The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1897-12-12
AIRetrospection Of tho
f1Iron Industry IN Alabama.l1.


I given to me public are narrated by his
friends and rivals. It Is said that his
| ATTENTION was first attracted towards the
| po- sibilities of iron making in Alabama,
through a spesch made by one of me
early congressman from this state VINO
referred To the fact that in travelling by
stage from Tuscaloosa towards the north,
he had passed over beds of iron ore
which he believed possessed equally as
much value as any I'm the PennsylVah1d
district. A "trip along the old Iusca-
loosa, pike whsre Vt crosses the Murphy
land about three miles from Tanner Hill
Station today will reveal the truth or
this congressman's statement.
Mr.. Thomas practee eye took in the
situation and this very Murphy tract
was one of the first properties he Sc
cured.
III is told that another pioneer in the
developmena of the iren and coal indus
tries in this state often refers TO the
face that his PURCHASES were influenced
by MIR. Thomas actions to such an SIX
rent that he secured all the land ne. pos
eibly could, which was situated con
tiguous to that purchased by-ansAr
Thomas.
While Mr.. Thomas was the pioneer Of
modern fri-n making in the birmingham
district in so far as purchasing prop
erty with that end in view, IS concerned,
the late Gov Brown and Gen. West OF
Georgia occupied similar positions IN
that stafe. n
But it was of the history of iron max
ing in this country previous uo the intro
dIiction of the modern furnace practice,
ana when stheiaold catalan forge, and
STONE stack FURNACE were in use that l
proposed to- write in this artcle. nc nc
difficllties which were encountereu ~
tblosa days whsn the furnace pka iae
were remote from raiir-ad tranSpo
lion when all supplies had to be haulsa
foir wagon ROAD, THU
the wagons poaded back with pig IRON can
i've hardly Imagined by the present gem
Grafton As one year follows dllosir :.
t11e men who were actively engageu III
these operations pass away anu " m sa.
he cornparatively in the very near u
t,nrs when it will be almost Impossible
to ascertain any facts from those SO Ell
gagged .. 4ha old
About the same time that the QUO
R0Rlps valley furnace plant was IN op-
GRAFTON, another located at Woou sios,t
in tfhe same neighborho-d, was In pia'l,
in Alabama: while in Georgia there Were
being openated the plants erected ny
Mai Coope-r on the Etowah river as wen
as an equally cid furnace on stamp
creek. one of the tributaries OF that r-Ver'
and a catalan forge in fhe mountain
fastne sses of Murray county.
All of these except the forge were de-
stroyed as far as destruction was POSI-
ble bv parties of northern soldiers our
ing the war. .a.
n is interesting to note the lnnuence
on the location of the furnace which the
conditions prevai ling fifty ye avs ago hao
as compared with these of today. Ihese
old stone stacks were erected in tne I'M
mediate vicinity of the rock used III uusii
construction and where water power was
obtainable instead of the sfte psang chos
en- with chief Consideration being given
to the locality Of the material used IN
iron making as is the case today.
The ore, consumed at the Roup's val
lev furnace was hauled three miles and
a half over a tram road built speclaliy
FAR the purpose. and about the same con-
dition existed with regard to ms cooper
furnace in Georgia. or course as char-
coal was the fuel ussd in these STACKS
one of the mai features to be conslds reia
in locating the plant was fne tlHfpeI
supply in The near ne.ghborhood, ana
s,olme idea of the extent Of tbs opera
tions can be gleansd from the amount
of clsaring done in the vicinity OF the
plants.
Most certainly the ptonIeers in the iron
industry N TIL $ and other southern su1tss
were possessed of energy, enterprise anu
courage because it must be. rem mpefeo
that Whsn all is considered, each on THESE
stacks could only make twelve TO npseen
tons of iron per day.
A birds eye view taken from the sum-
NIT of Red mountain ove,--lc2king the
birmingham district today rapres nIts
in part only the Developments of the iron
industries IN Alabama, which have been
the outgrowth Of the small beginnings
made nearly fifty years ago in Tuscaloosa
county In those old stone stacks from
the top of which mighty forest trees are
growing today. Fifty years hence those
old stacks will still stand there as land
marks to designate the first iron making
in the state, but will any of the mann
moth furnaces now in opererton mark
the spots on which they stand?
VIM. NJ. BREWER.