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CEDAR CREEK FURNACE (Known also as Alabama Iron Works, Old Napier) Franklin County, near Russellville 1815 I N 1815 the armies of Napoleon were defeated on the field of Waterloo and a semblance of peace was restored to a war weary Europe. On January 8, 1815, the makeshift army of Kentucky and Tennessee volunteers under Gen. Andrew Jackson defeated the British at New Orleans in the last battle of the War of 1812. Some time during that memorable year, the first blast furnace was built in what is now Alabama. A young Pennsylvania iron-master, Joseph Heslip, left his native state in 1812 and journeyed South into Tennessee. There for a time he engaged in the iron business with a kinsman by marriage, Anthony Wayne Van Lier, then again moved South. The exact date on which Heslip blew in his furnace is unknown, but one of Heslip's children was born at the Cedar Creek Iron Works in 1815 and is thus recorded in the family Bible. It was not until 1818 that Joseph Heslip bought clear title to his lands from the government at $2.00 an acre. The little stone furnace was built about 5 miles west of what is now Russellville in the Chickasaw Cession of the Mississippi Territory, now Franklin County, Ala. The plant, of necessity, had to be as nearly selfsupporting as possible and consisted of a forge, saw-mill and grist-mill. The furnace was of the conventional style, a frustum of a pyramid, the base approximately 30' x 30', the top 25' x 25' and height 25'. Superimposed was a brick draft stack about 25' high making an overall "height of about 50'. The stack was built of hand hewn stone and lined with hand made brick of local clay. From the evidence of other early iron-makers it is safe to assume that a major portion of the work was performed by slaves. Brown limonite ore of the Lafayette formation was found on the surface site and hauled to the plant by wagon. The surrounding wilderness supplied an abundance of cheap wood which was converted to charcoal in pits and used as the furnace fuel. In 1820 a plague, cholera it is supposed, swept the little community and caused the temporary abandonment of the property. Some authorities claim that the furnace was idle until 1822 when it was bought by Aaron Wells of Tennessee. It is more likely, however, that Wells purchased the plant on December 5, 1824, pursuant to a court sale as advertised in The Tuscumbian of Oct. 8, 1824, as follows: _oo~~t 54.rs+-oo- CEDAR CREEK FURNACE "The Tuscumbian" Oct. 8, 1824 Iron Works For Sale "On Monday, the 5th day of December next, at the Alabama Iron Works, in Franklin County, State of Alabama, we will in pursuance of an order from the county court of said county, proceed to sell to the highest bidder, on a credit of one, two and three years, sixteen and one-half quarter sections of LAND, lying in Russell's Valley, on which is 9- furnace of the largest size and best construc... tion, a FORGE, SAW-MILL and GRIST MILL. On said land is an inexhaustible quantity of IRON ORE, rich and of good quality, very convenient to the furnace. The purchaser or purchasers will be required to give bond and approved security." It is probable that the furnace was held by Heslip until his death, at the age of 41 in 1824. For two years the plant was operated by Wells, then purchased by Dr. Robert Napier of Tennessee. When the Cedar Creek furnace was permanently abandoned is a subject of controversy. There is proof that it operated during the year 1828 and one source says that it was in blast in 1837 but ceased during that year. Even the cause of abandonment is uncertain; some contending that the high cost of production and lack of transportation was the reason, and others that collapse of the stack was the cause. At first the iron was cast in hollow-ware, fire dogs, and other domestic implements, as well as "pig-bars" for the smithy trade. The product was hauled throughout the surrounding countryside and sold or bartered to the farmers and smithies. Later when steam boats began to ply the Tennessee River a portion of the iron was shipped to New Orleans and transhipped to Liverpool, England where it commanded a price of $200.00 a ton. Depending on...

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