Tredegar Iron Works
The remnants of Tredegar Iron Works are on the James River in Richmond, Virginia at the terminus of the city’s thriving nineteenth century industrial waterfront. Buildings, brick walls, waterwheels, empty canals and millraces evoke specters of the people who worked there and of the products they made.
The archaeological site animates the anomaly of Tredegar in the annals of nineteenth-century southern industrial development. Few, if any, southern manufacturing firms attained the regional or national marketing scope Tredegar achieved throughout the nineteenth century; few, if any, achieved the manufacturing diversification of Tredegar; and few, if any, survived as long as Tredegar. Established in 1838, the company remained in operation in Richmond until 1952 with only a brief work stoppage at the end of the Civil War. Over time, its products ranged from railroad spikes, rails, nails, and chairs to locomotives, munitions, wheels and axles.
Tredegar's corporate records housed in the Library of Virginia may comprise the most complete extant collection of any nineteenth century southern business. They are not widely explored. Although this collection has informed narratives of the antebellum and Civil War eras, the post-Civil War years gather dust.
This site collates varied objects and materials about Tredegar Iron Works from Reconstruction through the end of the nineteenth century to situate the company's place in southern economic development and within a regional and national narrative of American industry and technological change.
Featured Item(s)
Home of Colonel Archer Anderson, 1970
Black and white photograph of the demolition of the Archer Anderson house, 103 W. Franklin Street; image shows the side of the house and the three-story curved porch at the back; the… ...more
Colonel Archer Anderson and Family, Tintype
Colonel Archer Anderson (1913-1918) was the son of Joseph Reid Anderson. Educated at the University of Virgina, he fought in the Civil War in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.… ...more
Tredegar Iron Works, 1865
View of the Tredegar Iron Works, from the Petersburgh railroad bridge, Richmond, Va. [The war for the Union, photographic history.] (1861-1865) , Richmond, Va. [The war for the Union,… ...more
Smelting Iron from Iron Ore
Williamsburg, Virginia, blacksmiths smelt iron in a bloomery furnace. A reduction process, it removes oxygen and other elements from iron ore resulting in a bloom of wrought iron that can be… ...more
Featured Collection
Virginia Maps
Geologic, topographical, municipal, and regional historic Virginia maps
Recent Items
Letter from W. S. Cothran, President, Cornwall Co to Archer Anderson, Treasure
Letter, Mary Anne Mason Anderson to her parents
Wedding Invitation, Mary Anne Mason to Archer Anderson
The Minister of the United States and Madame Mason have the honnor of inviting you to take part in the marriage of Mme. Mary Ann Mason, their daughter,… ...more
Deed, of Sale, City Fire Insurance Company to Tredegar Co, June 12, 1883
Report of Title of Neilson to Wood & Wood Tredegar Co;,February 5, 1872
