Oct. 11, 2010
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A visit to a local piece of history
The Out-of-Towner This month I thought tell you about a local historical site in Cherokee County I checked out recently. I first stumbled across the Cornwall Furnace on the Internet, by accident. I'm not entirely sure how or where, but I knew I had never heard of it, and neither had anyone I knew. It was a mystery, and naturally, I was hooked. It turns out that my brain was on history overload and I was telling people about Stonewall Furnace, not Cornwall Furnace. Once I managed to finally get the name right, I still found it hard to find much information on Cornwall Furnace. Luckily, I was able to contact Jason Clowdis of the Cherokee County Historical Society. Not only did he offer to show me around “Stonewall” Furnace, but with the help of Jim Lewis and David Crum, I have learned a great deal about Cornwall Furnace and that time in American history. I'm not sure what I expected the furnace to look like, and I admit I had no clue what purpose the furnace had. Maybe I imagined that it involved rows of corn and a little furnace to keep warm by. Sounds silly, but at least that image helped me remember it was named Cornwall, not “Stonewall”. I was absolutely amazed when I drove to Cedar Bluff and saw Cornwall for the first time. I expected the furnace to be large, but it has to be nearly 30 feet tall! Even more surprising was the fact that what remains is only a portion of what the furnace once was. The Noble Brothers & Co. (John Noble Sr. was originally from Cornwall, England, thus the name for the furnace) was commissioned by the Confederate government to build the cold-blast furnace. A canal had to be built from the Chattooga River and a tunnel dug through a ridge behind the furnace. The water then channeled off the Chattooga, ran through the tunnel, and dropped 18 feet onto the waterwheel that powered the air blast for the furnace, which could reach over 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Iron ore, limestone, and charcoal were fed through the top of the giant stack of stones. The trees for burning were supplied by the 15,000 acres purchased by the Noble family, and nearly three-fourths of an acre were be used each day. Running at full capacity it is estimated that 6-8 tons of iron (used for munitions) were be produced on a typical day. There would have been several other buildings built around the furnace, along with a huge bridge that would take workers to the top of the furnace in order to feed the furnace the iron ore, limestone, and charcoal. Sadly, no one has any pictures of what the furnace originally looked like. After being rebuilt after a hit by Union troops, a blowout, and a collapse, the furnace was put out of production. The ownership of the furnace has changed hands often, but thanks to the Historical Society the furnace has been listed on the National Registry. It would be wonderful to see any kind of photo to know just how Cornwall looked in her prime, and if anyone has any photos or accurate drawings they would be willing to share please let the Cherokee County Historical Society know. There is so much more history to Cornwall, but I believe that everyone should get an opportunity to see and experience it on their own. There are people in this county with overwhelming knowledge of this area and history. I had a wonderful experience and I would like to thank Jason, Jim, and David for their help and willingness to share with me. Send column suggestions and other ideas to susan.bradley1982@yahoo.com. |