Alabama Blast Furnaces

Stonewall Furnace: (Known also as Langdon Furnace) Cherokee County, near Rock Run

STONEWALL FURNACE (Known also as Langdon Furnace) Cherokee County, near Rock Run 1873 H. D. COTHRAN of Rome, Georgia organized the Stonewall Iron Co. in 1872 and began erection of a small blast furnace on the main line of the Selma, Rome and Dalton Railroad about three miles from the Georgia state line in the County of Cherokee. This furnace was one of the first iron shell stacks in the state, 40' high and 11' in the bosh, with a daily capacity of 15 tons. Brown hematite ore was obtained within a few miles of the plant in both Alabama and Georgia and hauled to the furnace in wagons. The charcoal was supplied from the surrounding forests. Stonewall furnace was blown in during 1873 but due to the severe panic of that year, the plant was shut down after operating for only a short time. Late in 1875 the property was acquired by J. W. Bones who put the furnace into blast early in 1876. The furnace did not operate regularly but only during periods of high pig iron prices. In 1879 W. H. Harrison leased the furnace. A closed top was installed but the furnace was not otherwise altered. Coke instead of charcoal was used as fuel. At that time Alabama was producing scarcely enough coke to supply the other four coke furnaces of the state, hence it is probable that the coke supply for Stonewall was obtained from sources outside the state. Within less than a year, however, operations were suspended. It is interesting to note that this East Alabama furnace was one of the very first users of coke in the state despite its location far from a coal field. In 1882 the property was leased again and another attempt was made to operate, this time using charcoal. Once again the furnace was blown out after a short run. The Stonewall Furnace was idle from 1882 until 1890. In 1885 the plant was classified as "abandoned." In 1889, however, the Langdon Iron Co. was formed and the furnace was entirely rebuilt. The stack was enlarged to 46' x 11 1 /2' and the capacity doubled to 13,500 tons annually. The new stack went into blast in May 1890 making "warm blast charcoal car wheel iron." A blowing engine of the "walking beam" type was employed. This engine was very similar in design to those in use on river steamers of that day. The piston had a very long stroke and worked in a large -,o+~f 132 r~+o,- STONEWALL FURNACE wooden cylinder, lubricated with a form of home-made lye soap, which, due to the heat of friction, crystalized into a substance resembling glass. The Stonewall plant was shut down in the Spring of 1893 and was never operated again. In 1894 the Alabama Ore and Railroad Co. acquired the property and mined some ore but did not attempt to run the furnace. Eventually" in 1896, the National Bank of Augusta took over the property and offered it for sale. Some time between 1899 and 1901 the plant was dismantled., During the 27 years of the furnace's existence, it did not operate for more than four or five years. The Stonewall, like a number of other furnaces, must be classified as a fair weather operation. ...