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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 known as the Tannehill Museum, is a cool place to learn about how iron was made in Alabama during the 1800s. It's located inside the Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park in McCalla, which is in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama. The museum first opened its doors in 1981 and covers a huge area of about 13,000 square feet.
This museum is like a special learning center that shows how iron was made in the 19th century. It has a big collection of old machines and other items from the iron industry. These items range from the time of the American Civil War all the way up to the 1960s. You can see machines that used belts to move parts, a recreated machine shop from the 1870s, and even four steam engines!
The museum also has more than 10,000 historical items. These were found during archaeological digs at old iron-making sites in Alabama. Some items also came from places like the Alabama Department of Archives and History, the Henry Ford Museum, and the Washington Navy Yard. You can even see rare steam engines and war materials that were made in Selma, Alabama during the Civil War.
When you visit, you'll see displays of old belt-driven machines and tools used to make iron. The museum helps you understand how iron making grew in this area, leading to the later Birmingham District. It shows how people lived and worked in Alabama from the end of the Civil War to the mid-1900s. They even found 16 old cabins where workers lived during recent digs!
The museum is connected to the best-preserved furnaces at Tannehill Ironworks by a walking trail called the Tram Track Hiking Trail. There are also fun, interactive displays that make you feel like you've stepped back in time to 19th-century Alabama. You can follow a timeline of how iron production developed, from ancient Egypt to modern factories like Fairfield Works in Birmingham. The Tannehill Learning Centre offers special programs and tours for school kids. Visitors can also enjoy field trips in the spring and fall.
The museum got a big update to its exhibits in 2004 and 2005. There's also a small theater with 30 seats where you can watch a short video about the park's history.
Contents
Alabama's Iron and Steel Story
After the Civil War: 1860s to 1880s
After the Civil War, North Alabama became a very important place for making iron and steel in the United States. The area around Birmingham was especially good for this because it had lots of important natural resources. These included coal, iron ore, limestone, and dolomite.
The most successful companies were those that controlled their own mines. They also owned other facilities needed to get and put together raw materials, like big furnaces. Because they needed these materials and facilities, iron and steel makers built more furnaces in Alabama. They also tried new machines to make more iron.
Making iron and steel used a lot of resources. This meant that big companies needed to control the railroads in Alabama. For example, the Woodward Iron Company had its own railroad. This railroad connected its furnaces to its mines for limestone, dolomite, coal, and iron ore.
Late 1800s: Growth and Workers
In the late 1800s, the iron and steel industry in Birmingham, Alabama really started to boom. This happened because of big investments from bankers and local investors. Also, skilled engineers from other parts of the country brought new technology.
The industry also grew because many people came looking for jobs. At that time, many farmers in Alabama were struggling. They were often poor and couldn't read or write well. So, many unemployed people, both formerly enslaved people and white people, looked for work in the iron and steel factories. This seemed like a better choice than farming.
Another reason for cheap labor was a system called "convict leasing." From 1875 to 1928, iron companies paid local governments to use prisoners as workers. These prisoners had to work for the companies that leased them. This system provided many cheap workers for iron makers and coal mine owners until it ended in 1928.
By the end of the 1800s, Alabama was growing very fast. This was thanks to its rich natural resources and the low cost of getting raw materials together.
Early 1900s: New Technology
At the start of the 1900s, making steel began to change. New electric furnaces became popular, and it became important to easily move scrap metal. This meant that having lots of natural resources nearby was no longer the most important thing for making iron and steel.
The Birmingham area started building these new types of smaller steel mills. It also focused on making cast-iron pipes, attracting big companies like American Cast Iron Pipe Company. This company, started in Birmingham in 1905, became the world's largest iron pipe casting plant. It had a huge site and many employees.
From the 1990s to the 1970s, Birmingham's furnaces made millions of tons of pig iron. About half of this was used to make steel, and the other half was sold as foundry iron. This showed that the iron ore in the region wasn't the best quality. Even with new technology, this made it harder for Alabama's iron and steel industry to grow even more.
How the Museum Started
The way iron was made at Tannehill Ironworks was very important to Alabama's iron and steel industry. For example, they used special coal leftovers as fuel and experimented with coke. They also learned how to make iron from the red iron ore found in Red Mountain.
Because Tannehill was so important, people from Civitan International and the University of Alabama suggested building a state park there in the late 1960s. They wanted to save the site where the Birmingham Iron industry began. The state approved this idea in 1969, and the Tannehill Historical State Park opened in 1970.
This state park has more than 45 historical buildings. These include the May Plantation Cotton Gin House, the John Wesley Hall Gristmill, and many old log cabins from the 1800s. The Iron and Steel Museum of Alabama was built to help preserve these historical buildings and items from Tannehill. It opened in 1981.
Today, the Tannehill Ironworks State Park is listed 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 and oldest historical sites in the Southeastern United States.
From 2004 to 2005, the museum got a big update with new exhibits. These included an old power source from a rice plantation and one of the oldest steam engines in the country. In 2017, Tannehill Ironworks, including the museum, became part of the Birmingham Industrial Heritage Trail.
The Tannehill Furnace memorial park is now one of the most visited places in Alabama. More than 425,000 people visit each year! This is because the park hosts many outdoor events and activities. For example, they have "Trade Days" every month from March to November. Visitors can also watch a Civil War battle re-enactment.
What You'll See at the Museum
Museum Buildings
The museum has several different areas. The main museum building is very large, covering over 13,000 square feet. Inside, you'll find displays about the iron industry and many interesting archaeological items.
The museum also has the Walter B. Jones Centre for Industrial Archaeology. This center includes an exhibit area, the 1858 May Plantation Cotton Gin House, a 30-seat theater, and a gift shop. The exhibition center shows items from Birmingham's iron and steel industry from the 1930s to the 1960s.
Main Museum Displays
To help visitors understand how Birmingham's iron industry grew, the main museum displays many items from Tannehill that have survived over time. You can learn from the exhibits how 13 different iron companies and six rolling mills made iron. You'll also see how Alabama's iron-making industry helped the Confederacy during the Civil War.
Even though Alabama's iron and steel industry grew fast after the war, it was already very important before the war ended. In the last two years of the Civil war, iron made by Alabama furnaces provided 70% of the Confederacy's iron!
To show how important Alabama was during the war, the museum displays many wartime iron items. These include cooking tools, rifles, and other weapons used by soldiers. You can see cast-iron water pipes, artillery shells, and original parts from an old forge made in the 1860s. The museum also has the South's largest collection of artillery shells made from 1862 to 1865. Besides war items, the museum keeps many other historical items that show how Alabama's iron and steel industry developed, like a cast iron water pipe made in Birmingham in the 1880s.
The Iron and Steel Museum of Alabama doesn't just show iron items; it also preserves archaeological items found in the area. The museum houses the Walter B. Jones Centre for Industrial Archaeology. Walter B. Jones was a state geologist and archaeologist who spent his life studying Alabama's minerals and fossil fuels. His work is kept in many museums, including this one.
The museum is also famous for having over 10,000 archaeological items. These were found during 8 major archaeological digs at the site between 1956 and 2008. The main museum building also has a small research library. In this library, people interested in the history of iron making can find old records, published materials, and first-hand stories.