“Hills of Iron” at Red Top Mountain State Park
The annual “Hills of Iron” celebration will be held at Red Top Mountain State Park on Saturday, March 16, 2013 from 10 AM until 8 PM.
Hills of Iron recreates Bartow County’s historic iron industry.
Activities begin in the morning with hayrides to the Allatoona ore bank located in the Iron Hill Trail area. Rides start at 10:00 am and leave every half hour, the last one departing at 11:30 am. Wagons will be boarded at the Iron Hill Trail parking lot.
At the mine visitors will be given a tour by Park Naturalist Marcus Toft. “This open-cut mine is a great place to talk about the history of the area and of the park,” says Ranger Marcus.
The Friends of Red Top Mountain will begin selling scratch block molds at 2:00 pm behind the Park Office. Later in the evening these molds will be filled with molten iron to create unique works of art. Supplies are limited and arriving early is encouraged. Molds come in regular and extra-large and can be purchased for $8 and $15. All proceeds go to the non-profit Friends group.
President of the Friends of Red Top Mountain Damon Kirkpatrick says, “An exciting and much-anticipated addition this year is a silent auction for a Red Top Mountain cast iron skillet, made at last November’s Iron Pour.” Visitors can begin placing bids at 8:00 am in the Park Office.
Additional activities include an iron industry exhibit at the Park Office and demonstrations at the Vaughan Log Cabin and blacksmith shop, both of which will be open throughout the day.
The grande finale is the Iron Pour at 6 PM. With a few differences, the process used to make cast iron at Red Top is similar to that once done at the much larger Cooper’s Furnace, located near the Allatoona Dam. An emcee will describe and explain this process during the Iron Pour.
Red Top Mountain State Park is one of the busiest state parks in Georgia and is ideal for camping, hiking, biking, swimming, geocaching, fishing, picnicking and more.
The park is located 40 minutes north of Atlanta two miles east of I-75 exit 285. The Park Office address is 50 Lodge Road, Cartersville, GA 30121.
All vehicles must display an annual or $5 daily park pass.