Old Airdrie Ironworks
Posted by: 
regnad
N 37° 16.799 W 086° 59.068
16S E 501376 N 4125932
Near the village of Paradise, 12 miles northeast of Greenville, stands this vine-covered furnace stack erected by Sir Robert Alexander, a Kentucky-born descendant of a titled Scottish family
Waymark Code: WM6X
Location: Kentucky, United States
Date Posted: 08/17/2005
Views: 203
The Airdrie Ironworks is an outstanding example of mid-19th century engineering and craftsmanship. Near the village of Paradise, 12 miles northeast of Greenville, stands this vine-covered furnace stack erected by Sir Robert Alexander, a Kentucky-born descendant of a titled Scottish family. Young Alexander purchased 17,000 acres of land lying along Green River where a large deposit of native iron ore had been discovered. He brought over from Scotland a number of miners and furnace men to help develop the area. They built houses for the workmen and erected this large, cylindrical iron-stack, 50 feet high, resting on a 26-foot square stone base, 20 feet high, together with a huge, three-story sandstone building to house the machinery for the furnace blast and rolling mills.
Several unsuccessful attempts were made to run the furnace. The Scottish workmen were unfamiliar with Kentucky metallurgical practices; the ore required a different treatment from that found in Scotland. After spending more than $300,000 without being able to produce a pound of salable iron, "Lord Alexander" abandoned the project is disgust and retired to a large Blue Grass farm he and purchased in Woodford County. The town of Airdrie was short-lived; and in a few years all the houses, stores and the settlement's two-story hotel were in ruins. Today, only this ancient stone stack marks the site of a century-old fiasco.
Peabody Coal Company owns and operates thousands of acres of strip mines in Muhlenberg County. The town of Paradise was once located around the Airdrie Furnace. It is the only building left in the town memorialized by these lines in John Prine's song Paradise: "Daddy won't you take me to Muhlenberg County, down on the Green River where Paradise lay? I'm sorry my son, but you're too late in askin; Mr. Peabody's Coal Company done hauled it away ... Well, sometimes we'd travel right down the Green River, To the abandoned old prison down by Aidrie Hill."
Website: Not listed
Dates of Operation: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
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