Ivanhoe in Wythe County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
Ivanhoe Furnace
| | New River Trail State Park | |
Photographed by Craig Doda, July 24, 2020
1. Ivanhoe Furnace Marker
Just over a hundred years ago this peaceful, forested tract of land held the Ivanhoe Furnace. The 19th century emblem for prosperity was smoke, and blast furnaces like Ivanhoe pumped out smoke 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Imagine working in excruciating heat with the roar of the blast in your ears and constant risk from deadly gas, molten metal and steam explosions: Dangerous and volatile, blast furnaces dotted the region and provided jobs, brought transportation and settlement and fueled the local economy.
(captions)
(Left) This furnace, believed to be built by the Hendricks Brothers Company, went into blast the last of April 1882, producing ten tons of iron per day. It fell into poor conditions in the early 1910's and was shut down soon after.
(Above) A blast furnace is a huge, steel stack lined with refractory brick, where iron ore, coke and limestone are dumped into the top and preheated air is blasted into the bottom: These materials are then converted into liquid iron. The hot melted ore is poured into a long tray with several smaller inlets off a main branch. The runner and its small offshoots
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Erected by New River Trail State Park.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Parks & Recreational Areas.
Location. 36° 50.275′ N, 80° 57.285′ W. Marker is in Ivanhoe, Virginia, in Wythe County. It can be reached from Riverview Road (Virginia Route 639) north of Ivanhoe Road, on the right when traveling north. Located near the Ivanhoe Trailer parking lot. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 294 Riverview Rd, Ivanhoe VA 24350, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Southwest Virginia and in the Blue Ridge Highlands. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, in Appalachia, and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 5 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Ivanhoe (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); a different marker also named Ivanhoe Furnace (about 500 feet away); 1901 Allis Chalmers Rock Crusher (about 500 feet away); Wythe County / Carroll County (approx. 0.8 miles away); To Mark The Site of The Lead Mines (approx. 1.9 miles away); Stephen Fuller Austin (approx. 2.2 miles away); Powering a Community (approx. 3.8 miles away); Fincastle County (approx. 4.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Ivanhoe.
Also see . . . New River Trail State Park. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation
Photographed by Craig Doda, July 24, 2020
2. Ivanhoe Furnace Marker
Photographed by Craig Doda, July 24, 2020
3. Ivanhoe Furnace Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on May 18, 2022. It was originally submitted on December 20, 2020, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. This page has been viewed 815 times since then and 45 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on December 20, 2020, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
