USA > Ohio > Jefferson County > Steubenville > Century History of Steubenville and Jefferson County, Ohio and Representative Citizens, 20th > Part 39
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Golgotha factory, or place of the skull. 1856, but through the assistance of friends Peters was succeeded by Foster & Beatty, Gibson, Price, Loft and perhaps one or two others. It finally went out of business and the building was then converted by J. Hineman into a soap factory which was operated for a number of years by him and George M. Cummins.
Alexander McDowell erected a small woolen factory on Water Street near Adams, which went down with so many others in the panic of 1837. William Ken- yon, an expert English machinist, pur- chased the property in 1848 and converted it into a machine shop, where he carried on a large business for many years. He was the inventor of a combined machine for cutting gas pipe and cutting the thread, and also a patent wrench and the modern coffee grinder. After his death the estab- lishment was conducted by his son until 1877. Before Kenyon's purchase, William Whan occupied this property for a short time as a foundry. It was afterwards pur- chased by J. H. Warner and operated by himself and heirs, but finally closed down and the site was used for other purposes.
Wells, Henry & Co., in 1836-7, built a mill at Rockville below town for the manu- facture of jeans which flourished for a number of years despite the hard times. Henry was salesman and general manager, and becoming financially involved the works went under. About 1844 Justin G. Morris, D. Foster and Samuel Hunter bought the property and converted it into a window glass factory, but failed for want of experience, The building stood for some fifteen years longer when it was torn down, and was afterwards replaced by the hoist- ing house of the Borland coal shaft.
it was rebuilt and better equipped than ever. It was operated with indifferent suc- cess until the Civil War, when John Mc- Feely became associated with McDevitt and the partnership did a large business, main- ly in the production of flannels. After the war the factory remained idle most of the time with spasmodic efforts at operation, the lower story being occupied by Robin- son & Irwin as a machine shop until they removed to their present quarters at Adams Street and Pan Handle Railroad. The building was then converted into a barn, warehouse and stable, and during this period was twice gutted by fire in 1893 and 1895, fortunately leaving the walls in- tact. After Mr. MeDevitt's death the prop- erty was acquired by McFeely Bros., who converted it into a planing mill, where they now carry on a large business.
While we have enumerated above the leading woolen mills of the city, eleven in number, yet this does not represent the whole of this industry. Even though steam was nsed as early as 1815 in the original factory, yet hand looms were in common use for many years, and at the foot of the honseholder's lot, was frequently noticed a small building containing one or more hand looms, and sometimes they were lo- cated in the dwelling. That section of the city west of Fifth Street and south of Mar- ket was popularly known as Jeantown from the number of looms in operation making this variety of cloth. Then there was carpet weaving carried on by Edward Marion, Samnel MeMillan, William Beer- hower, Alexander Meikle and others, all of whom have passed away and left no sue- cessors.
About the year 1850 James 1. McDevitt, About the years 1824-5 David Larimore, Culp & Co. built a cotton factory on the northwest corner of Adams and Water streets, which was quite prosperous and gave employment to a large number of hands. It burned down in 1833, and was never rebuilt. who, as we have seen, occupied the base- ment of the Union mill, built a three-story brick structure at the head of Adams Street, south side. He leased the upper stories to George Orth, for the manufac- ture of woolen goods, while he carried on his old trade of machinist in the basement. In 1826 William Gwynn erected a large The building was destroyed by fire in July, cotton factory at the foot of Washington
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Street, called the Arkwright, which long remained one of the important industries of the city. It was convenient to the river landing where cotton could be received from steamers and the finished product shipped in the same manner. At one time the working force numbered three or four hundred, largely girls and boys. Mr. Gwynn was succeeded by Dike & Laughlin, followed by Hunter & Norton and then by Warner, Brown & Co. In 1844 James Hi. Warner, a Cincinnati iron man, came to Steubenville and bought ont the interest of Mr. Brown, who was a resident of Cleve- land. From that time until 1867 the fae- tory was operated by G. E. & J. H. War- ner. In the latter year a Mr. Sanford came here from Providence, R. I., and in con- junction with Mr. Warner the factory was enlarged to double its former size, new ma- chinery added and everything put in first. class condition. A successful future was anticipated and everybody was waiting for the sound of the familiar whistle, when there was a disagreement of some sort among the interested parties. Mr. Sanford went away and the factory never resumed operations. The machinery was sold to Thatcher Bros., of Chicago, who removed it thither in 1872, and the big building lay idle for several years when it was leased by the Ohio, Pennsylvania & West Virginia Wool Growers' Association, a farmers' co- operative institution, which used it as a warehouse and centre, both for collection and distribution of the wools of this see- tion. In 1882 the building was purchased by the Ohio Valley Clay Company, was re- modeled and further enlarged. This com- pany went into the manufacture of glass- house pots, tanks, furnace bricks and glass- house supplies generally, which are shipped all over North and South America. The product is turned out from domestic and German clay, and the business has so in- creased as to necessitate successive en- largements both north and south of Wash- ington Street until there is now a frontage of 778 feet on Water Street and a floor space of ten and one-half aeres, making it
the largest establishment of the kind in the world. The present officers are, J. W. Gill, president ; R. L. Brownlee, vice presi- dent; George W. Cochran, secretary and treasurer; J. J. Gill, George W. McCook, S. C. Gill, directors. The capital stock is $300,000, and the establishment employs 175 meu. The two sections of the works north and south of Washington Street are connected by a large steel annex carried over the street above grade.
