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All the United States Tennessee Dover Bear Spring Furnace

Bear Spring Furnace

A key producer of charcoal iron in the early 1800s, the structure still stands today.

Dover, Tennessee

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Sullivan Fleming
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Bear Spring Furnace   sulliii / Atlas Obscura User
Looking west towards the furnace from the road.   sulliii / Atlas Obscura User
Looking into the furnace   tikifire / Atlas Obscura User
Looking up inside the furnace   tikifire / Atlas Obscura User
Inside the furnace   tikifire / Atlas Obscura User
marker and both structures   KenJ / Atlas Obscura User
Looking up inside the furnace.   tikifire / Atlas Obscura User
Carvings on the furnace   KenJ / Atlas Obscura User
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About

A few miles southeast of Dover, Tennessee, the home of Fort Donelson Battlefield, Highway 49 rounds a corner and brings travelers face to face with a larger than life stone structure known as Bear Spring Furnace.

Built around 1832 by Woods, Yeatman & Co. as part of the Cumberland Iron Works, Bear Spring Furnace was an important producer of charcoal iron. Furnaces such as these were kept in operation around the clock, turning local brown hematite ore into molten metal. In 1850 alone, Bear Spring was responsible for the production of over 2000 tons of metal.

Though iron output for this area of the state had peaked in 1856, it is said that Union troops destroyed the furnace during the Civil War. The new stack, built in 1873, still stands today. It remained in operation until the early 20th century. Once the site of a rail line and a bustling community, the stack and adjacent support pillar are now all that remain. 

Related Tags

Abandoned Industrial

Know Before You Go

From the town of Dover, drive east on Spring Street for about 10 minutes. The Furnace will be on the side of the road on the right.

Community Contributors

Added By

sulliii

Edited By

tikifire, KenJ

  • tikifire
  • KenJ

Published

November 28, 2015

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Sources
  • http://www.tnironfurnacetrail.org/Introduction.html
  • http://www.mtsuhistpres.org/TN_Iron_Furnace/Counties/Stewart%20County.html
  • https://www.explorekentuckylake.com/explorations/bearspringfurnace.htm
  • http://www.tnvacation.com/vendors/bear-spring-iron-furnace
Bear Spring Furnace
Dover, Tennessee
United States
36.475459, -87.770144

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