Existing comment:
The iron industry was Clarksville's gateway to America's Industrial Revolution
Iron Industry: Furnaces & Forges:
Iron furnaces in Montgomery County, dating from 1805 and fueled by an abundant timber supply, were part of the largest concentration of furnaces in the South. Fortunes were made in profitable pig iron production attributable to at least eight local furnaces. In 1852, Louisa Furnace produced 1,800 tons of pig iron and Montgomery Furnace produced 1,700 tons.
Forges and foundries converted pig iron into agricultural implements, railroad and steamboat parts, and items for home use. Whitfield, Bradley and Company (known today as Clarksville Foundry), produced complex castings such as cannon, iron balls and shot. |