Brierfield Furnace
Encyclopedia
The Brierfield Furnace, also known as the Bibb Naval Furnace and Brierfield Ironworks, is a historic district in Brierfield, Alabama
. The district covers 486 acres (196.7 ha) and includes one building and nine sites. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
on November 20, 1974. Today the district is encompassed by the Brierfield Ironworks Historical State Park.
planter, and Jonathan Newton Smith, a Bibb County
planter, on land purchased from Jesse Mahan near the Little Cahaba River, a tributary of the Cahaba
. The endeavor was initially known as the Bibb County Iron Company, with Huckabee providing most of the capital and slave labor for construction. Richard Fell was employed to build a 36 feet (11 m) high stone blast furnace
and, in 1862, a rolling mill. The company produced cast iron
initially, but soon changed over to the more lucative production of wrought iron
. The iron was used to produce farm implements.
Recognizing the high quality of iron produced at Brierfield, Confederate
officials forced the men to sell the ironworks to the government for $600,000 in 1863, renaming it the Bibb Naval Furnace. A new 40 feet (12.2 m) high brick furnace was built and a railroad line was constructed to connect the furnace to the mainline of the Alabama and Tennessee Railroad. The output of the ironworks was then shipped to the Confederate arsenal at Selma. By 1864 the furnace was producing 25 tons of iron per day, much of which went into producing over 100 Brooke rifle
s ( a type of naval and coastal cannon), one of the South's most important weapons, at Selma. This all ended on March 31, 1865, when the Bibb Naval Furnace was destroyed by the 10th Missouri Volunteer Cavalry
during Wilson's Raid
.
Following the war, the operation was rebuilt under the private ownership of the Canebrake Company. The new company, formed by former Confederates Josiah Gorgas
and Francis Strother Lyon
, purchased the ironworks site from the Federal government for $45,000 in January 1866. They had the site back in production by November 2, 1866. In January 1867 Lyon turned the deed over to Gorgas, who became president of the newly formed Brierfield Ironworks. Gorgas leased the ironworks to Thomas S. Alvis on August 2, 1869. He ran the works until forced to close due to economic conditions following the Panic of 1873
.
The facilities were purchased and reactivated by William D. and Kearsley Carter, of Louisville, Kentucky
, in 1877. By 1882 the operation was under the management of Thomas Jefferson Peter, of Kansas
. Peter had the furnace rebuilt and remodeled the rolling mill. He also had a nailery, coke ovens, and a washer built. However, at least partially due to the competition from cut-wire nails out of Pittsburgh, the ironworks finally closed for good in December 1894.
In the years following the closure the site lay abandoned. During the World War II
era thousands of bricks were scavenged from the site. In 1976 the Bibb County Commission created a park containing 45 acres (18.2 ha) at the urging of the Bibb County Historical Society. This initial effort has evolved over the years into what is now the Brierfield Ironworks Historical State Park.
Several other structures have been moved to the park from other nearby locations. They include the Ashby Post Office (c. 1900), Brierfield Ironworks Park Office (1894), Wilson Hayes House (c. 1900), J. Henry Jones General Store (c. 1900), Lightsey Cabin (1840), Sims-Hubbard Log Cabin (c. 1850), Billy Mitchell Cabin (1880s), and Mulberry Baptist Church (1897). The park also features the additional attractions of an outdoor amphitheater, hiking
and nature trails, campsites, and a swimming pool.
Brierfield, Alabama
Brierfield is an unincorporated community in Bibb County, Alabama, United States. It was established in the mid 19th century and was the site of a major ironworks operation during and following the American Civil War. It is thought by scholars to be named in honor of Jefferson Davis' Brierfield...
. The district covers 486 acres (196.7 ha) and includes one building and nine sites. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on November 20, 1974. Today the district is encompassed by the Brierfield Ironworks Historical State Park.
History
The Brierfield Furnace site was developed in 1861 by Caswell Campbell Huckabee, a GreensboroGreensboro, Alabama
Greensboro is a city in Hale County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 2,731. The city is the county seat of Hale County. It is part of the Tuscaloosa, Alabama Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
planter, and Jonathan Newton Smith, a Bibb County
Bibb County, Alabama
Bibb County is a county in the U.S. state of Alabama. Its name is in honor of William W. Bibb, the first Governor of Alabama. As of 2010 the population was 22,915. The county seat is Centreville...
planter, on land purchased from Jesse Mahan near the Little Cahaba River, a tributary of the Cahaba
Cahaba River
The Cahaba River is the longest free-flowing river in Alabama and is among the most scenic and biologically diverse rivers in the United States. The Cahaba River is a major tributary of the Alabama River and part of the larger Mobile River Basin...
