Details for Texas Civil War Iron Works

Historical Marker — Atlas Number 5073006825

Data

Marker Number 6825
Atlas Number 5073006825
Marker Title Texas Civil War Iron Works
Index Entry Civil War Iron Works, Texas
Address US 79
City Jacksonville
County Cherokee
UTM Zone 15
UTM Easting 274369
UTM Northing 3532643
Subject Codes Civil War; military topics
Marker Year 1965
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark No
Marker Location About 8 miles west of Jacksonville on US 79. On south side, west of CR 3223 and Walnut Branch.
Private Property No
Marker Condition In Situ
Marker Size 18" x 28"
Marker Text To make farm and kitchen tools need in wartime, Chapel Hill Manufacturing Co. in 1863 set up plant on this site, processing native iron; used Cherokee limestone to purify the ore. Nearby hardwood supplied charcoal. Crew included 100 Louisiana slaves. Ore from hilltop was fed through smokestack into furnaces on lower ground. Slag caught in furnace grates. Melted iron fell through and was cast into molds. Plant had associated sawmills, brickyards and commissary -- freighting goods from Mexico. By the 1880's, at least 16 iron works operated in east Texas.

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