Tannehill Iron Furnace Earthcache
General Information:
Tannehill State Historical Park is open all year generally from sunrise to sunset. The Visitor Center is open 8:00am to 4:30pm Monday thru Saturday and 12:30 to 4:30 on Sunday. The Iron and Steel Museum is open the same hours as the visitor Center except for being closed on Monday. The park has restrooms, camping, general store, rental cabins, and hiking trails. There are a number of other geocaches in the park.
Admission fees are:
$5 for Adults (12 years and older)
$4 for Seniors (62 and older)
$3 for Children (ages 6 to 11) ages 5 and under are free
History of Tannehill Furnace:
Daniel Hillman, a Pennsylvania furnaceman, first built a bloomery forge on the banks of Roupes Creek in 1830, where he had found the richest deposits of brown Hematite ore in his experience. In 1859 to 1862, noted southern ironmaster Moses Stroup, built three blast furnaces that we see today. After the start of the Civil War, the Confederate Government funded the completion of the furnaces. The three charcoal blast furnaces at Tannehill could produce 22 tons of pig iron a day, most of which was shipped to the Naval Gun Works and Arsenal at Selma, Alabama. The Tannehill iron furnaces and its adjacent foundry, where kettles and hollow-ware were cast for southern troops, were attacked and burnt by three companies of the U.S. 8th Iowa Cavalry on March 31, 1865 during Wilson's Raid. The 8th Iowa Cavalry was led by Captain William A. Sutherland. The success of the Tannehill Furnaces during the Civil War lead to the development of the steel industry in Birmingham, Alabama.
Why Build The Furnaces Here At Tannehill:
Hillman and then Stroup built the Iron Furnaces because everything needed to smelt Iron Ore could be found here naturally.
The red rock you are standing on here is Hematite Iron Ore. The Hematite found here at Tannehill is a high grade of iron ore that is made of 67% Iron.
There are deposits of high grade coal at Tannehill and at nearby mines that was used to make Coke. Coal was slowly cooked by burning charcoal to make Coke. Coke was needed in the smelting of the Iron Ore into ingots of wrought iron.
Limestone was mined in the park. Limestone is used to remove impurities from the iron ore in the smelting process
Sandstone blocks were carved from nearby hills to build the furnaces.
Fast flowing water source of Roupes Creek was used to power the blowers for the furnaces.
An abundance of hardwood trees was needed to make charcoal to provide a heat source for the furnaces. The Tannehill area has an abundance of hardwood trees.
How The Iron Furnaces Worked:
As can be seen in the diagram below, charcoal was stacked in the bottom of the furnace. The Limestone, Coke, and Iron Ore were successively layered into the furnace stack. The charcoal was lit, which began to heat the stack. Water from nearby Roupes Creek turned a water wheel which powered an air blower to the charcoal. The intense heat in the stack began to melt the iron ore in the stack. The Limestone removed impurities such as sulfur from the iron. Eventually the purified iron would settle in the bottom of the furnace and was drawn off. The melted silica in the iron ore became a greenish colored glass waste product called slag. Slag can be seen everywhere on the ground near the furnace and hiking trails in the park.
To Claim Credit For A FIND Of This Earthcache, email or message me the answers to the following questions. Regrettably, any Found Log will be deleted without sending me reasonably correct answers to the questions below. Please Title your Email Tannehill Iron Furnace Earthcache.
Questions:
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See the text above.What are six natural resources that are necessary to smelt Iron Ore that can be found here or very near the Tannehill Iron Furnaces?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
2. How many tons of Iron Ingots were produced daily by the furnaces?
3. What is the width and height of the center walk thru between Furnace 2 and 3?
4. At the NE corner of Furnace 1, how many layers of sandstone blocks are there from top to
bottom?
5. What is the purpose of the large iron pipe that surrounds Furnace 1? What powered it?
6. Optional: Take and post a pic of yourself and / or your group.
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Successfully logging this Earthcache is worth 7 Points at the nearby Civil War 150 Challenge cache.