Report

This notebook contains correspondence, reports, and maps related to iron furnaces and coal deposits located in Sheffield and Florence, Alabama, and West Point, Tennessee. The material, compiled in 1898 by J. W. Worthington for financier J. W. Gates, describes the output of the furnaces and the furnaces' proximity to major railroads. Worthington concluded that the coal, iron, and furnace properties should be consolidated with the Northern Alabama Railroad to maximize profits. In 1899, Gates purchased approximately thirty small Alabama furnaces, founding the Republic Iron and Steel Company.

The collection also contains a small collection of materials related to the creation of the Pensacola, Alabama, and Tennessee Railway, presumably collected by Worthington for inclusion in his report to Gates.