From Camping to Glamping: Tredegar Ironworks Richmond VA

July 7, 2017
Tredegar Ironworks
Richmond, VA

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Tredegar Iron Works

Tredegar Iron Works
City of Richmond
Department of Community Development

Named for the famous iron works at Tredegar, Wales, Tredegar Iron Works opened in 1837 and stood as Richmond's foremost business concern for more than a century. The city’s location next to a waterpower source, its proximity to working coalfields, and the development of the railroad industry in the 1830's and 1840's, made Richmond the iron and coal center of the South. Iron ore was brought to the city from western Virginia via the James River and Kanawha Canal, which ran past Tredegar.

The iron works' rise to prominence began in 1841, when Joseph R. Anderson first became associated with what then was a nearly bankrupt enterprise. In the middle of a period of severe depression in the American iron industry, Anderson brought Tredegar a measure of prosperity. By 1854, Anderson purchased the facility outright from its shareholders, and J. R. Anderson and Co. supplanted the Tredegar Iron Company to become one of the largest and best-equipped foundries in the nation. The facility manufactured a diverse array of products, including cannon and ordnance for the government, locomotives, and equipment for sugar mills.

The onset of the Civil War in 1861 meant a steady workload for Tredegar. The Confederate authorities selected Richmond as the capital of the Confederacy that year, in part because of Tredegar's irreplaceable value to the fledgling nation. Shortages of both raw material and skilled labor kept Anderson's operation from functioning at full capacity during the war years; nonetheless, Tredegar produced more than 1,000 cannons for the Confederacy. It also made armor plating for use on Confederate ironclad warships, including the famous CSS Virginia. Anderson's shops experimented with submarines, cannon designs, and countless other projects associated with the southern war effort.

Although Anderson survived the Civil War and the collapse of the Confederate government, the financial panic of 1873 and the increasing prevalence of steel over iron brought about the gradual demise of his 19th-century industrial complex. The iron works continued production until 1952, when a fire destroyed the majority of its buildings. Three antebellum buildings have been salvaged and restored: a small office building, a pattern shop, and the much larger cannon foundry that dates from 1861.

Some stabilization and restoration work on Tredegar occurred in the 1970's, and in 2000, the National Park Service developed Tredegar into its primary visitor center for the Richmond-area Civil War battlefields. In 2006, a private nonprofit museum opened in the cannon foundry, now called The American Civil War Museum at Historic Tredegar. The museum tells the story of the Civil War from Union, Confederate, and African American perspectives.

Remnants of a old power plant, stand in the park across the street.

Note the name Tesla at the top.

This building houses the three floors of the Museum. Tredegar is pronounced 'tread-eh-ger'

The waterwheel that powered the plant

When I was a kid, one of the cereal companies put "confederate currency" in their cereal boxes as a prize.

1861

The city, the state and the new Confederate government, each made laws that affected Richmond. That resulted in conflicts that affected how the city functioned. The war effort made severe demands on the city. The population doubled, there was an increased demand for hospitals, prisons, supplies, etc. The government that said it went to war for "States' Rights" was taking them away with their demands.

The owner of Tredegar Iron Works, Joseph Reid Anderson, prospered before the war by seeking new markets. The war caused him to lose many of his workers to enlistment, and migration to the north. He stayed afloat by owning or controlling many varied companies, from coal mines to shoe makers.

1862

These are Civil War era surgical tools.

Richmond was of strategic importance because of it's location on the James River as well as the existence of 5 railroads. One of the issues that needed to be addressed was that the railroad companies used tracks of different gauges. An effort was made to standardize the tracks so they could connect the lines. The Union army advanced on the river and the railroad tracks were being destroyed, requiring constant repairs.

Battle casualties overwhelmed the Richmond hospitals. The wounded were housed in homes, hotels barns, warehouses, anywhere there was space. Five new hospitals were built. Almost half a million soldiers were hospitalized in Richmond during the war.
Supplies were hard to obtain, so the hospitals attempted to become self sufficient.

1863

With the men at war, women took over the traditionally male roles, as well as continuing their own traditional roles. Their standard of living declined as the war continued.

African Americans were vital to Richmond's economy. They worked in all facets of the economy, from factories to bakeries, from blacksmithing to barbering. Blacks had to carry passes or free papers at all times. The chaos of war allowed opportunities for escape to the north.

Children were also affected by the war. The rich were able to send their children to live with family elsewhere or to boarding schools where they would be safe. The children who stayed, often played war games and bullied each other. Some were sent to work in factories, etc.

1864

Union Patriots lived in Richmond and Confederate patriots lived in Washington. Spies flourished in both capitals. Elizabeth Van Lew, a wealthy Richmonder, along with both white and black Union sympathizers, ran a spy network that helped prisoners escape and transmitted important information to the federal forces. This was the most organized spy network in the confederacy.

The city was being overwhelmed by people who were driven from their homes by Union forces, or fled the countryside for the safety of the city. The city's population almost tripled.