{"nrhp_refnum":"73002014","name":"Washington Iron Furnace","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"108 Old Furnace Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Rocky Mount","county":"Franklin (city and county)","state":"VA","lat":36.987131970000064,"lon":-79.89160251299995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-03-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Engineering","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A granite iron furnace on Furnace Creek (formerly the Iron Mine Branch of Pigg River) at Rocky Mount, Franklin County, Virginia, with records dating to 1770.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it one of the best preserved iron furnaces in Virginia. It was an important local industry, operated by John Donelson, then Colonel James Calloway, then the Saunders brothers. By 1836 it employed about one hundred men and produced 160 tons of bar iron and castings a year.","narrative":"Built of granite against a hillside on Furnace Creek near Rocky Mount, this iron furnace has the elongated, truncated pyramid shape typical of its era. Quarry notches are still visible on its faces. The southern face measures almost 30 feet, and the hearth and bellows openings are capped with a heavy stone lintel. Ore, charcoal and limestone were once dumped in from the top by a bridge that no longer exists. Records of the works go back to 1770, when John Donelson operated it as \"The Bloomery.\" In 1779 it was sold to Jeremiah Early and James Calloway, who renamed it Washington Iron Works. A letter of 1805 lists castings such as ovens, skillets and fire dogs. Around 1820 the Saunders brothers bought it. An 1836 gazetteer reported one hundred men employed and 160 tons of bar iron and castings made each year. It is recognized as one of Virginia's best preserved iron furnaces.","period_of_significance":"18th Century","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as standing in remarkably fine condition; the bridge that once led to the top of the furnace is no longer extant.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:57.408513-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/56/6807/41680756/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/73002014.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73002014/1da0a61e3d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73002014/1da0a61e3d-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"MarmadukePercy","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Washington_Iron_Works_Franklin_County_Virginia.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">MarmadukePercy</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Washington_Iron_Works_Franklin_County_Virginia.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41680756","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Iron_Furnace","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14713497"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/franklin/washington-iron-furnace-73002014/"}