West Fork Furnace
Why it's listed
Deep in a forested valley southeast of the Town of Floyd, a massive stone furnace stack marks the site of an iron works built around 1853. The 2.6-acre property keeps the furnace, a dry-laid retaining wall, a ridge-top staging area where charcoal, ore and limestone were stored, a head race, a wheel pit and a tail race. Water from the East Prong of Furnace Creek powered a waterwheel that drove the bellows. Robert Toncray raised the venture, but costs of hauling limestone, poor markets for the copper-bearing iron and financial troubles ended production by late 1855. The furnace never fired again and stayed largely unchanged for about 140 years. That short life left an unusually intact mid-19th-century industrial site. It was listed for its engineering value as a distinctive ore-processing system and for the archaeological deposits in the staging area that may reveal how such furnaces were designed and operated. A Shelor family organization bought the property in 1990.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the furnace is a well preserved example of mid-19th-century iron processing engineering, and its components together form a distinctive, articulated system. It also holds intact subsurface remains, especially in the staging area, with potential to yield information on 19th-century industrial technology. The furnace operated for less than two years, so it was never altered by later changes.
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 09000414, listed June 5, 2009. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | VA 605, Floyd |
|---|---|
| County | Floyd County |
| Listed | June 5, 2009 |
| Reference number | 09000414 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1853-1855 |
| Architect / builder | Unknown |
| Architectural style | No Style |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Engineering, Historic - Non-Aboriginal |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Furnace described as in very good condition, though upper stack courses are disturbed and erosion threatens the retaining wall; current use is a park landscape. |
| Acreage | 2.6 |
| Coordinates | 36.83407, -80.37469 (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 09000414.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14713512
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.