Fort Chiswell in Wythe County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
Lead Mines
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), July 4, 2026
1. Lead Mines Marker
Inscription.
Lead Mines. . Col. John Chiswell is credited with discovering a lead deposit along the New River, about seven miles south of here, late in the 1750s. With partners he established mines and a smelting operation. Enslaved laborers were a vital part of the workforce. The mines, leased by Virginia during the Revolutionary War, supplied lead to the Continental army. Moses Austin, father of Stephen F. Austin, ran the mines during the 1790s, and the town of Austinville grew up nearby. The mines supplied the Confederacy and were destroyed by Union forces on 17 Dec. 1764. Rebuilt, they were again destroyed in April 1865. After the Civil War, zinc replaced lead as the primary resource extracted here.
Col. John Chiswell is credited with discovering a lead deposit along the New River, about seven miles south of here, late in the 1750s. With partners he established mines and a smelting operation. Enslaved laborers were a vital part of the workforce. The mines, leased by Virginia during the Revolutionary War, supplied lead to the Continental army. Moses Austin, father of Stephen F. Austin, ran the mines during the 1790s, and the town of Austinville grew up nearby. The mines supplied the Confederacy and were destroyed by Union forces on 17 Dec. 1764. Rebuilt, they were again destroyed in April 1865. After the Civil War, zinc replaced lead as the primary resource extracted here.
Erected 2016 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number K-39.)
Location. 36° 56.645′ N, 80° 56.843′ W. Marker is in Fort
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Chiswell, Virginia, in Wythe County. It is on Fort Chiswell Road (U.S. 52) south of Chapman Road (County Road F-042), on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 118 Fort Chiswell Rd, Max Meadows VA 24360, 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 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.
Another marker is no longer nearby. Lead Mines (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it).
Credits. This page was last revised on July 10, 2026. It was originally submitted on July 10, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 10 times since then. Photos:1, 2. submitted on July 10, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
