Old Irontown
Posted by: 
brwhiz
N 37° 35.987 W 113° 26.994
12S E 283724 N 4164233
This Historical Marker is mounted on a steel post near some building ruins inside Old Iron Town State Park Historic Site on Iron Town Road southwest of Utah Highway 56, west of Cedar City, Utah.
Waymark Code: WMGNMY
Location: Utah, United States
Date Posted: 03/24/2013
Views: 3
Old Irontown
Although discovered by Peter Shirts in early 1868, the area known as Iron City blossomed under the investment of Ebenezer Hanks. In June of 1868, Hanks established the Union Iron Company, later known as the Great Western Iron Company.
The 1870 census indicates that 97 people, living in 19 households resided in Iron City. The iron works consisted of a furnace, with a 2,500-pound capacity, a pattern shop, molding shop, erastra, (grinding device) and two charcoal kilns.
The Great Western Iron Company needed large sums of capitol to operate and sought outside investors. With new money came new labor. Many of the new workers were not members of the local conservative religion and Iron City soon became a place where drinking and swearing were commonplace. By 1871 Iron City had a post office, boarding house, brick schoolhouse, butcher shop, and general store.
At peak production the iron works produced five to seven tons of pig iron per day. They supplied ore for the Utah Western Railroad, mining companies in Pioche, Nevada, and also provided the iron used in the 12 oxen that support the St. George LDS Temple baptismal font.
The Great Western Iron Company could not survive financially selling small items to cash-strapped Mormon settlers and could no longer afford the shipping costs for their larger contracts. The iron works closed in 1876.
Now known as Old Irontown State Park this area has been preserved for its distinctive structures and historical presence.