Montgomery Bell was a manufacturing

Manufacturing

Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...

 entrepreneur

Entrepreneur

An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...

 who was crucial to the economic development

Economic development

Economic development generally refers to the sustained, concerted actions of policymakers and communities that promote the standard of living and economic health of a specific area...

 of early Middle Tennessee

Middle Tennessee

Middle Tennessee is a distinct portion of the state of Tennessee, delineated according to state law as the 41 counties in the Middle Grand Division of Tennessee....

. He was known as the "Iron Master of the Harpeth

Harpeth River

The Harpeth River, long, is one of the major streams of north-central Middle Tennessee and one of the major tributaries of the Cumberland River...

" and the "Iron Master of Middle Tennessee".

Early life

Bell received very little formal education

Education

Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...

 during his childhood but served a three-year apprenticeship to a leather

Leather

Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...

 tanner. He was later instructed in hatmaking by an older brother and apparently practiced this trade with some success during his teen years. Just before turning 20 he left Pennsylvania for Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...

, where an older sister had recently been widowed. He established himself as a hatmaker in the area, paying for the education of his sister's children and at times employing as many as 20 other people before deciding to move further south.

Businessman

Greatly interested in the industrial potential of water power, Bell was drawn to Middle Tennessee, where there were sizable streams and an abundance of iron ores, particularly hematite

Hematite

Hematite, also spelled as haematite, is the mineral form of iron oxide , one of several iron oxides. Hematite crystallizes in the rhombohedral system, and it has the same crystal structure as ilmenite and corundum...

, in some areas. In 1804 Bell purchased James Robertson's iron works at Cumberland Furnace

Cumberland Furnace, Tennessee

Cumberland Furnace is an unincorporated community in northern Dickson County, Tennessee, United States, largely immediately west of State Route 48. It was the site of a large 19th century iron works, initiated by Nashville, Tennessee founder James Robertson and later operated by the "The Iron...

 for the then-large sum of $

United States dollar

The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....

16,000, soon expanding them into one of the largest operations of the sort in the entire Southern United States

Southern United States

The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...

. He also built other furnaces and mills, notably a hammer mill south of Charlotte

Charlotte, Tennessee

Charlotte is a town in Dickson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 1,153 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Dickson County.-Geography:...

 on Jones Creek, where the water was diverted through a limestone

Limestone

Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

 dam

Dam

A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...

 built by slave

Slavery

Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...

 labor.

By 1808 Bell was advertising

Advertising

Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...

 in Nashville

Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...

 newspapers to buy wood at 50 cents per cord. Bell was greatly enriched by a government contract for cannonballs for use in the War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

; cannonballs made at his Cumberland Furnace works were those used by Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...

's forces in the Battle of New Orleans

Battle of New Orleans

The Battle of New Orleans took place on January 8, 1815 and was the final major battle of the War of 1812. American forces, commanded by Major General Andrew Jackson, defeated an invading British Army intent on seizing New Orleans and the vast territory the United States had acquired with the...

. Apparently at least some of this wealth was reinvested in what is generally considered to be his greatest project at the "Narrows of the Harpeth

Harpeth River State Park

Harpeth River State Park is a state park in Cheatham County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The park is a linear park that was created to connect several state historic, natural, and archaeological sites along the lower Harpeth River...

", which he called "Pattison Forge" after his mother's maiden name (a nearby historical marker misidentifies it as "Patterson Forge"). Here, Bell, again using slave labor, blasted a tunnel

Tunnel

A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...

 approximately 100 yards (91 m) long [state park signs at the tunnel give its length as 200 feet] through a narrow limestone and sandstone ridge across a point where the Harpeth River

Harpeth River

The Harpeth River, long, is one of the major streams of north-central Middle Tennessee and one of the major tributaries of the Cumberland River...

 made a seven-mile (11 km) horseshoe bend. The resulting power ran Bell's iron milling operations and was so successful that apparently some previous projects, such as the Jones Creek mill, were eventually abandoned. Bell eventually made the Narrows the site of the headquarters of all of his operations and built a home there. Apparently he suffered some financial reverses due to the Panic of 1819

