History of British Hollow

British Hollow was among the earliest settlements in the county, and where Thomas Hymer erected his cabin within its present precincts in 1827. Subsequently there was a large influx of emigration of miners, who developed the wealth of the region, and contributed to whatever of prosperity that has survived its flush of youth, so to speak.

The village proper was brought first into prominence through the efforts and enterprise of J. R. Vineyard, James Lancaster, Edward Thwaites, R. Urvine, and others, and while containing several stores, a hotel, etc., has lost its prestige as a town these many years. It is supplied with a school and a Methodist Church, which, with business transacted annually of but limited proportions, are the chief points of interest to residents and strangers.

The Methodist Episcopal Church is a handsome frame, about 25' x 30' in dimensions, with a capacity for 200, and was built in 1859 at a cost of $600. It is attached to the Georgetown Circuit, and services are held there semi-monthly under the pastorate of Reverend T. J. Lewis.

The congregation is estimated to number about forty.

The system of schools in use here is the same as that established throughout the county. The school edifice, however, is one of the most commodious, architecturally handsome and otherwise attractive in this portion of the state. The main building is composed of stone 271 x 36' completely furnished, and was erected in 1.868, at a cost of,$1,200. The addition is also of stone, 21',"x 30' and was erected as a primary department in 1875, costing an amount similar to that paid for the main building.

The course of instruction is complete, with a view to affording desirable opportunities for the acquisition of an education. It enjoys an average daily attendance of 30, and $400 is expended annually in its support.

Smelting Furnace

Standing as the last of its kind in the lead region, this underground lead smelting furnace with its 200 feet underground chimney was built in the 1840s and used throughout the 19th century. The long underground chimney created a fierce draft that allowed rapid smelting of lead. The pigs or plats of lead ore, usually weighing from 10 to 70 pounds, each were then loaded onto wagons and hauled to the Port of Potosi, where flat keelboats, some times referred to as flatboats, made of logs, shipped the mineral to St. Louis for further processing. Click here to learn about the ongoing restoration project.