08/16/2026
Just a few miles from our office!
Hidden in the woods along the banks of the Coosa River near Cedar Bluff stands a haunting and beautiful relic of Alabama's past. Cornwall Furnace, a towering stone iron furnace built during the Civil War, has stood silent for more than a century and a half, slowly being embraced by the forest around it. 🌲
Built in 1862, the furnace produced iron for the Confederacy during the war, part of Alabama's important role in the industry of the era. After the war, the great stone structure fell quiet, and the busy works that once surrounded it faded away, leaving only this sturdy monument of hand-laid stone.
Today Cornwall Furnace sits in a peaceful little park on the shores of Weiss Lake, its weathered walls draped in ivy, a striking sight rising from the greenery. To come upon it in the woods is to feel the deep quiet of history, a reminder of the hands that built it and the hard times it saw.
Places like this are precious, humble monuments where you can reach out and touch the past. Alabama is full of such hidden treasures, quietly waiting in the woods and along the rivers, holding their stories for those who take the time to seek them out. 🤍
