Woodward Iron Company
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Iron and coal mining, blast furnace operations |
| Founded | December 31, 1881 |
| Founder | William Woodward, Joseph Woodward |
| Defunct | Error: All values must be integers (help) |
| Fate | Acquired by Mead Corporation in 1968; operations ceased mid-1970s |
| Headquarters | Bessemer, Alabama , United States |
Area served | United States |
Key people | William Woodward (president), Joseph Woodward (secretary) |
| Products | Pig iron, iron ore, coal |
Number of employees | 2000+ (1920s) |
The Woodward Iron Company was established on December 31, 1881, by brothers William (serving as president) and Joseph Woodward (acting as secretary). Its facilities were situated in the area bordered by Hueytown, Brighton, and Bessemer, Alabama. The company managed iron and coal mining operations, quarries, and blast furnaces, all interconnected by a privately owned industrial railroad headquartered in Bessemer. The main administrative building was positioned near Woodward Ore Mine #1, just south of Paul's Hill in Bessemer.
By the 1920s, Woodward Iron had risen to become one of the leading producers of pig iron in the United States, playing a vital role within the heavy industrial network of Birmingham and Bessemer. Its employee base numbered over 2,000 workers.
In 1968, amid forthcoming changes in the steel sector, Mead Corporation took ownership of Woodward Iron. By the mid-1970s, both mining and iron production activities had ceased. Since then, parts of the site have been cleared or repurposed for lighter industrial uses. Only a few structures remain visible today, including isolated chimneys and three surviving arches located at 3551 Bessemer Super Highway.
Railroad
Woodward's private industrial railroad traced the northern slope of Red Mountain and passed beneath the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company (TCI) line via an interchange track. Utilizing a switchback configuration, it linked three separate mining locations. Nearby were the Sloss #2 mine to the west and TCI/USX Wenonah #7 mine to the east.
Mines
The company operated three primary ore mines: Mine #1 situated south of Paul's Hill in Bessemer; Mine #2 located south of Lipscomb; and Mine #3 also south of Lipscomb. Notably, Mine #3 was the final active mine on Red Mountain before its closure around 1953. The Mine #1 area housed administrative offices, a school known as Red Ore, medical facilities, a commissary, and a tailings disposal site.
The #3 Tipple on the northwest slope of Red Mountain continued processing ore delivered by trucks from the Woodward Songo Slope Mine positioned between TCI's #10 and #11 mines.
Additionally, Woodward operated the Pyne Mine near Lacey's Chapel in Bessemer—recognized as one of the most productive vertical shaft mines within the Birmingham District. Construction began in 1918 to access ore approximately underground. This mine functioned intermittently until its closure around 1972 following a reopening during World War II.
Distinctively, Woodward was the sole operator of both vertical shaft iron ore mines in the Birmingham District: Pyne Mine and the Songo slope mine’s 384-foot vertical shaft (active from 1917 to 1927).
Furnace
The Woodward blast furnaces were established in Woodward, Alabama—located between modern-day Brighton and Dolomite—on land that once belonged to early Jefferson County planter Fleming Jordan, now part of Hueytown, Alabama.
Furnace #1 commenced operations on August 17, 1883, built on what was formerly Mrs. Jordan’s rose garden. Ore was transported by rail from Red Mountain mines through Lipscomb and Brighton to reach the furnace site. By 1909, three blast furnaces were active here with a combined daily output of 2,500 tons. As demand in the steel industry waned during the early 1970s, operations concluded with the final blast furnace shutting down in 1973. The Koppers Company acquired the remaining coke oven facilities and maintained production for several years before eventually ceasing operations.
See also
References