THE ANCIENT IRON BLAST FURNACES OF NORTH GEORGIA Nick Flint
American Studies
5-20-10
The production of iron and other such materials has always been somewhat obsolete and unknown to the general population of people. Iron, even though extremely important to industry and society, has been and still is produced in the shadows of most other materials. Today we take the iron and steel that make our cars, buildings, or weapons for granted. But one may begin to ponder, "Where does it all come from?" "Where has it always come from?" Iron has been in production in America since the 1600's when the Europeans settled and brought along their knowledge (Gordon 1). So how was it actually made, and where? Deep in the North Georgia woods of Bartow and Cherokee Counties, hide remnants of the iron industry in the 1800's. Ancient stone blast furnaces, overgrown with brush and camouflaged by time, sit unknown to almost everyone. These thirty foot pyramids simply seem too awesome and too important to the history of America's iron making to forget about. The ancient iron blast furnaces of North Georgia offer a great insight to the production and history of one of the most important materials in American history: Iron.
The Europeans that settled in America knew how to make two different types of iron: wrought iron and cast iron. "Wrought iron, also called bar iron, was almost pure metal with some slag particles," and would be considered a "metal-fiber" (Gordon 110). Slag is a very porous silicate glass which is produced as a waste during the melting of iron. The better wrought iron had less slag particles in it. Wrought iron had little to no carbon in it to make it more flexible and fibrous, which is what the ironsmiths that bought it wanted. Cast iron on the other hand, has carbon in the metal, which gives it strength. Since cast iron could not be bent or hammered into place like wrought iron, it had to be poured in its molten state into molds (Gordon 112). Bells, cannons, and any other molded metal objects were made with cast iron. Another reason for the cast iron's strength is the absence of slag. The blast furnaces made cast iron which, although relatively easy to make, was harder to produce than wrought iron (Etowah 2).
The blast furnaces could not be run by only one person. On average, around 45 men were needed for a charcoal-fired furnace (Gordon 119). For larger corporations in the early 1800's, generally one third of these men were slaves (Dunaway 127). Labor at the furnace was very demanding and tough. The crew had to load the fuel, iron ore, and flux (in the right proportions) approximately every fifteen minutes (Gordon 120). As the crew loaded the raw materials from the top, bellows or air-pumps blew air at the bottom of the furnace. The bellows were usually water-powered, which was cheaper and allowed the furnace to run continuously for weeks. For this reason, all of the blast furnaces in North Georgia were located along creeks. To start the furnace, the crew filled it with charcoal and lit it at the top. The charcoal burned downwards gaining temperature, and once the flame got to the bottom, it was blasted with the bellows. More and more charcoal was added until the blast was hot enough to melt the iron ore. The melting point of cast iron is around 1,150°C, meaning that the furnaces ran at even higher temperatures than that (Gordon 100). The inside of the furnace is narrow at its top and widens out to a point partway up the chimney (stock) where the diameter is the greatest. When the iron ore and slag descended as they melted, expansion occurred. As they descended down the stock, the iron and slag would separate and the slag would essentially float on top of the molten iron (Gordon 101). When it reached the bottom, the slag was first run out of the furnace then the iron was run directly into molds. These molds made large bars of iron, and each was called a "pig" since the molds looked like pig feeders (Gordon 100). "Pig Iron" got its name from these pig bars. See How a Furnace Works (click on the Start button to run the animation). The "coke" in the animation is the flux and coal.
The pig iron that came from the blast furnaces was crude and not that well concentrated, so it was sold to founders who converted it to wrought iron or re-melted it. The furnace crew faced many challenges with the slag byproduct after it was expelled from the furnace. Since slag is so porous, it has a much lower density than iron. Good furnaces produced 50 tons of slag per 100 tons of iron (Gordon 167). The problem was that since the density of slag was so low, the volume of slag was greater than the volume of iron. This yielded huge amounts of slag waste, which the crew had to dump wherever possible, usually just far enough to be out of the furnace's way.
