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An early photogrilph of Hallie Ensley Furnace with sand cast pig iron in the foreground. HATTIE ENSLEY FURNACE Sheffield, Colbert County Dec. 31, 1887 THE Sheffield Land, Iron and Coal Co. promoted much of the City of Sheffield in Colbert County, Alabama. This company offered free certain tracts of lands on the Tennessee River to new enterprises. One such tract of twenty acres was deeded on Oct. 1, 1887 by the above to the Sheffield Furnace Co. A blast furnace was started in 1886 and on New Year's Eve, 1887, the first blast furnace In the City of Sheffield went into operation. This stack, 75' x 17', was blown in on Pocahontas coke from Virginia and brown hematite ore from the adjoining county of Franklin. The plant was operated for only three months by the Sheffield Furnace Co. and then was sold to Enoch Ensley of Nashville, Tenn. The Lady Ensley Coal, Iron & Railroad Co. was formed and on Jan. 28, 1891 the furnace was deeded by Ensley to that company. In that deed the property is first referred to as the "Hattie Ensley." The new company acquired considerable brown hematite land in adjoining Franklin County and also the Horse Creek Coal Mine (Big Seam) in _ยท,-tf:t 75 rJ<-"- ALABAMA BLAST FURNACES Walker County. A battery of 200 beehive coke ovens was built at the mine and the coke shipped to Sheffield. Enoch Ensley died in 1891 and shortly afterward, during the Summer of 1892, the Hattie Ensley was blown out. The company was in financial trouble and on Nov. 18, 1893 the property was acquired for $70,000 by James P. Witherow of Pennsylvania, the original builder. The purchase price was credited to the claims of the Witherow Co. In 1895 the plant was leased by the Colbert Furnace Co. which operated it infrequently until 1899. In that year the newly formed SlossSheffield Steel & Iron Co. acquired a majority interest. It was not until April 6, 1903, however, that full title to the property was conveyed to the Sloss Company by a Chancery Court decree. The furnace was rebuilt in 1900 and went into blast in 1901. The Hattie Ensley operated fairly regularly until it was blown out in 1916. In 1915 a modern furnace, 81' x 18', was begun adjacent to the old hand filled Hattie Ensley No.1. The new furnace (Sloss No.5 or Hattie Ensley No.2) went into blast during 1916. This stack used the stoves, blowing engines and boiler plant of the old furnace and thus cannot be considered as a separate blast furnace. The old Hattie Ensley No. 1 was abandoned in 1916 but was not dismantled until 1926. The new Hattie Ensley No.2 continued to operate until 1926 when it was abandoned on account of unfavorable market and transportation factors. The stack was dismantled in 1931-32 at the same time the last Cole Furnace was dismantled. The Hattie Ensley Furnace was without doubt the most successful of the North Alabama furnaces. ...

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