On May 21, 1969, the Moselle Iron Furnace Stack of the unincorporated community in Moselle, Missouri, was added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Missouri. It's possible if you live in Missouri, you may have never heard of this little town unless you learned it was abandoned or it fits the description of a ghost town.
If a small community has a small population, can it be considered a ghost town? I don't think so. don'tAccording to Ubex Underground-Explore Everything, it's a legitimate ghost town. Of course, a ghost town doesn't necessarily mean it's inhabited by ghosts.
Any abandoned city, town, or village can be considered a ghost town. They usually also have visible remains, such as empty buildings. (Source.)
Allegedly, there are only 10 residents in the area of Moselle even though a good part of the town appears to be abandoned. While buildings appear to be abandoned, they are still owned property. If you decide to explore these popularized ghost towns, you still have to respect privately owned properties.
Moselle is located in Franklin County about five miles northeast of St. Clair. A blast furnace was built in Moselle in 1849. It's believed that the town was named after Moselle, France. In 1860, there was a post office established, and believe it or not, it operated for 111 years.
The iron furnace stack
The iron furnace stack is one-mile southeast of Moselle. It was built around 1848 or 1849. From 1850 to 1854, it operated as Moselle Iron Furnace. From 1855-1859, it operated as the Furnace of the Franklin Iron Mining Co., and from 1874 to 1875, it was the Moselle Iron Company. It was made from cut stone blocks and was 31 feet tall. It ceased operation in the summer of 1875.
In its early operation, it was a cold-blast iron smelter that was operated by a steam engine. It probably consisted of a charcoal house, a casting house, and an engine house. In 1867-1874, it was converted from cold blast to hot blast. The Moselle Iron Company owned 9,000 acres of timberland in its vicinity.
The company also owned 26 log structures that housed 350 employees of the company. The furnace stack is all that is left of the ironworks. The stack faces north and the back of it faces a bluff that was the same height. On the top of the bluff, there's evidence of railroad spur tracks. Those tracks were used to transport raw materials that were necessary for the iron process up to the top of the furnace.
Visit here to see images of furnace stack structures across the country that are still standing.
The below video takes you for a ride through Moselle and for the purpose of providing an essence of the town, I believe it captures what you need to know.
Thanks for reading.
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