Jefferson County has acquired 10.7 acres of property at the south end of Chimacum Beach and established it as Chimacum Creek Beach Park in order to provide public access to the marine shoreline and natural resource based recreation. This site was the historical location of the Irondale iron smelting plant, for which the town is named. The smelter was built in 1880-1881, operated until 1889. It was later reopened by a new iron smelting company and was operated intermittently until 1919 and was then dismantled. Clean up of remnant industrial byproducts is planned for the near future.