{"nrhp_refnum":"74002231","name":"Mt. Torry Furnace","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"SW of Waynesboro on VA 664 in the George Washington National Forest","address_restricted":false,"city":"Sherando","county":"Augusta County","state":"VA","lat":37.94549138100007,"lon":-78.96444799899996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1974-02-25","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Mt. Torry Furnace is an iron-making furnace built in 1804 of hand-laid dry stone in the shape of a large pyramid, about 10 miles southwest of Waynesboro on Virginia 664 in the George Washington National Forest, Augusta County, Virginia.","why_significant":"It is presented as one of many iron furnaces built in the 1800s and as an example of the early industrial movement in the country. It supplied pig iron to the Tredegar Iron Co. in Richmond, which bought it in 1863. Union forces under Brigadier General Duffie put it out of blast in 1864.","narrative":"Mt. Torry Furnace is a large pyramid of hand-laid stone, built without mortar in 1804, in the George Washington National Forest about 10 miles southwest of Waynesboro, Virginia. Records from 1853 give its size as 35 feet high above the firebox with an interior diameter of 11 feet. It began as a cold-blast, charcoal-burning furnace and was converted to hot blast in 1853. Like others of its type, it was built beside a hillside so materials could be wheeled across a bridge to the top of the stack, with a water wheel driving the air bellows. It operated until 1854, then restarted after about seven years to supply pig iron to the Tredegar Iron Co. of Richmond, which bought it in 1863. Union Brigadier General Duffie had it burned on June 10, 1864. Replacement machinery was ready in early 1865 but installed only after the Civil War. The furnace finally went out of blast in 1892. Today it is in good condition and signed for visitors.","period_of_significance":"19th Century","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as in good condition; some preventative maintenance was done earlier and the site is now signed for visitors. The furnace went out of blast in 1892 and was abandoned soon after.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:57.314274-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/3/6797/41679703/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/74002231.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74002231/7108ba066d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74002231/7108ba066d-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Philip N. Wheeler","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mount_Torry_Furnace_4x6_300ppi.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Philip N. Wheeler</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:Mount_Torry_Furnace_4x6_300ppi.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41679703","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mt._Torry_Furnace","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14712931"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/augusta-county/mt-torry-furnace-74002231/"}