Last updated: April 18, 2026
- Type: Former iron-mining community (now unincorporated)
- Heyday: Late 19th through early 20th century
Inman was the iron-ore mining leg of the integrated Marion County industrial complex of the late 1800s and early 1900s. While Whitwell supplied coal and Victoria produced coke, Inman supplied the iron ore that fed the smelters and foundries at South Pittsburg. Today it is a small, quiet residential area with mining-era remnants still visible on the surrounding slopes.
The Sequatchie Valley iron district
Iron-ore deposits in the ridges around Inman had been known locally for decades before they were seriously exploited. The arrival of British capital in the 1870s, through the Southern States Coal, Iron and Land Company and, after 1877, through investments led by James Bowron, made commercial mining viable. Rail lines tied Inman to the broader regional industrial system.
Mining operations
At its peak, the Inman Mine was a significant regional producer, supplying iron ore to the smelters at South Pittsburg. The community supported miners and their families, though it never grew to the size of the planned towns at Kimball or South Pittsburg.
Decline
As the Tennessee iron industry was outcompeted by Birmingham, Alabama, with its own integrated coal, ore, and limestone supply, the Marion County iron district contracted. By the middle of the 20th century, major operations at Inman had shut down. Smaller-scale activity and surface prospecting persisted here and there, but Inman's industrial era was effectively over.
Today
Inman is a small, rural community; evidence of the historic mine workings is still visible in the form of adits, overburden piles, and old access roads. The Inman name persists on local maps and in geographic feature databases.