred Cumberland Furnace and
Jones' Creek Forge to A. w. Van
leer in 1851. Mr.. Vanleer, in per-
son and through the management
of different firms and members Of
the Vanleer family, Cumberland
Furnace has been one continued sue
cess, and is at present in the hands OF
the third generation Of the Vanleers
(Anthony w. and Barney Vanleer.)
The furnace is up with the times,
and never in its long career was
more prosperous than at present.
This fnrnare has been in blast
every year since her birth century
ago.
A. w. Vanleer as a man was a
suceess-a thorough business man,
kind of heart as woman, temper
ate in his habitS. kind to his ser