The Australia Iron Furnace in Alleghany County is representative of the importance of the iron industry in the Valley of Virginia during the 19th century.  The history of Australia Furnace is tied to nearby Lucy Selina Furnace. In 1852 E & B.J. Jordan and Co. stopped using Lucy Selina Furnace (it was rebuilt in 1861) in order to concentrate their efforts on construction of a more modern furnace. They finally built Australia Furnace in 1854, on Simpson Creek near Lucy Selina. Australia Furnace was larger, in order to accommodate a hot-blast. Although Australia Furnace is no longer standing, it retains structures and features related to iron processing. During the Civil War, Australia Furnace supplied the Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond with iron. J.R Anderson of Tredegar bought the furnace during the Civil War. Operations were hampered because of the difficulty of transporting materials from the furnace to Richmond. Soon after the Civil War, the Longdale Iron Co. bought the land on which Australia and Lucy Selina Furnaces were located. They removed Australia Furnace and established a mining hamlet, but continued to operate Lucy Selina.
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