To show the visitors how Birminghams iron industry developed, the main museum displays a wide range of Tannehill artifacts that have survived. Visitors, through paying a visit to the museum, can learn from the graphic exhibits how iron was made by 13 different iron companies and six rolling mills and how Alabamas iron-making industry made this state the arsenal of the Confederacy. Although Alabamas iron and steel industry experienced rapid growth during the post-war decades, Alabamas iron production had already occupied a central position in the countrys iron supply before the war ended. In the last two years of the Civil war, iron produced by Alabama furnaces accounted for 70% of the Confederate iron supply. To demonstrate the significant role Alabama played during the war , the museum displays a large number of wartime ironworks, including cookware, rifles and other weapons used by US soldiers (e.g. a 52 Cal. U.S. Spencer Repeater), cast-iron water pipes, CS artillery projectiles, the original parts of the Six Mile Bloomery Forge manufactured in 1860s, as well as a part of the Steve Phillips Collection. Notably, the artillery shells manufactured from 1862 to 1865 at the Naval Gun Works are also preserved in this museum, and this exhibition is considered as the Souths largest collection of artillery shells. In addition to the wartime iron relics, the museum preserves and demonstrates substantial numbers of historical artifacts that have witnessed the development of Alabama's iron and steel industry, such as a cast iron water pipe made in Birmingham during the 1880s.
The Iron and Steel Museum of Alabama not only displays iron relics but also preserves archaeological artifacts uncovered in this region. The site houses Walter B. Jones Centre for Industrial Archaeology, a state geologist and archeologist who devoted his lifetime to investigating Alabamas mineral and fossil fuel resources (Garrison, 2001) His geological and archaeological works are well preserved by many museums and historical institutions, including the University of Alabamas Jones Museum at Moundville Archaeological Park, as well as the Iron and Steel Museum of Alabama. In addition to the preservation of the archaeological works written by Walter Jones, the museum is further famous for its conservation of more than 10,000 archaeological artifacts that were discovered from 8 major on-site archaeological investigations from 1956 to 2008. It is noteworthy that the main museum building also houses a small research library. In this library, those who are interested in investigating the iron-making history in this country (e.g. historical researchers, scholars, and students) can find many historical archives, published materials, records, as well as first-hand accounts.