THREE MEN WITH TOOLS REPAIRING A WATER TOWER, ALLENS CREEK

DURING THE NINETEENTH CENTURY, IRON MAKING WAS A BIG INDUSTRY IN TENNESSEE. MOST OF THE IRON MAKING WAS DONE IN THE WESTERN HIGHLAND RIM WHERE ALL THE NECESSITIES SUCH AS ACCESSIBLE ORE DEPOSITS, LIMESTONE FOR SMELTING, WOOD FOR FUEL, AND RIVERS FOR TRANSPORTATION WERE FOUND IN ABUNDANCE. MINING BEGAN IN ALLENS CREEK IN 1891, AND A SMALL MINING TOWN GREW AS THE MINERS BROUGHT THEIR FAMILIES TO THE AREA.

THE ALLENS CREEK FURNACE CLOSED IN 1923 AND WAS DISMANTLED IN 1936, CAUSING THE TOWN THAT HAD GROWN AROUND THE INDUSTRY TO DIE OUT....