Tredegar Iron Works

By 1861 the Tredegar Iron Works were the largest in the Confederacy, and the sprawling complex produced much of the ordnance used by the Confederate army and navy. In 1863, a devastating fire destroyed the Crenshaw mill and several shops on the lower level. As some of these facilities were rebuilt, production shifted away from large cannon, which required a large work force and high-grade iron ore that were difficult to secure, toward more profitable railroad materials such as cars, axles, wheels, and trucks. After the war, Joseph Anderson and his Tredegar partners received presidential pardons and reopened the plant. The work force then consisted of former slaves and white workers who were paid equal wages. Most peacetime production related to the railroad industry, but during both world wars Tredegar received lucrative military contracts to cast artillery shells. The works closed in 1957, when some of the rolling equipment was moved to neighboring Chesterfield County, where operations continued until 1986.

Richmond, Virginia · United States