Dunlap coke ovens facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Dunlap coke ovens
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| Location | Hickory Street and Cordell Road in Dunlap, Tennessee |
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| Area | 6 acres (2.4 ha) |
| Built | 1902, 1906, 1916 |
| NRHP reference No. | 85001489 |
| Added to NRHP | 1985 |
The Dunlap coke ovens are old structures near Dunlap, Tennessee, in the United States. They are the remains of a factory that made a special fuel called coke. This fuel comes from heating coal.
These ovens were built in the early 1900s. They had five groups, or "batteries," of 268 ovens. Different companies used them until the early 1920s. Today, the ovens are on the National Register of Historic Places. The Sequatchie Valley Historical Society takes care of them. They are part of the Dunlap Coke Ovens Park.
The steel industry grew a lot during the Industrial Revolution. This meant a huge need for coke. Coke was mainly used to make pig iron, a basic type of iron. The Dunlap coke factory turned coal from Fredonia Mountain into coke. This coke went to factories in nearby Chattanooga, Tennessee. The coke ovens brought big changes to Dunlap. Before, people mostly farmed to feed themselves. The ovens brought new jobs and modern ways. The ovens are the only parts left of the old factory. But the historical society has made the area a public park and museum.
Where Are the Dunlap Coke Ovens?
The Sequatchie Valley is a long, narrow valley. It is part of the Cumberland Plateau in the south. Dunlap is the main town in Sequatchie County, Tennessee. It sits near the middle of this valley. The sides of the Plateau rise about 1,000 feet (300 m) above the valley floor. The Sequatchie River flows through the valley.
Fredonia Mountain is part of the western valley wall. It rises steeply a few miles west of Dunlap. The Dunlap Coke Ovens are at the bottom of Fredonia Mountain. They are next to a stream called Coops Creek. You can find the ovens and the park on Mountain View Road. This is just under a mile west of downtown Dunlap.
How the Dunlap Ovens Made Coke
The Dunlap coke ovens have five groups, called "batteries." Four of these are "double" batteries. This means ovens are built back-to-back. One is a "single" battery, resting against a hill.
Each battery is about 9 feet (2.7 m) tall and 35 feet (11 m) wide. Their lengths vary from 180 feet (55 m) to 725 feet (221 m). The biggest battery has 100 ovens built back-to-back. The smallest has 24. The single battery has 38 ovens and is 580 feet (180 m) long. All batteries sit on a clay base.
The ovens themselves are 12 feet (3.7 m) wide. They have sandstone on the outside and firebrick inside. Each oven has an opening at the top and a small "window" on the side. In the early 1900s, train tracks ran over the top of each battery. A special railway carried coal from a mine up the mountain. Train cars would then dump the coal into the top openings of the ovens.
The Coking Process
To make coke, a worker would spread out the coal through the side window. Once the coal was ready, the side window was sealed with clay. A tiny 1-inch (2.5 cm) opening was left for air. This process heats bituminous coal in a closed space. It removes unwanted gases from the coal. The whole process took about 72 hours.
When it was done, the clay seal was broken. The coke was taken out. Then it was put on a train. It went to an iron factory in Chattanooga. Usually, two tons of coal made one ton of coke.
History of the Dunlap Coke Ovens
Trains arrived in the 1880s. This led to big coal mining in the southern Cumberland Plateau. Coal was first dug from Fredonia Mountain in 1899. But it was too soft for home use.
Early Companies
In 1900, the Douglas Coal and Coke Company bought land. They planned to mine coal and make coke. By 1902, Douglas had built the first 50 coke ovens. They also opened coal mines and built the special railway. The company even built a town for its workers. It had a store and a clubhouse. But the company had problems with workers. They also struggled to clean the dirt from the coal. In 1904, Douglas stopped working.
The Chattanooga Iron and Coal Company bought the Douglas operation in 1905. The next year, they built a steam-powered coal washer. They also built more coke ovens. This company owned rock quarries in Georgia. They also had a large furnace in Chattanooga. There, they used coke from Dunlap to turn iron ore into pig iron. This business made money until 1916. Then, a boiler exploded and ruined their coal washer.
The company built a new washer and more ovens that year. But the new washer was costly and didn't work well. This caused financial trouble. In 1919, the company sold everything to the Southern States Iron and Coal Company.
The Company Town
By 1920, Dunlap was like two towns. The main town had 765 people. The company town, where the ovens are now, had 700 people. The company had 350 workers in Dunlap. Many were African-American and lived in separate areas. About 85 workers were needed to keep the coke ovens running fully.
Southern States Iron and Coal made coke in Dunlap until 1922. Then they closed their operations. In 1928, two brothers, E.P. and E.K. Rosamund, bought the properties. They hoped to restart the coke business. But the Great Depression hit, and coal prices fell. Their plans never happened.
Dunlap Coke Ovens Park Today
After the 1920s, the Dunlap Coke Ovens were left alone for over 50 years. By the 1980s, only the ovens remained. There were also some old coal washer ruins and two changed company houses. Some ovens were just frames, some had only their brick insides, and some had fallen apart.
In 1985, the ovens were added to the National Register of Historic Places. The Bowater Corporation owned the land. They gave it to the Sequatchie Valley Historical Association that same year. Hundreds of volunteers helped clean up tons of trash. The Dunlap Coke Ovens Park opened in 1987.
To get money for park staff and upkeep, the historical association built an amphitheater. It is next to one of the oven groups. They held their first yearly Coke Ovens Bluegrass Festival there. In 1989, the park got $71,000 from a historian's will. They used this money to rebuild the old company store. This rebuilt building is now the Coke Ovens Museum.
Besides the museum, ovens, and amphitheater, the park has more. It includes a fake coal mine with mining tools. You can see the ruins of the 1906 coal washer. There is also a copy of the old Dunlap train station. A caboose and various park shelters are also there. A hiking trail now follows the path of the old railway. It goes up to the former mining areas on Fredonia Mountain.
Annual Bluegrass Festival
The park's main event is the yearly bluegrass festival. It happens on the first weekend of June. Bands and fans from all over the area come. This includes the strong bluegrass music community in Chattanooga. The festival keeps alive the friendship between bluegrass musicians and the historical association. Local musicians helped a lot from the start. They gave time, connections, and music to help with cleaning, building, and raising money. The event is known as a fun, family-friendly gathering.
Documentary Film
In 2008, filmmaker Charli Wyatt made a half-hour film. It was about the park and the bluegrass festival. The film, "Coke Ovens Slaves," tells the story of the volunteers and musicians. They work to save local history and culture through the park and festival. The film was shown many times on Chattanooga's PBS station, WTCI. A DVD was also sold locally. The film's title comes from a song. It was written by Ed Brown, the festival's music director. He was also an early member of the historical society.
Bluegrass Monument
In 2008, local bluegrass fans put up a monument. It honors bluegrass musicians who have played at the park or in the Sequatchie Valley. The names of musicians are carved on stone slabs. These slabs are on each side of the monument.
