Sloss Furnace, pt.2

I don't know really why Jowers became a ghost and the others who died there didn't. It probably had something to do with the promise he made to his wife that he would always be around a furnace somewhere. I also think [his spirit has returned] because so little of him was found, just a foot and a shoe. Christian people believe that when a person dies, he's got to have a proper burial. Jowers didn't [have a Christian burial], and his gruesome remains remind people of that. It could be, too, that this is why his spirit is restless.

Now, another ghost has been seen around the Sloss Furnaces as well. In the early 1900's, there was a young girl who was pregnant out of wedlock who came here. You see, at that time, getting pregnant without being married was taboo. Anyone who did this was considered to be an outcast. Well, one day, while they were pouring the iron into the sows, she jumped into the furnace and committed suicide. It wasn't long after this happened that they were having some kind of official ceremony at the Sloss Furnaces and a deer ran through the crowd and disappeared. Some people believed that it was the re-incarnation of the pregnant girl who killed herself in the furnaces. I've seen this story in print one time in conjunction with a time when they had repaired the furnace and were getting ready to get it back into action. It seems that the deer is seen when they are having visiting dignitaries and a big "whoop-de-doo" here on the site. It seems that whenever they are having a big event with politicians, that [the appearance of the deer] happens.

There's a building here at the Sloss Furnaces where all sorts of ghost activity has been reported. It's called the Blowing Engine Building. It was built in 1902, and it is the oldest building still standing at the Sloss Furnace. People who work here have reported all sorts of strange things. Workers here have said that they will set something down and a little late it will be moved to a different spot. They have also seen doors opening and closing by themselves.

I've been here 11 years, and I can't say that I believe all of the stories that I've heard about this place, but I do think that something is here. I can't explain it. It's like a force or something. I'll be walking around here by myself and see something out of the corner of my eye, something like the shape of a person. It will be there for a minute, then it will be gone. I can't explain it.

I made it a point to research and read all of the oral histories that we have here at Sloss. From those, you get bits and pieces of what was life was like and the stories about Jowers and the pregnant woman. Because of the age of the workers--they're in their late 80's and early 90's--who could give you stories. There are probably 30 workers who are still alive. We don't have a large base to pull from. It's dwindling every day. The Sloss Furnaces closed in 1971.

Visitors see the shadowy figure of a man all the time, but it could be one of our maintenance men.

For more information on Sloss Furnaces try these links: Sloss Furnaces National Historical Landmark, Historic American Engineering Record, another National Landmark page, and the very popular Sloss Fright Furnace (seasonal).