Cedar Creek Furnace (Alabama Iron Works)

Cedar Creek Furnace (Alabama Iron Works)

Franklin County, Russellville, Cedar Creek Furnace

Cedar Creek Furnace is a blast furnace located on a site near Russellville, Alabama. Joseph Heslip, a native of Pennsylvania, acquired the property around 1811 and used slave labor to construct the furnace. In 1820, a cholera outbreak killed Heslip and many of the furnace operators. In November 1825, the site was put up for auction and was purchased by Aaron Wells. Like Heslip, Wells was an ironmaker and operated the site for two years before he sold it to Robert Napier. From 1832 to 1836, the furnace operated until the creek near the site flooded. The floodwater extinguished the furnace and hardened the metal, making the furnace useless. Cedar Creek Furnace was the first iron ore furnaces in Alabama.

Dylan Tucker, University of North Alabama

"National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. Accessed June 1, 2015.

Alabama Cultural Resource Survey

1818

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