. The endeavor was initially known as the Bibb County Iron Company, with Huckabee providing most of the capital and slave labor for construction. Richard Fell was employed to build a 36 feet (11 m) high stone blast furnace
Blast furnace
A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally iron.In a blast furnace, fuel and ore and flux are continuously supplied through the top of the furnace, while air is blown into the bottom of the chamber, so that the chemical reactions...
and, in 1862, a rolling mill. The company produced cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
initially, but soon changed over to the more lucative production of wrought iron
Wrought iron
thumb|The [[Eiffel tower]] is constructed from [[puddle iron]], a form of wrought ironWrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon...
. The iron was used to produce farm implements.
Recognizing the high quality of iron produced at Brierfield, Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
officials forced the men to sell the ironworks to the government for $600,000 in 1863, renaming it the Bibb Naval Furnace. A new 40 feet (12.2 m) high brick furnace was built and a railroad line was constructed to connect the furnace to the mainline of the Alabama and Tennessee Railroad. The output of the ironworks was then shipped to the Confederate arsenal at Selma. By 1864 the furnace was producing 25 tons of iron per day, much of which went into producing over 100 Brooke rifle
Brooke rifle
The Brooke rifle was a type of rifled, muzzle-loading naval and coast defense gun designed by John Mercer Brooke, an officer in the Confederate States Navy. They were produced by plants in Richmond, Virginia and Selma, Alabama between 1861 and 1865 during the American Civil War...
s ( a type of naval and coastal cannon), one of the South's most important weapons, at Selma. This all ended on March 31, 1865, when the Bibb Naval Furnace was destroyed by the 10th Missouri Volunteer Cavalry
10th Missouri Volunteer Cavalry
The 10th Missouri Volunteer Cavalry was a cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Service:The 10th Missouri Cavalry was organized at Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis, Missouri in October 1862 and mustered in for three years. It was organized from the 28th...
during Wilson's Raid
Wilson's Raid
Wilson's Raid was a cavalry operation through Alabama and Georgia in March–April 1865, late in the American Civil War. Brig. Gen. James H. Wilson led his Union Army Cavalry Corps to destroy Southern manufacturing facilities and was opposed unsuccessfully by a much smaller force under ...
.
Following the war, the operation was rebuilt under the private ownership of the Canebrake Company. The new company, formed by former Confederates Josiah Gorgas
Josiah Gorgas
Josiah Gorgas was one of the few Northern-born Confederate generals and was later president of the University of Alabama....
and Francis Strother Lyon
Francis Strother Lyon
Francis Strother Lyon was a prominent Alabama attorney and politician. He served two terms in the Confederate States Congress during the American Civil War after being an antebellum member of the United States Congress.-Early life:Lyon was born in Stokes County, North Carolina...
, purchased the ironworks site from the Federal government for $45,000 in January 1866. They had the site back in production by November 2, 1866. In January 1867 Lyon turned the deed over to Gorgas, who became president of the newly formed Brierfield Ironworks. Gorgas leased the ironworks to Thomas S. Alvis on August 2, 1869. He ran the works until forced to close due to economic conditions following the Panic of 1873
Panic of 1873
The Panic of 1873 triggered a severe international economic depression in both Europe and the United States that lasted until 1879, and even longer in some countries. The depression was known as the Great Depression until the 1930s, but is now known as the Long Depression...
.
The facilities were purchased and reactivated by William D. and Kearsley Carter, of Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, in 1877. By 1882 the operation was under the management of Thomas Jefferson Peter, of Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
. Peter had the furnace rebuilt and remodeled the rolling mill. He also had a nailery, coke ovens, and a washer built. However, at least partially due to the competition from cut-wire nails out of Pittsburgh, the ironworks finally closed for good in December 1894.
In the years following the closure the site lay abandoned. During the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
era thousands of bricks were scavenged from the site. In 1976 the Bibb County Commission created a park containing 45 acres (18.2 ha) at the urging of the Bibb County Historical Society. This initial effort has evolved over the years into what is now the Brierfield Ironworks Historical State Park.
The modern park
The structures and sites that contribute to the National Register of Historic Places listing include the ruinous brick furnace (c. 1860s, 1880s), the tramway bed from the railroad (c. 1860s), the brick foundations of the rolling mill (c. 1862, 1880s), the nailery foundations (c. 1880s), coke ovens (c. 1880s), cemetery (c. 1850s), and the superintendent's house (c. 1870s).Several other structures have been moved to the park from other nearby locations. They include the Ashby Post Office (c. 1900), Brierfield Ironworks Park Office (1894), Wilson Hayes House (c. 1900), J. Henry Jones General Store (c. 1900), Lightsey Cabin (1840), Sims-Hubbard Log Cabin (c. 1850), Billy Mitchell Cabin (1880s), and Mulberry Baptist Church (1897). The park also features the additional attractions of an outdoor amphitheater, hiking
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
and nature trails, campsites, and a swimming pool.
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Bibb County, Alabama
- Tannehill IronworksTannehill IronworksThe Tannehill Ironworks is a state historic site in Tuscaloosa County near the unincorporated town of Bucksville.Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it was a major supplier of iron for Confederate ordnance...