The first major industry to develop in Stokes County was mining and iron making. Iron ore and limestone were found throughout the county, thus a natural beginning for this industry. The most famous iron works in Stokes County was the Tunnel Bloomery Forge, which was built by Nathaniel Moody in 1843 on the banks of the Dan River in Danbury. The operation eventually became know as the Moratock Mining and Manufacturing Company.
From 1862 to 1865 during the Civil War, this iron-smelting furnace was used to produce tons of bar iron for the Confederacy. In 1865 General George Stoneman’s Union troops marched through Stokes County and closed down the bloomery forge.
This imposing granite structure still stands today, and is an excellent example of the stonemason’s skill in that time period. It is built of rough-quarried rectangular granite stones and “unmortared” on the exterior. The furnace is in the shape of a trapezoidal cube, measuring roughly 28 feet square at the base, 28 feet high, and 26 feet square at the top. The Moratock Iron Furnace was the last forge to operate in Stokes County.
The cache is located in a small Danbury Park bearing the name of the furnace. In 2005 a Historical Marker was placed at the furnace for you to read about about it. It contains a local artist’s depiction of what the Moratock Iron Furnace looked like while it was in operation. The park is open from dawn to dusk and dogs are permitted only on a leash. This will be an easy find in the winter months with not many people around if any at all. In the summer months this place will be packed with people and the first stage will be a little harder to uncover, so take care as not to jeopardize it’s hiding spot.
The posted coordinates are for the actual Moratock Iron Furnace. Please do not tresspass and go inside the chained off area. There is nothing related to the cache there to find.
CAUTION: The cache is hidden in the Woods, so Be Prepared to encounter all the things that you would expect to find in the woods. Poison ivy, snakes, ticks, spiders, spider webs, chiggers, bees, briars, squirrels, birds, deer, lions and tigers and bears oh my, and some beautiful scenery. I would recommend dressing accordingly depending on the time of year when you visit the cache.
Thanks for hunting my first cache!
Sauratown Smokey
Smokey Says, “REMEMBER, Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires”.