Shelby Iron Company

The Shelby Iron Company was an iron manufacturing company that operated an ironworks in Shelby, Alabama. The iron company produced iron for the Confederate States of America and was destroyed towards the end of the American Civil War. The company continued to produce iron until the early part of the 20th century.

History

The genesis of Shelby Iron Works (also known as Shelby Iron Company) dates back to December 29, 1842, when Horace Ware was able to purchase land south of Columbiana, AL from Green B. and Sara Seale. Today this site is known as the town of Shelby, Alabama. Horace Ware was also able to acquire timberland and hematite ore properties throughout Shelby County. With the acquisition of these materials Horace Ware began to build a cold blast iron furnace. The Shelby Iron Works Company started with meager beginnings by only producing 5 tons of cold blast iron a day because of its capacity. The lone furnace stack was built out of brick and stone and only stood 30 feet high. During the American Civil War, iron plating from the iron works was used on the CSS ''Tennessee'', CSS ''Huntsville'', and CSS ''Tuscaloosa'', and in making cannons and shells manufactured by Churchill and Sons in Columbiana. The ironworks was connected to Columbiana by the Shelby Iron Company Railroad, which allowed the iron works to be connected to the Alabama and Tennessee River Railroad. A detachment of General Emory Upton's division of Wilson's Raiders destroyed the ironworks on March 31, 1865.

Gallery

File:Shelby Iron Works smoke stack.jpg, The remaining smoke stack from the machine shop.
File:Brick cistern at Shelby Iron Works Park.jpg, A large, brick-lined cistern.
File:Brick foundations of blast ovens at Shelby Iron Works Park.jpg, Brick foundations of the blast furnaces.
File:Brick retaining wall at Shelby Iron Works.jpg, A large brick retaining wall behind the site of the blast furnaces.
File:Remnants of Chemical Plant at Shelby Iron Works Park.jpg, Concrete skeleton of the building operated by the Shelby Chemical Company to make wood alcohol from charcoal during World War I.
File:EXTERIOR VIEW, LOOKING NORTHEAST, WITH CONCRETE-CLAD STRUCTURAL FRAME. - Shelby Iron Works, Structural Framing, Chemical Plant No. 1, County Road 42, Shelby, Shelby County, AL HAER ALA,59-SHEL,1C-1.tif, Chemical plant structure
File:Interior of Shelby Chemical Company remnants.jpg, Interior of the remnants of the chemical plant.
File:EXTERIOR VIEW, OBLIQUE PERSPECTIVE, LOOKING NORTHEAST ALONG SHELBY COUNTY 42, WITH FRONT AND SIDE ELEVATIONS. - Shelby Iron Works, Shelby Hotel, County Road 42, Shelby, Shelby HAER ALA,59-SHEL,1B-1.tif, Shelby Hotel
File:EXTERIOR VIEW, LOOKING SOUTHEAST - Shelby Iron Works, Iron Master's House, County Road 42, Shelby, Shelby County, AL HAER ALA,59-SHEL,1A-2 (CT).tif, Iron Master's House
File:EXTERIOR VIEW, LOOKING NORTHWEST OF LAKE, A FORMER BROWN ORE MINING PIT - Shelby Iron Works, Chain Gang (Blue) Hole Lake, County Road 42, Shelby, Shelby County, AL HAER ALA,59-SHEL,1D-2 (CT).tif, Blue Hole Lake (former brown iron ore mining pit)
File:Memorial at Shelby Iron Works Park.jpg, Memorial honoring Confederate soldiers and workers.
File:Monument at Shelby Iron Works Park.jpg, Reverse of memorial listing Confederate units that included soldiers from Shelby County, Alabama

See also

* Birmingham District
* Brierfield Furnace
* Tannehill Ironworks

References

External links

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*Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) documentation, filed under Shelby, Shelby County, AL:
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{{Coord, 33.1121, -86.5946, type:landmark_region:US-AL, display=title

Museums in Shelby County, Alabama
Blast furnaces in the United States
Historic American Engineering Record in Alabama
History museums in Alabama
Wilson's Raid
Ironworks and steel mills in Alabama
Alabama in the American Civil War
Parks in Alabama
Industrial buildings and structures in Alabama