Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1891-05-22
Liberty Furnace.
A BIG ENTERPRISE FOR SHENANDOAH
COUNTY.

for the rapid and successful making
of the best quality of charcoal iron. The
furnace itself is massive structure OF
brick and iron and has a capacity for
seventy five or eighty tons OF iron day,
aud with the casting house, ic which II
stands, is arranged with every convenience
and appliance known to modern skill and
invention for the profitable converting OF
ores into the iron for which this place
has so long been celebrated. The stock
house adjoining tie stack is an immense
building constructed of heavy tlm9ers
and having upon The second floor track
! upon which the cars are run and from
which their loads of ore, coal aud lime
stone are dumpted to the floor below.
Here the stock is loaded upon trucks
which are run into the big double eleya-
tor that carries them to the top where it
is fed into the ever hungery furnace
| The powerful blast is forced into the
furnace at almost a Melting heat, as the
Air is first carried into a large stove house
or furnace where it passes through
many feet of lion pipes that are heated to
reduces by tie flames of the gas from the
main furnace. Adjoining is battery OF
six steel boilers which furnish the power
for tie engines, pumps &c. These boilers
are also fred by the gas from the furnace
which in the old time stacks was wasted
in the air. The water supply is furnished
by large and rever failing spring, the
water being forced by powerful pump
into reservoir located on the hillside
/ few feet from and above the furnace.
Immediately in rear of the stock house, and
on both sides of the branch track that
enters the building, are number OF large
brick coalng pits where wood that has
been brought from the near vicinity can
be coaltd. These have been tested and
! found to work well.
The narrow guage railroad that con-
meets these works with the B & Q. R. r.
at Edinburg, extends from the furnace
about a mile to the ore cruSher aad wash
er where all of this mineral is washed
clear from earth and the larger Jumps re-
duced to a proper size for charging the
/ furnace. This is a very complete affair
and does the work almost without
assistance from human labor. The power
TO run this machinery is furnished by a.
large engine and the water is from a
mountain brook that flows close by. The
| washer is located at the foot Of a noun
/ tain ridge in which are the ore banks now
being worked and which, from all the
visible indications, contains supply for
many years, although it is but small
portion of the ore deposits of the COM
pany. Near the entrance to the mines,
both of which are open cuttings, though
the approach to one is through a tunnel
or drift Of several hundred feet, is located
a building from which a gravity road
runs straight down the hill to the
ore washer. Down this road, by means
of strong steel wire rope, the
small dump cars carry the ore to the
crusher and washer, the loaded cars in
their descent drawing the empty cars
back. In the building is an iron wheel
over which the cable passes and which is
controlled by brake operated by a
trusty bald. From the W asher the ore is
transferred directly to the cars and hauled
TO the furnace. All tie mining opera
lions are under the supervision of Capt.
P. ODwyer, an accomplished mining en-
gineer and expert who has demonstrated
since he has been here that he thoroughly
understands his business. On the 23rd
day of August last ground was broken on
narrow gauge railroad to extend from
Edinburg on the B. & o. K. r. up the
Stony Creek Valley 70 Liberty Furnace
and the mines beyond, a distance of about
l3 miles, and in less thar eight months
trains were running over the entire length
Of the road When it is remembered that
mach Of the weather through the winter
and early spring was utterly unfit for
railroad building it is no. hard to ap-
pleciate the energy aud enterprise DIS
played ty Chief engineer, Mr.. n. j.
Cousver assistant engineer, Geo. Gage
and suDerintendent of road and trains,
August Wolfe. A large amount of heavy
work, cutting and filing was required as
well as several bridges and stretches of
trestle work. The fires we've first started
in the furnace on Saturday, the 9th inst,
land the first iron was made on Wednesday
following SO carefully and skillfully
had all the work been carried out to COM
pletiOn that the furnace worked like
charm from the very first and not
the slightest change vas required. Mr.
Geo. w. Cunningham, tie superintendent
Of the furnace, is very pleasant gentle
man, and evidently knows all about
running a big furnace.
Mr. RObt. A. Cook, President of the
Liberty Iron Company, is one Of the most
genial of gentlemen, as well as hustler
from way back He is the main spring IN
this big enterprise and viii be certain to
prove one of the large iron producers Of
the State.
The officers OF the Liberty Iron Co. are
as follows: Robt. A. Cook, President II.
II. Yard, Treasurer; II. A. j. Hemphill,
Secretary n J. Conover, Chief Engineer;
Gee. Gage, Asst. Engineer; Capt. P.
O'Dwyer, Supt. Of Mines; Geo. w. Gun.
bingham Sup; of Furnace; August wolfe,
supt. Trains and Road; NJ. B. Tyler,
Clerk F. DICKENS, supt. of Wood De-
partment Alexander Barton, Store
Keeper.
On Friday of last week a party of gentle
men from Woodstock, Edinburg and Mt.
Jackson visited these works. They
boarded tue train of the narrow gauge