Pieces of Slag
The soil of North Georgia was near perfect for iron making with iron ore in abundance just under the topsoil. Iron is what gives Georgia's dirt a reddish color. Perhaps it was for this reason that there were so many blast furnaces in North Georgia. In Bartow County alone there were at least nine furnaces prior to the Civil War (Etowah 2). The iron industry of Bartow and North Georgia essentially started as a result of Jacob Stroup's arrival in 1836. Born in Pennsylvania, Jacob was taught his skills in ironworks by his father Adam Stroup before he moved to South Carolina and later Georgia (Bartow 1). Stroup built his first furnace in Georgia shortly after his arrival on Stamp Creek in Bartow County in 1837. Years later, this furnace was demolished and Stroup built a new one in the same location in 1844 (Bartow 1). This furnace called "Etowah Furnace" was built in 44 weeks, and was 30 feet high (Lesley 77).
Upon establishing themselves in Georgia, the Stroups essentially started the town of Etowah, which was located in the Etowah river valley--flooded a century later in the creation of Lake Allatoona. Etowah was a thriving town, officially founded in 1830, but grew in size and importance later when it was centered around milling, manufacturing, and the iron industry (Etowah Historical Society). Jacob taught his son, Moses Stroup, how to build the furnaces at an early age when they still lived and operated in South Carolina. Moses followed in his father's footsteps, and left South Carolina to come down to Georgia and work with his father. Mr. Stroupe, a modern day Stroup who uses a different spelling of the name, has done extensive research on the Stroup family, says that "Moses was the brains behind the operation," and his arrival in Georgia is what really boosted the iron-furnace building and production. Before Moses' arrival though, Jacob built another (and his last) furnace, called "Allatoona Furnace," in 22 weeks in 1844 (Lesley 76). This furnace, like "Etowah Furnace," was flooded in the creation of Lake Allatoona, and is supposedly located under Bethany Bridge at the entrance to Red Top Mountain State Park. Tom Batcha, editor of the Georgia Mineral Society's newsletter, says that he talked to an old gentleman about these two furnaces built by Jacob Stroup, that were later flooded. According to Batcha, the gentleman, (who had seen the Etowah Valley before it was flooded), said that "he never saw any signs of Allatoona Furnace...but the Etowah Furnace was still standing." Batcha went on to say that before actually flooding the river to make Lake Allatoona, "the top of the [Etowah] furnace was taken off." According to Mark Anthony Cooper in 1859 (the future owner of the furnaces), the Etowah furnace had a cupalo, and "habitually produced cast machinery and hollow ware." Other than this, little to no documentation exists on either the Etowah or the Allatoona furnace.
Soon after his arrival in Georgia, Moses built "Cooper's Furnace," originally known as "River Furnace," along the Etowah River in 1857 (Etowah Historical Society). This was the third furnace built in Bartow County, and it produced from 20 to 30 tons of pig iron per week (Etowah Historical Society). Mike Stroupe says that when Moses came down to Georgia, "he expanded on the furnaces, and built many other mills in the surrounding area." After establishing himself in the Etowah manufacturing industry, Moses bought half of the business from his father Jacob. According to Mr. Stroupe, "Moses knew what the town needed--a rolling mill, flour mill, furnaces, and so on" Moses was probably the smartest, and best, ironmaster in the country." Despite this, the Stroup business did not make any great achievements until a man named Mark Anthony Cooper bought Jacob's share of the business. Mr. Stroupe says that "Moses wanted to do a lot of 'stuff,' but it required a ton of revenue...and he wasn't good with money." This is how Mark Cooper came into the iron-making industry.
