Palmyra Furnace Traditional Geocache
The Seanachai: While we feel that Geocaching.com should hold the location for you for a reasonable amount of time, we cannot do so indefinitely. In light of the lack of communication regarding this cache it has been archived to free up the area for new placements. If you haven’t done so already, please pick up this cache or any remaining bits as soon as possible. Please note that geocaches archived by a reviewer or Geocaching HQ for lack of maintenance are not eligible for unarchival.
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An easy to find Micro designed to bring the finder to a little known area of Tennessee and a little known piece of local history. There is no need to go beyond the No Trespassing signs to find this cache.
This cache gives the finder a view of the ruins of the Palmyra Furnace. Iron furnaces, such as this one which was the first recorded such furnace in Montgomery County, and the second in the Highland Rim Iron Belt, were crucial to the early economy of Tennessee. This one was built around 1799, and operated until several years after the War of Northern Aggression (which is called the Civil War up north).
The furnace was around 40 feet tall, and was built like a pyramidal tower with the interior fashioned to withstand extremely high temperatures. The hearth was made of sandstone and the exterior usually made of huge limestone rocks which would absorb some of the pressure and support the interior. An opening was left at the top, called the "bosh," for adding proper amounts of limestone, ore and charcoal which produced the pig iron when heated to high temperatures. There was an opening at the base for the bellows, usually powered by running water and the reason why most of these furnaces were located near rivers or fast running streams. Another opening at the base was called the tap hole, where molten iron ran onto the casting floor for molding. The iron came out in large chunks called called "sows" and smaller chunks called "pigs" because it looked like a mother sow feeding her pigs. Impurities, called "slag" were run off into a pit, where they cooled and hardened. Remains of these slag pits can still be found in many areas where these type of furnaces flourished.
By 1832, the iron produced in TN was equal to that produced in Sweden, the world leader at the time. In 1840, Tennessee ranked third in iron production in the nation. By the beginning of the War of Northern Aggression, the Tennessee furnaces had turned towards producing war goods, and as such were a prime target for destruction by the invading Northern Troops. The Palmyra Furnace was spared total destruction, and managed to limp on for a few years producing iron for local use, until the cost of production made it unfeasable to continue in operation.
From the cache, you can see the remains of the furnace, and perhaps you can imagine all the activity as the products were fed into the top and heated and quickly worked by the ironmongers into the various shapes and products for shipment up and down the Cumberland river. The noise of the furnace, the ring of tools working the cooling iron, the shouts of the men, the whistles of the river boats are long gone, and the remains of the furnace now look out on a local favorite fishing hole where many of us come early in the morning for some peace and tranquility.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)