History of Shelby Iron Company

The history of Shelby Charcoal Iron dates back to 1846, when the first blast furnace was started in 1844 and completed within two years. This furnace stack was only thirty feet high and built of brick and stone. It's capacity was limited to about five tons of Coldblast Iron per day. (Horace Ware purchased land from Green B. and Sarah Seale on December 29, 1842, filed January 19, 1843 in Shelby County Alabama Deed Record 1842-1847, Page 18-19.) This plant was burned in 1854 and was rebuilt by the owner, Horace H. Ware. In 1854 a small puddling furnace was erected on the banks of Camp Branch Creek, three miles west of Shelby. At this plant, Shelby iron was made into wrought iron bars, a shipment of which went to Sheffield, England and made into cutlery, receiving the highest endorsement of English steel manufacturers.

A rolling mill of ten tons capacity was erected in 1860. This mill manufactured Merchant iron and from it, the first cotton ties made in the South were produced and later armor plates were made, some of this material going into the building of Confederate gunboats "Tennessee" and "Merrimac." (This was the first rolling mill in Alabama, and on April 11, 1860 they turned out Alabama's first finished bar iron.)

During the Civil War practically all the output of pig-iron, bars and armor plates were sold to the Confederate Government and in order to secure a maximum tonnage, enlisted men from the Confederate army were sent here to assist in operating the plants.

(In April 1862 Shelby Iron Company signed a contract with the Confederate Government to deliver 12,000 tons of iron annually. Almost all iron produced here were delivered to the Confederate Naval Works at Selma, Dallas County Alabama. In February 1863 the entire output of the rolling mill was requisitioned for gunboat plates. The relationship between the Confederate Government and Shelby Iron Company was seldom friendly. At the end of the war the Confederate Government owed $261,147.89 to Shelby Iron Company.)

In 1863 a much larger furnace stack was built with capacity of around thirty tons of pig iron per day. This furnace was in operation until some time in 1865, when the rolling mill and woodwork of the furnace was burned by Col. Black of the U.S. Army at the time of "Wilson's Raid."

(The Civil War ended for Shelby Iron Company. On that date, a detachment of General Emory Upton's Division of Wilson's Calvary Corps was sent to end the iron making capacity of Shelby Iron Company on March 31, 1865.)

The plant was rebuilt in 1868. (It was completed in February 1869 and during the following years, rail car wheel iron became their most important product.)

Up to 1862 the company was operated under the corporation name of Shelby County Iron Manufacturing Company being changed at that time to the Shelby Iron Company.

(The Shelby Iron Company came into existence by an act of incorporation of the Alabama legislature in February 1858. Shelby Iron Manufacturing Company was the name given to the new corporation. The property included 5,000 acres of land, purchased in 1841 by Horace H. Ware in Shelby, Shelby County Alabama.)

In 1873 work was started on a larger furnace, with capacity of about seventy five tons. This stack was completed in 1875.

The second furnace of like capacity was completed in 1889, both of these furnaces equipped with hot blast stoves for superheating the air blast before it entered the stack and making what is known as "Warm Blast Charcoal Pig Iron."

Captain T.G. Bush of Mobile was made president of the Company in 1890, serving in that capacity until his death in 1909, when Mr. Ward W. Jacobs of Hartford, Connecticut was made president, his term of office extending into 1914 when he was succeeded by Mr. Morris W. Bush of Birmingham, Alabama.

The Birmingham News, Thursday, August 23, 1923. COMPANY SHUTS DOWN. - COLUMBIANA, ALA., Aug. 23. - Special. - Shelby Iron Company, one of the oldest iron makers in Alabama, closed down their large furnace at Shelby, in this county, Wednesday. They also closed down all of their operations, charcoal and ore beds. The company started up their furnace about six months ago, with the promise that they would stay in operation for about sixty days, but instead they remained in blast for six months. It is not known just when they will go in operation again, as there is no promise as to this. When this concern shuts down it affects a large territory in this county. Outside of their iron making they have a large wood and charcoal business, which gives employment to a large number of people all over the county.

