The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-08-09
MORE DATA FOR
 NEW IRON HISTORY
OLD TANNEHlLL FURNACES ARE TO BE FENCED IN AND PRE- SERVED INTACT AS LANDMARK IN IRONMAklNG.

Truman H. Aldrich, chairman of the committee on publication of the Story of Coal and Iron in Alabama by Miss Ethel Armes, returned to the city yes terday, having been, with Dr. Eugene Smith, state geologist, out in field work for the state survey for the past week.
 pr. Smith will assist our committee on the editing work of this big under taxing" said MT. Aldrlch, and we have in addition secured the services and the pronounced interest of Dr. J. II. Phillips. superintendent of public schools of this city; MT. John Sparrow Dr. William B. Phillips, Maj, R. II. Elliott and Dr. Thomas M. Owen, director of state his- torical archives. 1 take plasure In an- nouncing that these gentlemen will serve.
 Another matter of importance in the work has been tue recent election of MT. J. w. Worthington, as chairman of the Sheffield and Colbert county committee, that of Mr. W. D. Riddle as chairman of the Talladega county committed. and Maj. J. c. Compton and Dr. David Mar shall Scott to direct the work of gath ering and authenticatlng the Selma and Dallas county records.
 Major Compton has sent to us an in- teresting account of the old Confederate arsenal of which, during the war he was seconl in command. MT. Morris Bush, acting president of the Shelby Iron com pany and a member of our Birmingham committee, is interested in the organiza- ton of the Shelby county committed Capt. Frank Fitch is as I have pre- viously stated, chairman of the Bibb coun- ty committee.
 Ut has been and is our endeavor to secure on our various county committees the representative men of each county, and so far we have succeeded.
 Every county in the mineral belt in which there were early operations in iron making and coal mining is, of course, to be included in this history. and personal biographies of the men who founded and operated the works
 Every facility for the inspection of plants. mines and furnaces Is being af- forded Miss Armes by the various big corpora tions of the Birmingham district.
 MT. Frank Crockard, vice president and general manager of the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad company, &C., companied Miss Armes over the Ensley steel plant, explaining in minute detail the new construction work now under way there MT. Erskine Ramsay will go with Miss Armes over the Banner mine of the Pratt Consolidated.
 An interesting matter which has just occurred Is that, through Mir John Adams, manager of the Sayre company. interest in preserving the old Tannehll furnaces intact has been aroused and the present owners of the property, the Re- public company, will fence in tho old stone furnaces and preserve them as landmarks of the early iron making days. Two of the great-grandsons Of Moses Stroup the builder of these furnaces, Mr. R. 8. Hickman and MT. A. A. Hanbury, brought to Miss Armes last week the original record of this pioneer makers operations in Alabama. long before the civil war.
 There was an interesting communica- ton published in The Age-Herald not long since from comanche, Tex, relat- Ing to Tannehll and we communicated with the party by letter, receiving some interesting statements. The widow of Bayliss F. Grace, had an interview with Miss Armes at the Commercial clug re- gently, giving the data relating to her husbands early operations with Red Mountain ore. Sam Tate's son. Maj. Thomas Tate, in the land office of the Tennessee company, has given Miss Armes data relating to his father, to William Goold and Major Peters and Bily Goold himself gave Miss Armes the record of his work from way back.
 Every day in fact interviews of im- portance to the work take place and let ters from all over the state are received. The Taladega county committee will have a special meeting on August l5."
 George B. Mccormack, who has also but recently returned to Birmingham, after Q two weeks trip north. stated yes terday:
 There is so much interest in Birming- ham and the mineral district here, that the matter of this proposed history has occasioned some comment. I met parties in Boston, who having read some of the | press accounts in the northern papers of the plan and idea of the work. inquired i concerning it. A recent history or might say, so-called history of iron and 1 steel in this section has so nadequately | and falsely treated the Birmingham de- velopment and the Birmingham iron ] makers. that this work as proposed tc treat of facts from the ground up and l ol the plants-and the men-right on th'