Old Irontown, Utah facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Old Irontown, Utah
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Ruins at Old Iron Town
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| Nickname(s):
Iron City
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 Old Irontown, Utah
Location in Utah
Old Irontown, Utah
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Utah |
| County | Iron |
| Founded | 1868 |
| Abandoned | 1876 |
| Named for | Iron deposits |
| Elevation | 5,846 ft (1,782 m) |
| GNIS feature ID | 1444069 |
Old Irontown, also known as Old Iron Town or Irontown, was first called Iron City. It is an unincorporated community and almost a ghost town in Iron County, Utah, United States. You can find it in the Dixie National Forest, about 22 miles from Cedar City. This settlement was started in 1868. Its main goal was to mine iron from Iron Mountain. The town lasted until 1876, when several problems forced it to close. Today, the site is a protected historical place. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.
Contents
The Story of Old Irontown
Why Iron Was So Important
When Brigham Young and his followers moved to Salt Lake City in 1847, they wanted their new home to be strong and independent. To do this, they needed to make many things themselves. One very important material was iron. Shipping iron from the eastern United States was very expensive.
So, towns like Parowan and Cedar City were founded in 1851. Their job was to provide iron for the settlers. The iron was mined in the Iron Mountain District.
Early Challenges in Iron Production
The first iron furnace in Cedar City had many problems. Over three years, it only produced about 25 tons of pig iron. Pig iron is a basic form of iron that needs more processing. Even with these difficulties, the settlers still needed iron for their communities to grow.
Starting Old Irontown
Because of the low production in Cedar City, a second furnace was built in 1868. This new site was called Old Irontown, or sometimes Little Pinto. It used iron ore found at the base of Iron Mountain. By 1874, the new furnace had produced about 400 pounds of pig iron. However, operations stopped that year, and the town was abandoned completely about ten years later.
Life in Iron City
At its busiest time, Old Irontown was a small but active community. It had a schoolhouse for children, a blacksmith shop, and special ovens called charcoal furnaces. These furnaces made charcoal, which was needed to melt the iron ore. There was also a foundry, where the melted iron was poured into molds. The town was completely abandoned in 1876.
Why the Town Closed
Later, there was an attempt to restart the iron mining at Iron Mountain. However, the church that supported the settlement faced legal challenges. There were also economic problems across the country due to the Panic of 1873. These difficulties made it impossible to keep the iron operations going, and Old Irontown remained abandoned.
What Remains Today
Today, you can visit the ruins of Old Irontown. You can see a well-preserved beehive-shaped charcoal oven. There's also a furnace called an "Arastra," which was used to prepare sand for making molds. Parts of the original foundry are still there, including its chimney.
The Sons of Utah Pioneers organization has fenced off the site to protect it. Old Irontown is now part of the Dixie National Forest. If you want to learn more, the Frontier Homestead State Park Museum in Cedar City has information and artifacts from the site. You can find the ruins on Iron Town Road, which connects to Utah State Route 56. Old Iron Town was officially added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 14, 1971. While most of the old town is ruins, some newer homes are now occupied in the same area.
