|
Keywords |
historic marker Oxford Furnace iron works VA attraction display education historical marker Historical Site information landmark marker Place of Interest sign Tourist Destination Travel Destination Virginia attractive destination educating historic markers historic site info signage tourist attraction appealing history no people text tourism travel South attract historic nobody word daytime displays historical markers landmarks markers signs appeal color image educate historical outdoor vertical day destinations historic sites tourist attractions US colour image outside day time USA day-time U.S. words color images daylight outdoors U.S.A. verticals colour images Jason O. Watson / historical-markers.org natural light outsides United States United States of America Campbell County sign with text |
Caption |
OXFORD FURNACE
Just south across Little Beaver Creek stand the ruins of the last of three Oxford Iron Works furnaces built in the vicinity. Virginia and Pennsylvania investors began the ironworks nearby between 1768 and 1772 as a small bloomery forge. According to local tradition, James Callaway built the first blast furnace a mile south before the Revolutionary War. David Ross, a Petersburg entrepreneur, bought the property and built the second furnace on another branch of the creek by late 1776. Thomas Jefferson praised Oxford iron for its high quality. William Ross, an heir of David Ross, and his partners operated the third furnace from about 1836 to 1875.
Department of Historic Resources, 1997 |