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 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.
During the coking process, a laborer would level the deposited coal through the side window using a scaper. Once the coal was ready, the side window would be sealed with clay, leaving a 1-inch (2.5 cm) opening to allow the entry of air. The process, which essentially involves heating bituminous coal in a closed chamber to remove its volatile material, took about 72 hours. At the end of the process, the clay seal was broken, and the coke was removed and placed on a train for shipment to an iron furnace in Chattanooga. Two tons of coal typically produced one ton of coke.
After the 1920s, the Dunlap Coke Ovens lay dormant for over a half century. By the 1980s, all that remained of the Dunlap operations were the ovens, a slate pile and coal washer ruins, two company houses (drastically modified), and the clubhouse. Some of the ovens retained only their sandstone frame, some retained only their brick interiors, and some had collapsed entirely.
All Photography by Samuel E Burns
In 1985, the ovens were added to the National Register of Historic Places. The property, which had come under the ownership of the Bowater Corporation, was donated to the Sequatchie Valley Historical Association later that same year. With the help of hundreds of volunteers, the association cleared tons of trash from the area, and the Dunlap Coke Ovens Park opened in 1987. To raise funds for park staffing and maintenance, the Sequatchie Valley Historical Association built an amphitheater adjacent to one of the oven batteries, and held its first annual Coke Ovens Bluegrass Festival. In 1989, the park received $71,000 from the estate of Rhea County historian David Henry Gray, which it used to reconstruct the commissary on its original foundation. The reconstructed building now houses the Coke Ovens Museum.
Along with the museum, ovens, and amphitheater, Dunlap Coke Ovens Park includes a coal mine replica with mining machinery on display, the ruins of the 1906 coal washer, a replica of the Dunlap depot, a caboose, and various park shelters. A hiking trail now follows the incline railway grade to the former mining areas atop Fredonia Mountain.
