Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 07/17/1973
NRHP Listing Date 01/21/1974
NRHP Reference Number 74002108
Callie Furnace is a late example of the iron furnaces that dotted the mountains of western Virginia in the 19th century. It was constructed in 1873 by D. S. Cook, who named it after his wife, Caroline Wilton Cook. A high-grade iron ore was mined on the Botetourt County property and the pig iron produced here was transported by rail to waiting mills in Ohio and Pennsylvania. The furnace went out of blast after 1884 but remains in a good state of preservation. The gently tapered stone structure is typical of area furnace design and rises thirty-three feet above the firebox. It was fueled first with charcoal but was modified in 1875 to use coke. The structure is now within the George Washington National and Jefferson National Forests and is maintained by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service.
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Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Updated: June 3, 2021
