Cedar Creek Furnace, place in Alabama listed on National Register of Historic Places
Cedar Creek Furnace is a historic iron smelting site located near Russellville in Franklin County, Alabama. The facility consisted of a limestone furnace standing about 15 feet (4.5 m) high, lined with custom-made bricks, along with a warehouse on the riverbank, an overseer's house, and a small cemetery with roughly a dozen graves.
Joseph Dilliard established the site in 1815 to process iron ore from the surrounding area, initially fueling the operation with charcoal from nearby forests. The furnace changed hands several times and continued operation under various managers until around 1863, possibly due to flooding or wartime circumstances.
The site sits in a rural setting north of Russellville and is accessible by local roads through open farmland. Since the furnace stands on private property, visitors should check access arrangements beforehand.
Iron produced here was shipped down the Tennessee River to New Orleans and even exported to Europe, demonstrating the site's importance to early American trade. Dr. John Henry Dilliard, a later owner, left behind diaries that provide detailed accounts of life during the Civil War in the region.
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