Logo Hurricane Hollow
December 2015
All Text & Images:
Copyright (2015)

I wanted to revisit Cooper's Furnace, but the area was closed.
I decided to do some more exploring around Hurricane Hollow.

There was considerable prospecting and mining around Hurricane Hollow from the 1840s through the
1940s.   Iron ore was mined initially for Mark Cooper's River Furnace, and considerable manganese was
later extracted from the same area.   The ridge west of the hollow near the Etowah River was site of the
"Big Ore Bank", and extending for more than a half mile to the north were numerous excavations, with
cut after cut and tunnel after tunnel.


Mine_Cut

Examples of the numerous old mine cuts on the ridge overlooking the Hollow
Now much filled in and with walls collapsed...


Mine_Cut



Big_Tree
Huge old tree at mining site near the Big Ore Bank


Big_Ore_Bank
A section of the Big Ore Bank
Manganese is usually associated with the yellow clay seen in the foreground.



Boulders
Boulders on the ridge



Down in the Hollow:

Railroad_bed
Section of old railroad spur bed


Ruins

Remains of structures from the mining operations


Lowland_ruins



Covered_ruins



Soapwort_Gentian
I was surprised to find a Soapwort Gentian still in bloom in December!




Rock_and_Cave
Boulders and cave along Hurricane Creek


Rock_Overhang
Rock overhang


Cave_Rock
The "cave in the boulder" from across the creek
Natural or man-made?



Rock_overhang
And the rock overhang from across the creek...




Mushrooms
Mushrooms on a log


Creek
Along the creek


Railroad_bed
Stone wall supporting the old RR bed that led to Cooper's Furnace



Hurricane Hollow Index Ruins Index Southeast USA Index
All Text & Images: Copyright 2015.