The Summey Casting Shed

The Summey Casting Shed. . , The iron industry in Bartow County began with the arrival of pioneer furnace builder and ironmaster Jacob Stroup in 1836. A huge iron belt that runs north and south, almost through the entire eastern length of the county, supported the flourishing iron industry. A community called Crow Bank, in Iron Hill at the park's south end, was the home of miners and the site of extensive mining operations. Supported by the miners, at least nine iron furnaces were operated in Bartow County. The last furnace was built by Jacob Stroup. Called the Allatoona Furnace, it was once located where Bethany Bridge now stands at the entrance to Red Top Mountain. , , The furnace is where the primary reduction of iron ore to iron is carried out. A mixture of charcoal, iron ore, and limestone, known as the burden, is dumped into the top of the hot furnace. The ore and limestone are melted and the mass slowly descends to the bottom of the stack. The impurities are trapped in the molten limestone, called flux. When cooled, the flux forms a glasslike waste product called slag. Because it is heavier than the flux, the molten iron collects at the bottom of the furnace. , , The front of the furnace, known as the casting shed, was built out from the area located next to the opening where the liquid iron poured out. When the furnace was ready for tapping, the workers would remove a clay plug from the front furnace entrance. The molten iron would flow in troughs to the sand floor of the casting shed and the workers would divert the stream to the desired mold in the sand. As the molten iron filled the molds, the workers thought that they looked like piglets nursing at a sow , hence the origin of the term 'pig iron'. , , Reaching its peak in the 1850s, the iron industry abruptly ended by the physical and economic upheaval caused by the Civil War. Today, only remnants of the old furnaces still exist. Although the old casting sheds are long gone, the spirit of the industry lives on at Red Top Mountain. With the support of the Friends of Red Top Mountain and others, the Summey casting shed was built in 2004 and is used for our own iron furnace program. The furnace, which stands just in front of the shed, is run several times throughout the year by our staff and a crew of dedicated volunteers. This shed is named in honor of Friends member and longtime Bartow County resident, Francis Summey.