Fairview in Williamson County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)

Caney Fork Furnace

Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, July 23, 2022

1. Caney Fork Furnace Marker

Inscription. This stone stack marks the eastern-most site of a significant state industry that ran along the Western Highland Rim where 33 iron furnaces were in blast by 1847. Tennessee produced over 50,000 tons of pig iron by 1856, and often led the south in production before 1860. By 1832, Moses Speer was operating this industrial site on 2000 acres near the Caney Fork creek. Skilled and unskilled laborers including enslaved peoples worked under a hierarchy governed by the ironmaster. Speer's operation was economically unsuccessful, and the property soon defaulted to Rev. Thomas L. Douglass. The furnace was not in blast by 1848 or after when the property was sold by the heirs of Nicholas Perkins. The Rocky River Coal & Lumber Company bought the land in the 1920s for timber and the Harrison family farmed here beginning in the 1930s. The furnace stack survives as the county's only remnant of an industry that peaked in the 1850s and it is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

When in operation, the furnace would have looked much like its contemporary, Bear Spring Furnace in Stewart County, which was also put into blast

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in 1832.

Erected by Williamson County Historical Society.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Industry & Commerce. In addition, it is included in the Tennessee – Williamson County Historical Society series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1847.

Location. 35° 56.211′ N, 87° 6.679′ W. Marker is in Fairview, Tennessee, in Williamson County. It is on Caney Fork Road, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 7544-7556 Caney Fork Rd, Fairview TN 37062, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Middle Tennessee

and in Greater Nashville.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in 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 Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Triangle School

Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, July 23, 2022

2. Caney Fork Furnace Marker

(approx. 2.2 miles away); Jingo Post Office / Triangle School (approx. 2.2 miles away); Hudgins Cemetery / Union Valley (approx. 2.4 miles away); Fernvale (approx. 2.4 miles away); Evangeline Bowie, M.D. (approx. 2.8 miles away); Marion’s Rifles, CSA / Baxter’s Company Tennessee Light Artillery, CSA (approx. 2.8 miles away); Flagpole Campground / Pinewood Road (approx. 3.6 miles away); Horn Tavern Springs / Pasadena (approx. 3.9 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Fairview.

Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker.

Also see . . . Photos and story of Caney Creek Furnace. (Submitted on July 25, 2022.)

Front side of the furnace image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, July 23, 2022

3. Front side of the furnace

Right side of the furnace image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, July 23, 2022

4. Right side of the furnace

Rear side of the furnace image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, July 23, 2022

5. Rear side of the furnace

Left side of the furnace image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, July 23, 2022

6. Left side of the furnace

Credits. This page was last revised on July 25, 2022. It was originally submitted on July 24, 2022, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. This page has been viewed 1,357 times since then and 112 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on July 24, 2022, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. • Mark Hilton was the editor who published this page.