Near Emerson in Bartow County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)

Celebrating Iron Hill's Rich Ore Tradition

Red Top Mountain's Iron Pour

Photographed by Joel Seewald, May 5, 2024

1. Celebrating Iron Hill's Rich Ore Tradition Marker

Inscription.

Celebrating Iron Hill's Rich Ore Tradition. Red Top Mountain's Iron Pour. , Honoring our Heritage , Bartow County, home to Red Top Mountain State Park, has long been known for its wealth of iron ore and other minerals with the greatest number of mineral deposits in the state of Georgia. During the Atlanta Exposition of 1889, the county was awarded "best display of iron ore" in the state, an honor for the ironworkers of the Etowah Valley. , , Celebrating Iron Hill's rich iron ore traditions, Red Top Mountain started its first biannual "Iron Pour" event in May of 2001. The "Pour" allows visitors to observe and participate in the smelting, pouring and casting of iron and compare to the larger scale two to four ton furnaces that used to dot this landscape. , , Meet Maryanne , Maryanne, named by her creators, is a custom built cupola furnace constructed from two large propane tanks that when charged heats up to 3,200 degrees! , , About 10% of the iron put in is spilled, sticks to the walls and is floated off the top in impurities/slag and released through the SLAG (A) hole. , , The furnace is loaded with alternating layers of iron (1,080 lbs) and coke (200 lbs) known as the CHARGE. (B) The TUYERES (C) let the crew "fluff" the coke and iron with a steel rod. , , The BLAST (D) of air is pushed into the furnace by the fan, and, at precisely 2,797 degrees F, the iron becomes a liquid. , , The sand plug at the TAP (E) is removed, and a LADLE (F) catches the spewing iron which is carefully moved to the SHED (G) for the POUR (H) into CASTS. (I) Within 20 minutes the iron is cool to the touch. For safe measure, the cast is dipped in water and ready to be removed as cast iron. , , Inside the Georgia silhouette: From the late 1880s through the middle of the Twentieth Century, iron output in Georgia totaled in excess of 20 billion pounds. , , Over approximately that same time period, ore mined in Bartow County totaled over 12 billion pounds, more than half of the statewide total.

Honoring our Heritage
Bartow County, home to Red Top Mountain State Park, has long been known for its wealth of iron ore and other minerals with the greatest number of mineral deposits in the state of Georgia. During the Atlanta Exposition of 1889, the county was awarded "best display of iron ore" in the state, an honor for the ironworkers of the Etowah Valley.

Celebrating Iron Hill's rich iron ore traditions, Red Top Mountain started its first biannual "Iron Pour" event in May of 2001. The "Pour" allows visitors to observe and participate in the smelting, pouring and casting of iron and compare to the larger scale two to four ton furnaces that used to dot this landscape.

Meet Maryanne
Maryanne, named by her creators, is a custom built cupola furnace constructed from two large propane tanks that when charged heats up to 3,200 degrees!

About 10% of the iron put in is spilled, sticks to the walls and is floated off the top in impurities/slag and released through the SLAG (A) hole.

The furnace is loaded with alternating layers of iron (1,080 lbs) and coke (200 lbs) known as the CHARGE. (B) The TUYERES (C) let

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the crew "fluff" the coke and iron with a steel rod.

The BLAST (D) of air is pushed into the furnace by the fan, and, at precisely 2,797 degrees F, the iron becomes a liquid.

The sand plug at the TAP (E) is removed, and a LADLE (F) catches the spewing iron which is carefully moved to the SHED (G) for the POUR (H) into CASTS. (I) Within 20 minutes the iron is cool to the touch. For safe measure, the cast is dipped in water and ready to be removed as cast iron.

Inside the Georgia silhouette: From the late 1880s through the middle of the Twentieth Century, iron output in Georgia totaled in excess of 20 billion pounds.

Over approximately that same time period, ore mined in Bartow County totaled over 12 billion pounds, more than half of the statewide total.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Industry & Commerce. A significant historical month for this entry is May 2001.

Location. 34° 9.297′ N, 84° 42.045′ W. Marker is near Emerson, Georgia, in Bartow County. It can be reached from Lodge Road Southeast. The marker is along the Lakeside Trail, which is behind the Red Top Mountain State Park Visitor Center at the

Celebrating Iron Hill's Rich Ore Tradition Marker — top left images image. Click for full size.

2. Celebrating Iron Hill's Rich Ore Tradition Marker — top left images

From top to bottom you can see the glow of the CHARGE, the TUERES and the TAP.

end of Lodge Road. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 50 Lodge Rd SE, Acworth GA 30102, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Georgia’s Mountains. It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Deep 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 original Cherokee Nation,

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 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: The Summey Casting Shed (a few steps from this marker); A "Cool" Place to Live (a few steps from this marker); Battle of Allatoona (approx. 1.8 miles away); Etowah and the War (approx. 1.8 miles away); Mark Anthony Cooper's Iron Works (approx. 2 miles away); The Crow's Nest (approx. 2.7 miles away); Federal Trenches (approx. 2.7 miles away); The Eastern Redoubt (approx. 2.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map

Celebrating Iron Hill's Rich Ore Tradition Marker — center images image. Click for full size.

3. Celebrating Iron Hill's Rich Ore Tradition Marker — center images

Left: Catching the POUR in the LADLE. Right: In the CASTING SHED, ironworkers POUR the smelted iron into the CASTS.

of all markers in Emerson.

Celebrating Iron Hill's Rich Ore Tradition Marker — bottom left images image. Click for full size.

4. Celebrating Iron Hill's Rich Ore Tradition Marker — bottom left images

Crow Ore-bank, locally known as Iron Hill Mine, was an open pit mine 825' long x 50' wide x 50' deep [left]. This sketch by P.J. O'Callaghan depicts the type of blast furnaces that populated Bartow County during the mid-to-late 1800s [right].

Celebrating Iron Hill's Rich Ore Tradition Marker — bottom right image image. Click for full size.

5. Celebrating Iron Hill's Rich Ore Tradition Marker — bottom right image

Photographed by Joel Seewald, May 5, 2024

6. Celebrating Iron Hill's Rich Ore Tradition Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on September 9, 2024. It was originally submitted on September 9, 2024, by Joel Seewald of Madison Heights, Michigan. This page has been viewed 234 times since then and 13 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on September 9, 2024, by Joel Seewald of Madison Heights, Michigan.