Panic of 1819

The Panic of 1819 was the first major financial crisis in the United States, and had occurred during the political calm of the Era of Good Feelings. The new nation previously had faced a depression following the war of independence in the late 1780s and led directly to the establishment of the...

 and its aftermath; in 1824 he advertised the Narrows and other of his properties for sale in the Nashville Whig newspaper, but at least the Narrows property was not sold at this time, nor in his lifetime. Subsequent looting, flooding, and the effects of time have meant that the only remaining evidence of this large operation today is the tunnel, which still remains and is part of a state park

State park

State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the federated state level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, or recreational...

, and some slag.

Character

Bell was noted for sharp business practices; it was said of him that he would never pay a debt unless sued for it. He was also reputed to frequent prostitutes

Prostitution

Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...

 and to force his attentions upon female slaves. Earlier in his life he was also quick to whip male slaves for the slightest offense and was noted for the ferocity with which he would pursue those who ran away; later in his life he came to regard slavery as a great moral wrong and at the time of his death was in the process of freeing his slaves and arranging passage for many of them to Liberia

Liberia

Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...

. He seemingly had a particularly warm relationship with one slave, James Worley, whom he had acquired while in Lexington and who apparently had great ability as an engineer

Engineer

An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...

 and who came to be regarded by Bell as more of a colleague and associate than a servant. Bell even named one of his iron works "Worley Furnace" in his honor, a very unusual honor for an African-American in the early 19th century. When, during a business trip to New Orleans

New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...

, Bell was asked what he would take in trade for Worley, Bell reportedly replied, "I would not take all of New Orleans for him!"

Bell was always somewhat distant toward other people. Upon his arrival in the area, he had been one of the persons involved in the organization of the first Dickson County government, but Bell seemingly had little real interest in, or talent for, politics

Politics

Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...

. He never married, and apparently never had any truly close friends other than, conceivably, the aforementioned Worley. As he aged, he became more secretive, even reclusive. He also lived a miserly existence, to the extent that, according to a witness, at the time of his death at the Narrows property snow was blowing onto his deathbed through a broken window that he had never arranged to have had repaired, despite his having, according to an inventory of his estate completed two years after his death, a net worth in cash and receivables alone in excess of $72,000. Bell was buried near the Narrows property in a cemetery in what was then still Dickson County; with the establishment of Cheatham County in the year following his death the place of his death and burial were included in the new county, not the one that he had for so long called home.

Legacy

Bell, always cognizant of the formal education that he had been deprived of, left at his death $20,000 toward "the education of children not less than ten nor more than fourteen years old who are not able to support and educate themselves and whose parents are not able to do so." This was the foundational grant for Tennessee's excellent and prestigious college preparatory school, Montgomery Bell Academy

Montgomery Bell Academy

Montgomery Bell Academy is a preparatory day school for boys in grades 7 through 12 in Nashville, Tennessee.The school ideal is "Gentleman, Scholar, Athlete." Montgomery Bell Academy is noted for a large number of National Merit and other scholarship winners...

, although the above stipulations have not been adhered to. In addition to this excellent institution, a state park [not the one at the Narrows property but another one about 15 miles (25 km) west, located on the site of several iron works in which he may have had an interest] is named in his honor, as is the small community of Burns, Tennessee and the Montgomery Bell Bridge over the Harpeth River just above its confluence with the Cumberland River

Cumberland River

The Cumberland River is a waterway in the Southern United States. It is long. It starts in Harlan County in far southeastern Kentucky between Pine and Cumberland mountains, flows through southern Kentucky, crosses into northern Tennessee, and then curves back up into western Kentucky before...

 near Ashland City, Tennessee

Ashland City, Tennessee

Ashland City is a town in Cheatham County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 3,641 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Cheatham County.-History:Ashland City was created in 1856 as a county seat for the newly-established Cheatham County...

 on State Route 49.

External links

• Montgomery Bell Series by Dale Graham, South Cheatham Advocate, published in 2000 and 2001