Falling Creek is a tributary of the James River located near
Richmond, Virginia. Approximately 25 miles in length, it varies in
width between 10 feet at its source to several hundred feet in the
Falling Creek Reservoir. Falling Creek rises in the Salisbury
section of northwestern Chesterfield County and empties into the
James River roughly one mile south of the Richmond city limits. A
dam located in the Meadowbrook section of the county at Hopkins
Road forms the Falling Creek Reservoir, formerly used as northern
Chesterfield's drinking water supply.
Falling Creek Ironworks was established in 1619 by the
Virginia Company of London in Henrico Cittie on Falling Creek
near its confluence with the James River. It was the first iron
production facility in North America, although it was short-lived
due to an attack by Native Americans in 1622.
The long-lost site was rediscovered in the early 21st century.
It is now located in Chesterfield County, about 5 miles south of
the fall line of the James River at present-day Richmond, Virginia.
Archaeological and related research work at the site was ongoing as
of March 2007.
Background
The proprietary Virginia Company of London established the first
permanent English settlement in the Virginia Colony at Jamestown on
May 14, 1607. The young colony struggled for years to develop
self-sufficiency and successful exports. During the first five
years, most of the colonists died from disease, starvation, and
attacks by the Native Americans.
After 1612, non-native strains of tobacco emerged as a cash
crop, and plantations and other outposts from Jamestown spread
downstream and up the James River toward the head of navigation
(fall line) at present-day Richmond.
Site features
The geology of Virginia's terrain changes from the sandy coastal
plain of the Tidewater Region to the more hilly and rocky Piedmont
Region along the north-south fall line. At Richmond, the generally
west to east flowing James River turns almost due south and
essentially flows parallel to and just east of the fall line for
about 8 miles, before turning east again near Drewry's Bluff. On
the west bank of this section, the Piedmont terrain contained the
ore deposits needed to make iron, but was still adjacent to the
navigable portion of the James River through the Tidewater Region.
A local tributary, Falling Creek, flowed downhill into the James
River, providing the water power needed.
History: 1619-1622
Near the confluence of Falling Creek with the James River, the
colonists identified the site with the combination of ore deposits,
water power, and access to navigable waters for shipping which were
needed for their desired iron production facility. Although the
outpost was one of the most remote from Jamestown, beginning in
1619, the Falling Creek Ironworks was established there. It
was the first iron production facility in North America.
Records which have survived indicate that the ironworks was able
to produce some quantity of iron. However, from the extant records,
it cannot be determined whether the ironworks had begun full
production before operations were interrupted by the Indian
Massacre of 1622.
On March 22, 1622, a Good Friday, the Powhatan Confederacy of
Native Americans tribes under the leadership of Chief
Opechancanough conducted a series of coordinated surprise attacks
on almost all the English settlements along the James River.
Jamestown was spared only due to a timely warning. The massacre
resulted in the death of about a third of the colonists. There were
27 killed at Falling Creek Ironworks, leaving only two
colonists alive, and the facilities were destroyed. Sir Thomas
Dale's progressive development a few miles downstream at Henricus
was also wiped out.
Later attempts to restore the ironworks were unsuccessful, and
the exact site itself eventually became lost.
Rediscovery, ongoing work
The exact site of the Falling Creek Ironworks was unknown
until relatively recently. According to an article in the Richmond
Times-Dispatch newspaper on January 20, 2007, the heavy rains in
the late summer of 2006 apparently eroded the creek bank and
uncovered timbers of the furnace which were part of the structure.
Early in 2007, a Chesterfield County Department of Utilities
employee, who is also an amateur archaeologist, spotted them.
According to the article, "The rest of the furnace is believed to
be buried in the creek bank."
The location of the ironworks has long been suspected. A number
of limited archaeological excavations and surveys were conducted by
the Archaeological Society of Virginia, The College of William and
Mary, Browning and Associates, LTD., and others. The location of
the blast furnace was only confirmed in 1999 when Archaeo-Physics,
LLC (working with Browning and Associates) did a comprehensive
geophysical survey. A large magnetic anomaly consistent with the
fired hearth of a blast furnace was located. In addition a number
of other features were identified (probably buildings related to
either the Falling Creek Ironworks or Archibald Cary's
1750-81 Forge).
As of March 2007, the Falling Creek Ironworks Foundation and
Chesterfield County (which now owns the site) is in the process of
having the timber which was recently exposed in the eroded creek
bank dated using a process called dendrochronology. An excavation
is planned to more fully expose the timbers and possibly the blast
furnace itself.
ONE FINAL
NOTE
The Land Manager has asked me to stress that the site along
the creek is undeveloped and not open to the public. This refers to
the area inside the fence.
Please do not enter this
area. As noted in the previous section of this cache page,
further deveopment is planned in the near future to further enrich
the park. Changing this a bit after all this time. The Land
Manager was talking about not going past the gate near the actual
foundry site, which is across Jeff Davis Hwy and behind the auto
parts store. I would still recommend you use care should you go
inside the fence.
Logging your find
Please note that this site is only available from 6:00am to
9:00pm.
To get credit for visiting this Earthcache, you must:
- Post a photo of yourself with the ironworks behind you. If you
can't take a photo of yourself, hold your GPSr in front of you and
take a photo of your unit in front of the ironworks. DO NOT
INCLUDE ANY HISTORICAL MARKERS OR SIGNS IN YOUR PHOTOS!
- E-mail me the answer to the following questions:
-
- What is the inscription on the plaque at the posted
coordinates?
- What was the name of the town at this site, and what historical
event happened to it on April 30, 1781?
- TO CLAIM FTF: Find the two side-by-side historical
marker signs nearby. I have placed a magnet on the pole of the
marker with the higher sign number (placed in 2005), just below
where the sign attaches to the pole. Please take the magnet with
you and claim your FTF.