Cooper was a Major in the Seminole Indian War in 1836, a Georgia state legislator and senator, an entrepreneur, a founder of the city of Etowah, and one of the wealthiest individuals in the 1800's in Georgia. (Bartow 2). Cooper lived in North Georgia, and realized that Bartow County's mineral deposits had great potential. According to Mike Stroupe, Cooper stayed in Etowah one night during a campaign trip, met Jacob Stroup, and saw the growing business that was started. Impressed with the Stroups and their potential, he bought a portion of the business (Jacob's half). Cooper wrote a letter in 1859 to the editor of National American stating: "...we have ventured to the assertion, that the resources of northern and western Georgia, in iron ore, are superior to any portion of the Union...the best and most convenient locality for it being in Cass (Bartow) County" (gagenweb.org). And over time, he created the famous Etowah Manufacturing and Mining Company, partnered with Moses all the while. Moses' furnace and mill building abilities greatly influenced the expansion of the Etowah Manufacturing and Mining Company. At its peak, this company spread across 12,000 acres in four counties. It was the second largest corporation in the Deep South with furnaces, a forge, foundry, rolling mill, flour mill, grist mill, a sawmill, and around 500-600 laborers (Dunaway 127). This booming iron industry owned by Cooper with the technological help of Moses Stroup was essentially the iron industry in Bartow and surrounding counties. According to The Crescent Chronicle, "Other builders and investors also built iron furnaces along the Etowah River and its tributaries." The "Bartow" furnace was built on Guthrie Creek, and the "Cartersville" furnace was built near downtown Cartersville. Neither furnace was built by Moses or owned by Cooper. Also in Cherokee County, the Donalson Furnace was built around 1865 by Judge Donalson and his sons. The furnace was never used, or "put into blast." Mr. Batcha says that according to folklore, "the Confederacy was in the need for iron during the war, and working on a furnace was seen as being right up there with military service...And Judge Donalson really didn't want to see them [his boys] go into service, so he had them build a furnace."
Moses built the furnaces of "Union,""Diamond,""Pool," and "Lewis.". Moses later sold out the company to Cooper, and moved to Alabama to continue iron-furnace building (Mike Stroupe). The small town of Etowah thrived on the Manufacturing and Mining Company. But in 1864 when the Civil War was in full swing, Union troops destroyed the Etowah Manufacturing and Mining Company and all of Cooper's iron works, ending the iron industry in North Georgia (Bartow 2).
The iron industry of the South was not quite as advanced as northern iron industries like in Pennsylvania, yet its importance to society was the same. The South was always inferior to the North when it came to industrial production during this time period, since the southern economy was fueled by plantation work, slavery, and staple crops like cotton. But since iron was used in most all industrial goods and materials, the South needed methods of getting iron, no matter how primitive or crude. The ancient iron blast furnaces of North Georgia are not just important to the iron industry's history, but to the South's history of industrialization as well. Evidence of the South's industry over 150 years ago hides in the North Georgia woods in the forms of massive stone pyramids used to produce iron, one of the most important materials in history. Though finding the "hidden" furnaces is exhilarating and adventurous, these furnaces are too important to Georgia's history to be forgotten. Tom Batcha has made significant efforts to educate others on the existence and importance of the furnaces through presentations and unofficial "tours" to the furnaces. Through the research and development of this project, I too hope to provide information and inspiration to all interested in preserving the history of North Georgia.
Batcha, Tom. "Iron Furnaces of North Georgia." Telephone interview. 16 Apr. 2010.
Cashin, Edward J. "Mark Anthony Cooper: The Iron Man of Georgia: A Biography." Journal of Southern History (2002). HighBeam. Web. 8 Oct. 2009.
Cherokee County Historical Society, comp. "New Men in the Old South: Joseph E. Brown and
His Associates in Georgia's Etowah Valley." The Crescent Chronicle 10 (Nov. 2009). Print.
Stroupe, Mike. "The Stroups and Iron-making in Georgia." Telephone interview. 7 Mar. 2010.
Ziegler, Konrad. Pool Furnace. 2009. Photographs. Print.
(My dad, his friend Konrad, and I went hiking to see "Pool" furnace, and he was the only one with a camera)
