Cast Iron Pipe Center of the Nation -- Iron & Steel Museum of AL, Tannehill Ironworks State Park, McCalla AL
N 33° 14.982 W 087° 04.267
16S E 493375 N 3678971
A sign of history in a display of different types of pipes used in American cities through the ages.
Waymark Code: WMWF5Y
Location: Alabama, United States
Date Posted: 08/26/2017
Views: 1
The Iron and Steel Museum of Alabama contians a comprehensive display of water pipes from the wooden pipes of the 1700s to the cast-iron pipes of the modern day.
"A sign in the display sign reads as follows:
“THE BIRMINGHAM DISTRICT – CAST IRON PIPE CENTER OF THE NATION
Between 1900 and the outbreak of World War I, Alabama - and specifically the Birmingham district - would become the center of cast-iron pipe manufacturer in the United States.
In 1913 more than one million tons of cast-iron pipe and fittings were made in the US. Alabama let all states in total tonnage followed by New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Ohio.
Despite the loss of blast furnaces and steel mills after World War II in Birmingham, the city continued to be a major producer of cast-iron pipe. In 1995 the Birmingham district still ranked first in the nation. That year Birmingham plants accounted for 50 percent of all cast-iron pipe made in America and 25 percent of iron pipe produced worldwide.
While pig iron at one time provided the basis for pipe manufacture, the transition to ductile iron in 1955 brought with it a shift to scrap iron. Today, Birmingham pipe foundries provide a substantial market for recycled iron and steel.
Major Birmingham foundries include American Cast-Iron and Pipe company, McWane Cast-Iron Pipe Company and United States Pipe and Foundry Company. As of the year 2000 all of their local plants had been in continuous operation for 79 to 110 years.”
Group that erected the marker: Tannehill Furnace and Foundry Commission
URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: [Web Link]
Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary:
Iron & Steel Museum of Alabama
Tannehill State Park
McCalla, AL
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