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Iron & Steel Museum of Alabama facts for kids
The Iron & Steel Museum of Alabama in the Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park
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| Established | 1981 |
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| Location | Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park, McCalla, Alabama |
The Iron & Steel Museum of Alabama, also called the Tannehill Museum, is a special place. It teaches about how iron was made in Alabama during the 1800s. You can find it inside the Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park in McCalla, Alabama. The museum opened in 1981 and covers about 13,000 square feet.
This museum is like a learning center. It focuses on how iron was made in the 1800s. It has a huge collection of old machines and tools from the iron industry. These items date from the time of the American Civil War up to the 1960s. You can see machines that ran on belts and a recreated machine shop from the 1870s. There are also four old steam engines. The museum has over 10,000 items found from old iron-making sites in Alabama. Some items also came from other famous museums like the Henry Ford Museum. You can even see rare steam engines and war items made in Selma, Alabama.
The museum shows how iron making grew from the Civil War era to the 1960s. You can learn how iron making in this area became the big industry of the Birmingham District. The museum also has interactive displays. These help visitors imagine what life was like in 19th-century Alabama. The Tannehill Learning Centre offers special programs and tours for school children.
The museum got a big update to its exhibits in 2004–05. There's also a small theater with 30 seats. It plays a short video about the park's history.
Contents
Alabama's Iron and Steel Story
Iron Making After the Civil War
After the American Civil War, North Alabama became a top producer of iron and steel. The Birmingham District was perfect for this. It had lots of natural resources like coal, iron ore, and limestone. The most successful companies controlled their own mines. They also owned the facilities needed to get and use these materials.
Iron and steel companies built more furnaces in Alabama. They also used new machines to make more iron. Making iron and steel needed a lot of resources. So, big companies also controlled the railroads in Alabama. For example, the Woodward Iron Company had its own railroad. This railroad connected its furnaces to its mines.
Growth in the Late 1800s
In the late 1800s, the iron and steel industry in Birmingham, Alabama really took off. This happened with money from northern bankers and southern investors. Engineers from the North also brought new technology. Many people also moved to Alabama looking for work.
At this time, many farmers in Alabama struggled. They were very poor and had little education. So, many people, including formerly enslaved people and white people, looked for jobs in iron and steel. This seemed better than farming.
A system called "convict leasing" also provided cheap labor. From 1875 to 1928, companies paid the government to use prisoners as workers. These prisoners had to work for the companies that leased them. This system provided many cheap workers for iron and coal companies until it ended in 1928. Because of its rich resources and low costs, Alabama grew very quickly in the late 1800s.
Changes in the Early 1900s
By the early 1900s, steel making changed. It started using electric furnaces and scrap metal. So, having natural resources nearby became less important. Easy transportation of scrap metal was key.
The Birmingham area began building new types of mills. It also focused on making cast-iron pipes. Companies like American Cast Iron Pipe Company moved there. This company, started in Birmingham in 1905, became the world's largest iron pipe plant. It had 2,400 employees.
With new technology, Birmingham furnaces made millions of tons of pig iron. Half of this was used for steel. The other half was sold as foundry iron. This showed that Alabama's iron ore was not the best quality. This limited how much the industry could grow, even with new technology.
How the Museum Started
The way iron was made at Tannehill Ironworks was very important to Alabama's industry. For example, they used special coal and tried new ways to make iron. Because Tannehill was so important, people wanted to save the site.
In the late 1960s, groups like Civitan International and the University of Alabama suggested building a state park. The state approved this idea in 1969. The Tannehill Historical State Park opened in 1970. It has over 45 historic buildings, including old mills and log cabins from the 1800s.
The Iron and Steel Museum of Alabama was built to help save these historic buildings and items. It opened in 1981. Today, the Tannehill Ironworks State Park is on the National Register of Historic Places. It's also part of the Civil War Discovery Trail. The museum shows how 13 iron makers and 6 rolling mills worked during the Civil War. This makes Tannehill Ironworks one of the best-preserved old sites in the Southeast.
From 2004 to 2005, the museum got a big update. It added new exhibits, including an old power source and one of the oldest steam engines in the country. In 2017, Tannehill Ironworks became part of the Birmingham Industrial Heritage Trail. This trail connects six historic sites in Birmingham.
Today, the Tannehill Furnace memorial park is very popular. Over 425,000 people visit each year. This is because the park hosts many outdoor events. For example, they have "Trade Days" every month from March to November. Visitors can also see Civil War battle re-enactments.
Museum Buildings and What You Can See
Museum Buildings
The museum has several areas. The main museum building is over 13,000 square feet. It holds exhibits about the iron industry and many old items found by archaeologists.
The museum also has the Walter B. Jones Centre for Industrial Archaeology. It includes an exhibit center, an old cotton gin house from 1858, and a 30-seat theater. There is also a gift shop. The exhibit center shows items from Birmingham's iron and steel industry from the 1930s to the 1960s.
Main Museum Displays
The main museum shows many items from Tannehill that have survived. Visitors can learn how 13 different iron companies and six rolling mills made iron. They can also see how Alabama's iron industry helped the Confederacy during the Civil War.
Even before the war ended, Alabama was a major supplier of iron. In the last two years of the Civil War, Alabama furnaces made 70% of the Confederacy's iron. To show this, the museum displays many wartime iron items. These include cookware, rifles, and other weapons used by soldiers. You can see cast-iron water pipes and artillery shells. The museum also has the South's largest collection of artillery shells made from 1862 to 1865.
The Iron and Steel Museum of Alabama also keeps many archaeological items. These were found in the region. The museum has the Walter B. Jones Centre for Industrial Archaeology. Walter B. Jones was a state geologist and archaeologist. He spent his life studying Alabama's minerals and fuels. His work is kept in many museums, including this one.
The museum is known for having over 10,000 archaeological items. These were found during 8 major digs at the site from 1956 to 2008. The main museum building also has a small research library. In this library, students and researchers can find old records and stories about iron making.