It was a beautiful day to visit one of the most scenic locations in Cherokee County – Monday morning, members of the Cherokee County Park Board along with local legislators Senator Andrew Jones and Representative Ginny Shaver in addition to a number of others, gathered at Cornwall Furnace Memorial Park for an official ribbon cutting & re-dedication ceremony.

The pavilion at the park was in need of repair and upgrade work, and that’s what the recent project covered – Park Board Treasurer Jerry Baker explains:

Perhaps the biggest compliment anyone could want came from Probate Judge Tim Burgess, who said “What’d you do?”  That’s how seamless the work was.  Between the workmanship and the rock chosen for use in the project, McKinney Construction of Centre managed to do exactly what was asked of them “Make it match as close as you can,” – and they pulled it off.

Prior to the ribbon-cutting, Representative Ginny Shaver shared her thoughts:

[Pictured left to right – Leann Hill, Jo Bob Ray, Tim Burgess, Ginny Shaver, Jerry Baker, Scooter Howell, Randy Jones, Andrew Jones, Heidi Richards, Daniel Steele and Christy Cochran]

Senator Andrew Jones shared his thoughts on the good fortune of those in our county, to be able to enjoy a site such as Cornwall Furnace Memorial Park:

Cornwall Furnace was constructed in 1862 by James Noble and Sons to produce pig iron for the Confederacy.  It was disabled by Union soldiers in 1864 – but it returned to operation in 1867, and continued to function up until 1874. 

The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 and purchased by the Cherokee County Commission in 1975 – and has been enjoyed by thousands of visitors over the years. 

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