Cumberland Furnace is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

Dickson County Dickson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 54,315. Its county seat is Charlotte. Dickson County is part of the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN Metropoli ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Cumberland Furnace is served by a

U.S. Post Office The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the Federal government of the Uni ...

, ZIP Code 37051.

History

General James Robertson purchased the land now known as Cumberland Furnace in 1793 and constructed the first furnace. In 1804,

Montgomery Bell Montgomery Bell (January 3, 1769, Chester County, Pennsylvania – April 1, 1855, Dickson County, Tennessee) was a manufacturing entrepreneur who was crucial to the economic development of early Middle Tennessee. He was known as the "Iron Ma ...

moved to Middle Tennessee and purchased James Robertson's iron works business for $16,000. Bell expanded his operations and constructed other furnaces and mills, including a hammer mill south of

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

on Jones Creek utilizing waterpower. By 1808, Bell was buying wood at 50 cents per cord for charcoal to fuel his furnaces which cast cannonballs utilized in the War of 1812 by General Andrew Jackson's troops at the

Battle of New Orleans The Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815 between the British Army under Major General Sir Edward Pakenham and the United States Army under Brevet Major General Andrew Jackson, roughly 5 miles (8 km) southeast of the French ...

. A nearby unincorporated community where many of Bell’s workers lived is called Bell Town. Bell suffered losses in the

Panic of 1819 The Panic of 1819 was the first widespread and durable financial crisis in the United States that slowed westward expansion in the Cotton Belt and was followed by a general collapse of the American economy that persisted through 1821. The Panic h ...

, and in 1824, he advertised the Narrows and other properties for sale in the ''Nashville Whig''. Bell offered to sell his ironworks to the U.S. Army to be used for an armory; however, floods on the Harpeth were well known and that idea failed. Bell sold the ironworks to

Anthony Wayne Van Leer Anthony Wayne Van Leer (March 3, 1783 – July 9, 1863) was an American ironmaster and owner of the Cumberland Furnace in Dickson County, Tennessee. He was a member of the influential Van Leer family, the son of Samuel Van Leer, captain in the Co ...

, who was a member of a well-known family in Pennsylvania and noted in the anti-slavery cause. His mansion was also used as a Union headquarters. Van Leer’s granddaughter married a Union Captain James P. Drouillard and built what is now known as the Drouillard House on his property. Captain Drouillard operated the furnace until it was sold in 1889 to the Southern Iron Company. The Cumberland Furnace Historic District was designated on September 28, 1988 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.Cumberland Furnace Historic District (#88001109)
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References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Dickson County, Tennessee Unincorporated communities in Tennessee

History

Further reading

References