Longdale Furnace Historic District
Also known as: VDHR File No. 03-338
Why it's listed
Longdale Furnace is a former iron-making village in northeast Alleghany County, Virginia, set in a narrow valley along Simpson Creek. The district covers about fifty acres of the old Lucy Selina Furnace-Longdale Iron Company property, including its manufacturing, shipping, commercial and residential center. A stone furnace stack was built in 1827, and in 1874 the furnace was converted to coke fuel, the first pig iron furnace in Virginia to make that change. Iron production ended in 1911, and most equipment and buildings were later removed. Surviving features include a brick machine shop, two 106-foot brick exhaust chimneys, a log office and laboratory, the graded beds of the company's narrow-gauge railroad, and archaeological sites. The company village still holds the large Firmstone-Johnson House built for the directors, a Queen Anne-style assistant manager's house, workers' dwellings, a carriage barn and a doctor's office. Together they document how the iron industry shaped both the landscape and daily life here.
Significance in brief: The district preserves the industrial and residential core of an iron-making community that operated for nearly 100 years. Lucy Selina Furnace was converted to coke fuel in 1874, the first pig iron furnace in Virginia to do so, and the company later brought Alleghany County to the forefront of Virginia iron production. The surviving buildings, chimneys, archaeological sites and landscape reflect the company's operations and the lives of its workers, managers and directors.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 95000898, listed August 3, 1995. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly, along Longdale Furnace Rd., Iron Ore Ln., Church Rd. and Conner Ln., Clifton Forge |
|---|---|
| County | Alleghany County |
| Listed | August 3, 1995 |
| Reference number | 95000898 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian: Queen Anne; Early Republic: Federal; No Style |
| Areas of significance | Industry, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Iron production ceased in 1911 and most industrial buildings and machinery were dismantled. The village buildings have since been adapted as single-family dwellings, and the district has 38 contributing and 5 noncontributing resources. |
| Acreage | 50 |
| Coordinates | 37.81148, -79.68202 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 95000898.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14712742
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.