Hike Location: Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park
Geographic Location: southwest of Bessemer, AL (33.24990, -87.07096)
Length: 4 miles
Difficulty: 4/10 (Moderate)
Date Hiked: March 2018
Overview: A rolling lollipop loop on historic roads
featuring a reconstructed Civil War-era iron furnace.
Park Information: https://www.tannehillstatepark.org/
Directions to the trailhead: West of Birmingham, take
I-20/59 to SR 216 (exit 100). Exit and
go east on SR 216. In only 0.4 miles,
take a soft right on to Tannehill Parkway.
Drive Tannehill Pkwy. 1.8 miles to its end at Eastern Valley Road. Turn right, then immediately turn left to
enter the park. Pay the park entrance
fee and follow signs to the Iron and Steel Museum of Alabama, which is also
this park’s Visitor Center. The hike
starts at the museum.
The hike: Founded
only in 1871 during the post-Civil War Reconstruction era, the City of
Birmingham’s industrial heritage has earned it the nickname “The Pittsburgh of
the South.” Named for the major
industrial center in England, all three major ingredients required for making 1800’s-style
iron are found near the city: iron ore, wood, and lime. As a result, the city experienced rapid
growth from 1881 through 1920, and Alabama continued to be the industrial heart
of the south throughout the 20th century.
The area’s
industrial potential was noticed before Birmingham even existed, and one early
successful attempt to exploit its resources was the Tannehill Ironworks. The Tannehill iron furnace was built in 1830
by Pennsylvania furnaceman Daniel Tillman, who was attracted to the area by its
rich brown iron ore that he called the best ore he had ever seen. The furnace produced iron for more than 30
years until it was destroyed by Union forces in the very last days of the Civil
War.
Today the
reconstructed iron furnace, several related historical buildings, and the Iron
& Steel Museum of Alabama are preserved within 1500-acre Tannehill Ironworks
Historical State Park, which was established in 1969. The museum features many artifacts from
Alabama’s 19th century iron industry and some other interesting
exhibits including one about the CSS Alabama, a Civil War merchant raider. The park features surprisingly many amenities
for an historical park including a campground with 195 developed sites and 100
primitive sites. 7 cabins, a pioneer
farm, a miniature train, the Tannehill Event Center, a country church and
schoolhouse both dating to the early 1900’s, a gazebo, and a playground round
out the amenities.
In terms of
trails, the park features trails for horses, mountain bikes, and hikers. While all but the horse trails are open to
hikers, the newer mountain bike trails were built by mountain bikers for
mountain bikers, so the best hiking option is the older Iron Works Loop
described here. The Iron Works Loop
follows two-track old dirt roads for its entire distance while passing the
reconstructed furnace and a slave cemetery, the park’s main historical sites.
 |
| Exiting the museum |
The first
objective is to reach the reconstructed furnace, which might be harder than you
would expect given that it is the centerpiece of the park. After walking out the front door of the
museum, turn right (south) and descend a set of concrete steps with iron railings. Next cross a side stream on a wooden
footbridge beside a concrete vehicle ford.
Ignore the playground to the right (I made the mistake of heading that
way when I hiked here) and take either of the two-track trails going left with
the park cabins on your left and the hillside rising to your right.
After reaching
the bank of Mud Creek and curving to the right, you reach the reconstructed
iron furnace at 0.25 miles. At a height
of roughly 30 feet, the stone and wood structure’s size is quite impressive. A large sign identifies the structure as the
Roupes Valley Ironworks, one of the historical names by which this furnace was
called. Some interpretive signs describe
how the furnace worked, but the elevated walkway that accesses the upper levels
is gated shut.
 |
| Reconstructed iron furnace |
After
investigating the furnace, angle left to cross Mud Creek on an iron/wood footbridge. Immediately after crossing the creek, you
reach a major trail intersection that forms the loop portion of this hike. The Iron Works Loop is marked with signs
bearing brown arrows, and you want to follow the wide two-track trail that goes
right to hike the loop counterclockwise.
A sign calls this track the Iron Road: iron used to be hauled along this
road from the furnace to a railroad terminal 18 miles away in Montevallo. Ignore a single-track mountain bike trail
marked with red arrows that also starts here.
The trail
climbs gradually to top a creekside bluff before curving left to head away from
the creek. The forest at Tannehill
consists of a wide variety of pine and broadleaf trees, the largest of which
are beech and tulip poplar. At 0.8
miles, you descend to cross a small side stream on stepping stones.
 |
| Crossing a small stream |
The next
mile is a rolling eastbound course through more of the same scenery and
forest. Quiet and solitude abound
here. At 1.8 miles, a side trail marked
only by a wooden post exits left to head for the slave cemetery. A brief detour uphill on narrow eroded trail
brings you to the cemetery. The
fenced-in cemetery contains mostly small uninscribed rocks as headstones, and
it is a solemn reminder of slave life in the antebellum south.
 |
| Slave cemetery |
Back on the
main trail, in less than 500 feet you reach an intersection where both options
are marked with brown arrows. The option
going right deadends in a short distance, so you need to turn left to continue
the Iron Works Loop. The old iron road
is now left in favor of an old stagecoach road, but the going remains on wide
two-track trail. A second trail to the
slave cemetery soon exits left.
Next comes
the only significant elevation change on this hike, as the trail climbs up and
over a narrow ridge. The ridge is only
about 200 feet above the surrounding terrain, so the climb is not too
arduous. Ignore unmarked trails that
exit right and all mountain bike trails, which are marked with arrows of colors
other than brown.
 |
| Topping the ridge |
At 2.8
miles, you reach another intersection with both options marked with brown
arrows. The option going straight leads
to the horse trailhead, so you want to turn left to begin the final leg back to
the restored furnace. This section of
trail is known as the Slave Quarter Trail, and it features some small signs
that help you identify some of the trees in this forest. A gently rolling course takes you past the
park’s fishing pond and amphitheater before closing the loop at the east bank
of Mud Creek. Pass the restored furnace
a second time as you retrace your steps to the museum and complete the hike.
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