Dunlap coke ovens
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Dunlap coke ovens
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| Location | Hickory Street and Cordell Road in Dunlap, Tennessee |
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| Coordinates | 35°22′47″N 85°24′6″W / 35.37972°N 85.40167°WCoordinates: 35°22′47″N 85°24′6″W / 35.37972°N 85.40167°W |
| Area | 6 acres (2.4 ha) |
| Built | 1902, 1906, 1916 |
| NRHP Reference # | 85001489 |
| Added to NRHP | 1985 |
The Dunlap coke ovens are the remnants of a coke production facility near Dunlap, in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Built in the early 1900s, the facility consists of five batteries of 268 beehive ovens, which operated under various companies until the early 1920s. The ovens are now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and are maintained by the Sequatchie Valley Historical Society as part of Dunlap Coke Ovens Park.
The rise of the steel industry during the Industrial Revolution brought about an exponential increase in the demand for coke, a fuel derived from the carbonization of coal that was used primarily in the production of pig iron. The Dunlap coke facility, which converted coal mined atop Fredonia Mountain into coke for use in blast furnaces in nearby Chattanooga, brought drastic change and modernization to Dunlap and the central Sequatchie Valley, the economy of which had long been based on subsistence agriculture. While the ovens themselves are all that remain from Dunlap's coke production operations, the Sequatchie Valley Historical Society has redeveloped the coke ovens area into a substantial public park and museum.
The Sequatchie Valley is a long, narrow anticline valley carved into the southern section of the Cumberland Plateau. Dunlap, the county seat of Sequatchie County, is located near the center of the valley. The relatively steep walls of the Plateau rise roughly 1,000 feet (300 m) above the valley floor, which is traversed by the Sequatchie River. Fredonia Mountain, a section of the western valley wall, rises steeply a few miles west of Dunlap. The Dunlap Coke Ovens are situated at the base of Fredonia Mountain, along a stream known as Coops Creek. The ovens and surrounding park are located on Mountain View Road, just under a mile west of downtown Dunlap.
The Dunlap coke ovens facility consists of five batteries— four "double" batteries of ovens built back-to-back in staggered formation, and one "single" battery of ovens resting against an embankment. The batteries are all approximately 9 feet (2.7 m) tall and 35 feet (11 m) wide, and range in length from 180 feet (55 m) to 725 feet (221 m). The largest battery contains 100 ovens built back-to-back, and the smallest battery contains 24 built back-to-back. The lone "single" battery contains 38 ovens, and measures 580 feet (180 m). Each battery rests on a foundation of clay.
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Wikipedia