(When Shelby Iron Company ended production on August 22, 1923, Shelby County Alabama, at that time, lost its leading industrial concern. It had operated exclusively on charcoal fuel, was the largest charcoal iron furnace in the United States, and was the longest operating charcoal furnace in the United States. It was known as "The Queen of American Charcoal Iron Furnaces".)

About 8 o'clock yesterday morning another of the pioneer iron makers of North Alabama ended his long and useful life.

At that hour Mr. Horace Ware of Birmingham passed away at his residence on the North Highlands, which overlooks the valley he did so much to make a hive of human industry.

He was ill in bed and the family physician was with him, but no apprehensions at all were felt by any one of his family or the doctor. Indeed, he had spoken only a few minutes before of getting out of bed, and was discussing with the physician the problem of immigration, a topic suggested by something in the morning Age-Herald.

Suddenly the doctor heard the patient make a sound like a hiccough, and, turning, found him in the death agony.  He died almost instantly of heart failure.

Mr. Ware was 78 years old and the senior Alabama iron maker left among those still actively engaged in business. He was born in Lynn, Mass., and came with his father to South Carolina while a lad. They removed to Alabama shortly afterward, and for awhile young Ware engaged in teaching school. Quitting that, he joined his father in running a forge in Bibb county making blooms, which was almost if not the first successful iron making enterprise in Alabama.

After that Mr. Ware and Judge John McClannahan bought the iron property at Shelby and there erected a furnace, to which a rolling mill was added early in the fifties. He continued the business successfully at Shelby until 1862, when he sold all but a small interest to other parties.

After the war Mr. Ware joined with Colonel Glidden of Ohio in erecting the Alabama furnace at what is now Jenifer. He next became associated with Samuel Noble and General Tyler in the Clifton properties, and together they built the Ironaton furnaces and the Anniston and Atlantic railroad.

About seven years ago he removed from Columbiana to Birmingham and became largely interested in properties of various sorts in this district. He invested largely in Sheffield, being a large stockholder in the first furnace of that city, and doing much to establish confidence in that infant enterprise. He lost some in the failure of the first national bank there, some time ago, but held other large interests.

Mr. Ware left five children, the eldest being the wife of Dr. R.A. Moseley, Jr., of Montgomery; one the wife of Rev. W.C. Denson, a Presbyterian divine of Austin, Tex.; John E. Ware of Anniston, Mrs. W.A. Smith and Miss Clara of Birmingham. All are here today except Mrs. Denson.

He was a prominent member of the Methodist church, a man of the old school, sound of judgment as of character. He was respected by all who knew him, and in his death the state loses one who did her great service in his day. He had faith where many doubted, and, in building the state, wrought out fortune for himself. He will be buried from his residence this afternoon, and a large concourse of those who knew him and loved him in life will follow his remains to their last resting place.

SHELBY.  A building of historic significance, which has been used in recent years to house antiques, was destroyed by fire early Friday morning.

Although the owner, Robert Waite, has estimated the uninsured loss of the structure and its contents at $200,000, he said the community suffered the biggest loss.

The home which had belonged to Shelby Ironworks founder Horace Ware, would have been part of an historic park that is being created by the Historic Shelby Society, Waite said.

Built around 1850 by the man who has been called the chief of the early iron-masters of Alabama, the home has been described by some historians as the most architecturally unique home in the county.

Waite, who lives in North Shelby, said a Shelby resident who lives across the road from his antique business heard an explosion around 3:30 a.m. and saw a glow in the sky.

While there was nothing the Shelby Volunteer Fire Department could do to save the structure, Waite praised the quick response of the unit and the fact said that the volunteers stayed until 7 a.m. when there was no longer an danger.

Buddy Rhinehart, one of the 16 volunteer firemen who answered the call, said that the men and four trucks were on the scene within two minutes.

He said the structure was fully involved when the firemen arrived.

Since the fire seemed to have started in the kitchen area, Waite said he assumed it was caused by the wood burning stove.

However, the stove felt cool to his touch when he had left around 4 p.m. the previous day, Waite said.

Although everything but the brick facade was destroyed, Waite said that he hopes to be able to restore the building.

"Handmade bricks were used in the home," he said, "and the framing lumber was heart pine, which kept the fire burning once it started."

Waite said he plans to bring some of the antiques he has stored at other locations to sell from a trailer near the burned home site.