At 12:47 PM 8/23/2008, Todd wrote: >Can someone clarify the geographic location of Hardman, WV? Is it >located in Taylor County or Preston County? Does the community still exist? Hi, Todd, The present DeLorme Atlas for WV has only a Hardman in Gilmer County. According to Wiley's History of Preston, there was town called Franklin built for the people who worked in George Hardman's iron furnace which, says Wiley, was called Franklin Furnace. Perhaps some folks called the place Hardman instead of Franklin. When the furnace was sold, the new owner called it Irondale, and the town's name was also changed to Irondale. Later Wiley writes that the Furnace was first called Hardman's, that would have been 1859-1865 when George Hardman owned it, and then the Franklin Iron and Coal Co. apparently purchased it. It was still run by Hardman, so perhaps some folks still referred to the place as Hardman. This was in the Lyon Dist. Regards, Jane >My maternal grandmother was born there. > >Thanks, > >Todd Gerkin >-- >TMG >tgerkin@triad.rr.com > > >------------------------------- >To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >WVPRESTO-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without >the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

George and Nancy Hardman owned Franklin Furnace aka Franklin Iron and Coal Co. It was named for an infant of theirs who died around 1855/1856 at the Clinton Furnace, Monongalia County, also owned (1853-1859) by them. The furnace was called Hardman Furnace as was the community George Hardman established for the workers. In addition to the furnace later being called Irondale the general area was/is also referred to as Victoria. The B&O RR siding (which no longer exists) was called Hardman Siding. The tower at the switch, also used as a helper station, still exists although CSX moved it down the line slightly toward Newburg (which is where George Hardman died in 1873). Regards Willard Hardman Kingstowne, Virginia ---- Jane McCann Walsh <jmwalsh@hughes.net> wrote: ============= At 12:47 PM 8/23/2008, Todd wrote: >Can someone clarify the geographic location of Hardman, WV? Is it >located in Taylor County or Preston County? Does the community still exist? Hi, Todd, The present DeLorme Atlas for WV has only a Hardman in Gilmer County. According to Wiley's History of Preston, there was town called Franklin built for the people who worked in George Hardman's iron furnace which, says Wiley, was called Franklin Furnace. Perhaps some folks called the place Hardman instead of Franklin. When the furnace was sold, the new owner called it Irondale, and the town's name was also changed to Irondale. Later Wiley writes that the Furnace was first called Hardman's, that would have been 1859-1865 when George Hardman owned it, and then the Franklin Iron and Coal Co. apparently purchased it. It was still run by Hardman, so perhaps some folks still referred to the place as Hardman. This was in the Lyon Dist. Regards, Jane >My maternal grandmother was born there. > >Thanks, > >Todd Gerkin >-- >TMG >tgerkin@triad.rr.com > > >------------------------------- >To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >WVPRESTO-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without >the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to WVPRESTO-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message