Alabama Blast Furnaces

Little Cahaba Furnaces: (Known also as Brighthope Furnace and Browne's Dam Furnace) On Little Cahaba River, Bibb County

Little Cahaba Furnace No.2. built about 1863. adjacent to No.1 Furnace in Bibb County. LITTLE CAHABA FURNACE (Known also as Brighthope Furnace and Browne's Dam Furnace) On Little Cahaba River, Bibb County Little Cahaba No. 1 About 1848 Little Cahaba No. 2 About 1863 HISTORY of the Little Cahaba Iron Works is largely lost in the mists of the past. One of the oldest furnaces of the state, it is nevertheless one which has left little authentic data on its operations. It is a matter of record, however, that on Sept. 2, 1846 William Phineas Browne entered land in Bibb County as "SW% SW% of Sec. 13, Township 24, Range 10 East," on which the furnace was built. Later Browne entered -"~97 ~.- ALABAMA BLAST FURNACES more land surrounding this area on which were small surface deposits of brown hematite ore and an abundance of wood for charcoal. About 1848 a stone furnace stack was built on the north bank of the Little Cahaba River. Upstream about 150 yards a dam was constructed and a flume built to the furnace to supply the power for the blowing tubs. Behind the stack was a hill and a wooden trestle connected the two for the purpose of charging the furnace. It is known that Wm. P. Browne built the dam in 1847 but definite proof as to when the furnace went into operation is lacking. Brown'e himself was not an iron-master; he was one of the original owners and operators of the Montevallo Coal Mines. It is most probable that J. Newton Smith, a local iron-master, was his partner. A letter written to Browne, dated Nov. 12, 1853, signed by P. Webb, says in part: "I have left at the furnace some 1200 or 1500 pounds of the oar which I hope you have tested more effectually. It is high time we should know the value of the oar." From this letter it is evident that the furnace was in blast prior to that date. It is probable that this furnace was idle for a long period prior to the Civil War. J. P. Lesley in his directory of 1858 lists a forge on the Little Cahaba River but makes no mention of a blast furnace. Sometime during the Civil War, however, the property was leased by W. L. Ward and Co. and a contract was signed with the Confederate Government . A second and larger stack was built within a few yards of the older furnace and this is listed by the Nitre and Mining Bureau as being in blast in 1864. This same report indicates that Ward operated a forge in connection with the furnace. Output of this furnace was probably shipped to the Confederate Arsenal at Selma. Among the papers of William P. Browne who owned the land on which the "iron works" stood, was found the original plans of the little stone stack. These gave the total height of the furnace as 20', bosh 8'-10V2", hearth 2'. The second and larger stack was about 29' high and 71/ 2 ' in the bosh. Available evidence indicates that the Little Cahaba Iron Works was destroyed by Gen. Wilson at the same time the Bibb Iron Works was burned in April 1865. Until a very few years ago these furnace remains were the best preserved in the state. For many years after the plant had been abandoned the old forge hammer could be seen at the furnace site. Quite recently, however, the old stones were moved away by a saw mill operator for use as a boiler setting and the last trace of this early iron maker was virtually destroyed. -,o~~1 98 r~+o,- LITTLE CAHABA FURNACE / / eft I Original plan of first Little Cahaba Furnace, drawn about 1846. This is the oldest Alabama blast furnace plan known to exist. ...