{"nrhp_refnum":"83003263","name":"Roaring Run Furnace","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"NW of Eagle Rock on VA 621","address_restricted":false,"city":"Eagle Rock","county":"Botetourt County","state":"VA","lat":37.70795476300003,"lon":-79.89299936699996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-03-21","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Exploration/Settlement","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"The ruins of a 19th-century charcoal iron furnace on Roaring Run Creek, about 6.5 miles northwest of Eagle Rock in Botetourt County, Virginia, built in 1832 and located on Jefferson National Forest land.","why_significant":"The furnace produced high-quality pig iron and supplied the Civil War effort, with most output shipped to the Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond. The reviewer found it significant for its link to Civil War military activity, as an example of industrial construction, and for the information potential of the foundations of the former complex.","narrative":"Roaring Run Furnace is the surviving stone stack of an iron-making complex on Roaring Run Creek in rural Botetourt County. Built in 1832 and rebuilt in 1847 to compete with Pennsylvania anthracite furnaces, it was abandoned in the 1850s. It returned to blast around 1861, producing iron noted for its exceptional quality. Some of the metal was used locally for the war effort, but most pig iron went to the Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond, which leased the works in December 1864. The original plantation housed roughly 100 workers and many draft animals, with a casting house, waterwheel, charging bridge and supporting wooden buildings. Today the 36-foot stack, wheel pit and hillside walls remain, along with slag, ore and limestone. Listing recognized its connection to Civil War iron production, its value as an example of industrial construction, and the archaeological potential of the foundations of the former complex.","period_of_significance":"1832-1875","architect_builder":"Mr. Robertson (builder, per Lesley's Directory)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A","C","D"],"status_note":"Stone stack still standing in fair condition, with a stone-lined waterwheel pit, hillside walls and visible slag; listed as unoccupied and in a ruinous state.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:56.859024-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/1/6798/41679801/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/83003263.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83003263/33677ac057-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83003263/33677ac057-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Roaring_Run_Furnace.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Roaring_Run_Furnace.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41679801","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roaring_Run_Furnace","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16899390"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/botetourt-county/roaring-run-furnace-83003263/"}