Bloomery, Hampshire County, West Virginia
Encyclopedia
Hampshire County, West Virginia
Hampshire County is a county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of 2010, the population was 23,964. Its county seat is Romney, West Virginia's oldest town . Hampshire County was created by the Virginia General Assembly on December 13, 1753, from parts of Frederick and Augusta counties ...
in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
. Bloomery is located along the Bloomery Pike
Bloomery Pike
The Bloomery Pike is a north/south named route that runs from the North Frederick Pike in Frederick County, Virginia, USA to the Northwestern Turnpike near Augusta in Hampshire County, West Virginia. The Bloomery Pike was named for the community of Bloomery and the bloomeries that operated...
(West Virginia Route 127), northwest of Winchester
Winchester, Virginia
Winchester is an independent city located in the northwestern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the USA. The city's population was 26,203 according to the 2010 Census...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. According to the 2000 census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
, the Bloomery community has a population of 321.
Originally known as Sherrard's Store in the late 18th century, the community was renamed Bloomery reflecting its importance as a center for iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
smelting. The first of Bloomery's iron furnaces
Bloomery
A bloomery is a type of furnace once widely used for smelting iron from its oxides. The bloomery was the earliest form of smelter capable of smelting iron. A bloomery's product is a porous mass of iron and slag called a bloom. This mix of slag and iron in the bloom is termed sponge iron, which...
was constructed in 1770. In 1814, a post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
was established here.
Historic sites
With the exception of the past two decades, the majority of Bloomery's residences were constructed prior to the American Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
- Bloomery Grist Mill (c. 1800), Bloomery Pike (WV Route 127)
- Bloomery Presbyterian Church (1825), Bloomery Pike (WV Route 127)
- Bloomery School, Sandy Hollow Road (County Route 45/1)
- Fawcett House ("The Old Stone House"), Bloomery Pike (WV Route 127)
- Hatch House, Smokey Hollow Road (County Route 6)
- Old Bloomery Iron Furance, Bloomery Pike (WV Route 127)