Blocton Coke Ovens Park - West Blocton, AL - Municipal Parks and Plazas on Waymarking.com

In the park are four rows of the remains of the Cahaba Coal Company’s coke ovens. These beehive block ovens were not the earliest coke producing units in the Cahaba Coal Field but may very well have been the largest single installation. Placed end to end the ovens would have covered more than a mile’s length.

By 1889, 140 coke ovens were in operation. 150 ovens were ready for operation and 185 additional ovens were authorized because of the successful use by the Pioneer Mining and Manufacturing Company of coke made from the “Blocton” coal. Also a favorable report on the qualities of “Blocton” coke for blast furnace purposes was issued by John Fulton, a recognized authority in the field. One hundred tons of “Blocton” coke was now being shipped daily to the Eureka Company at Oxmoor and the same quantity to Birmingham Furnace and Manufacturing Company at Trussville.

In 1909 US Steel authorized new tracks installed to the Beehive Coke Ovens at Blocton but company records do not record any coke being produced at Blocton after 1909.

During the Great Depression, the cave like, domed openings in the partially dismantled construction were shelters for hobos. Evidence of camp fires, food preparation and sleeping pallets could be observed by local youngsters who explored and played on the site in the Thirties and Forties. Many residents in West Blocton have bricks and stones from the ruins in their foundations and in yard retaining walls. The west wall of the Gillespie building on Main Street is constructed of brick from the ovens. Huge quarried stones from some of the ovens’ end-buttresses were used in 1987 to reconstruct an old iron furnace at Tannehill State Park.

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Name: Blocton Coke Ovens Park Street Location: The park is located in West Blocton, Alabama on Cahaba River Drive (Bibb County Road 24) approximately three miles west of the Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge. Local Municipality: West Blocton State/Province, etc.: AL Country: USA Web Site: [Web Link] Date Established: 1996 Recreational Facilities: The park features walking trails, picnic tables, a boardwalk and plenty of plants, trees and flowers. Traditional Geocaches: GC5NB9Y Memorial/Commemoration: Not listed Picnic Facilities: Not listed Monuments/Statues: Not listed Art (murals/sculpture, etc.): Not listed Fountains: Not listed Ponds/Lakes/Streams/Rivers/Beach: Not listed Special Events: Not listed

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