Lee & Gould Furnace EarthCache
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Parking for 2 vehicles is available adjacent to furnace on the roadside pull-out.
Iron. The very word brings images of fire and steel. Only man has bent fire to his bidding, using the destructive power of the primal flame to transform raw ore into iron and steel. Wrenched fresh from the earth, using alchemy and science, man has established the ability to create wondrous items from iron ore. From plowshares to armour and sword, from cast iron stoves to skyscrapers and bridges, the advancement of mankind is inextricably linked to fire and steel.
Production of iron has existed for centuries. Archaeologists have identified iron production sites throughout the world, including Africa, the civilizations of Greece and Rome, China, Japan, and all of Europe. There are some theories suggesting that the early Norsemen may have journeyed the United States in search of iron ore deposits. The tomb of the Pharaoh in ancient Egypt contained an iron dagger - a clear indication of its value within the ancient world. From Rome to Napoleon, nations and empires have been built from the power of steel.
At the same time, we must remember that these were important sources of manufacturing. Fortunes were made and lost by people with the courage to follow a dream and build their own businesses. Entire families lived in communities surrounding the furnaces, creating thriving social structures. Whenever we visit an iron furnace, it must be remembered that countless individuals lived, worked, and sometimes died at these sites. Iron furnaces ran twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, for many months on end. The roar and fire heat were continuous, while the furnace cast an eerie glow that could light up the night for a considerable area. Smoke from the charcoal production hung in the air, while the hills and dales surrounding the furnace were stripped bare of trees. Being near a furnace town meant co-existing with a living inferno - a terrible beast, partly tamed, that would produce the desired transformation of ore to iron at a price - one paid in earth and blood.
Throughout the eastern seaboard, there are historical structures dotting the woods and hills. These structures are iron furnaces, which were used to convert iron ore to pig iron. From the colonial furnaces of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New England poured the iron that founded a nation. At the turn of the century, the Hanging Rock Iron Region (HRIR) of southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky produced most of the iron in the United States. Further south, the smelting furnaces and iron forges exist throughout West Virginia, Virginia, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and other states.
One of the furnaces that was in Tennessee was the Lee & Gould Furnace (Circa 1833). This was the basis of a huge ironworks industry that employed many Hickman county residents. It originally covered over 140 acres. Only the outside walls of the furnace are visible today. This site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
To log this EarthCache you must:
1. Submit a photo of yourself with your GPS and the furnace in the background.
2. Answer these questions:
a. Estimate the height on the walls that remain.
b. Name the raw materials in the area that were needed to produce iron.
c. When was operation ceased here
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)