nick's creek IROIsr ORE EE(4IOiS-. 



47 



there are on the south side of Brushy Mountain, or Rye Yalley Mountain, south of 

 the region, and so also east of the region; so that the surrounding country could 

 yield an immense supply of charcoal. 



IrdjST Works. — The Marios Furnace was, in 186G, the only blast furnace in the 

 region, and stood at the northern corner of the Thomas Tract, on Staley's Creek. It 

 was begun in 1860, and first blew in near the end of 1802. It was run by the rebel 

 government, and made about five tons of iron in 1862, perhaps 300 tons in 18(33 and 

 275 tons in 1864 ; or about 600 tons in all. On the 16th December, 1864, it was burned 

 by Gen. Stoneman's raiders and the wood-work mostly destroyed, but the. stack 

 seemed, in 1866 to be still in pretty good condition. It was about forty feet high, 

 three feet across the tunnel head and ten feet across the boshes, with two engines, and 

 furnished with hot-air pipes, though only cold-blast was used. There was also a 

 cupola furnace alongside. 



The Woodlawn Forge, on Staley's Creek near the middle of the Crockett Tract, 

 was built in 1857 by Mr. John P. Wright, and is a bloomery just like the others so 

 common southwestward in these mountains, with one fire and one hammer and water 

 blast ; and run like them, by fits and starts, with a very small yearly yielcL Its ore 

 came chiefly from the Old Mountain Ore Bank. Just south of the -region, on the 

 South Fork of Holston River, are two other such bloomeries, JSTichols' and Barton's 

 Forges. 



Map. — A photograph of the map was shown at the Burlington meeting, in 1867, 

 in illustration of the j^aper already mentioned. ISTot only is the shape of the ground 

 shown by twenty foot contour lines, but the position of the four ore beds is given by 

 contour lines upon each of them 100 feet apart in level from the lowest water level 

 upwai'ds. The ore bed contour lines show at the same time the structure of the other 

 beds of rock, the saddles and basins, the strike and the steepness of the dip. 