IRON AND STEEL.
The Tubal Cain of Jefferson County is unknown. It is said that nails were made by hand here as early as 1803, which is very probable, but the first record we have of a nail cutting machine is from Warren Township in a case before a special term of the Common Pleas Court on August 20, 1808, entitled "The State of Ohio vs. Joshua Kelly." The defendant was com- mitted by Robert MeCleary, Justice of the Peace, for stealing part of a machine for cutting nails. After examination the com- mitment was adjudged illegal and highly improper, and it was ordered that he he discharged. Unfortunately we do not have the name of the alleged owner of the ma- chine in which Kelly may have had at least an interest. We do know, however, that in 1811, Andrew and Robert Thompson had a mail manufactory in Steubenville with Will- iam Kilgore and Hugh Sterling as work- men. Their machines were operated by hand power and their establishment con- tinued until 1817 when it went ont of busi- ness. Before this latter event happened Arthur M. Phillips and Robert Carroll es- tablished a foundry on the river bank be- tween North and Dock streets. Phillips had come to Steubenville from Carlisle, Pa., in 1807. He was a blacksmith by trade, but being progressive developed into a ma- chinist. His first productions were hollow ware and grate castings, but soon boring was added by means of horsepower. When the steamer " Bezaleel Wells" was building in 1819.20 he received orders for the ma-
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chinery including his first steam engine. 1865 George L. Sharp, son of the proprie- The tribulations of that steamer on her maiden trip have been related and notwithi- standing some drawbacks the work was considered a success, and besides furnishi- ing machinery for the boats built at Steu- benville orders were received from Wheel- ing and other points. In this foundry Will- ianı Mckinley, Sr., father of President Mckinley, worked in the early twenties. The property was subsequently purchased by James Means, and subsequently largely developed by his sons, Joseph, James and John P., turning out everything in the foundry line with steam engines, sewer pipe presses and all kinds of machinery. On December 31, 1898, a new company was organized by C. J. Davis and others which purchased the works and has since oper- ated the concern. It rightly lays claim to being the oldest foundry and machine works in Ohio and is being rebuilt at Toronto.
The Ohio foundry was established by William L. Sharp in 1847 west of the pres- ent Market Street coal shaft on the site of a former tannery, making plows and stoves, being the pioneer establishment of that kind in this section. George Craig was a partner for several years, the firm name being Sharp & Craig. Mr. Sharp continued the business under his own name. In the early days the product of the plant was shipped to New Orleans and inter- vening towns on flat-boats. The greater part of it, however, was sold in the neigh- boring towns and country districts, and often a stove or plow was exchanged for a horse. When a number of horses had been acemmnlated by these exchanges, they were taken overland to Philadelphia and sold or exchanged for iron, which had to be hauled back over the mountains. About 1860 the plant was moved to Fifth Street, north of Market, and gradually a large business was built up not only of heavy foundry work but enameled work in stoves, mantels and fire fronts. While there the establishment suffered severely from fires, and was al- most completely destroyed in 1891. About
tor, was made a partner, the firm name be- ing W. L. Sharp & Son, the establishment retaining the name of Ohio Foundry which it held from the beginning. Needing more ground and better transportation facilities after the fire of 1891 a large tract was pur- chased at the corner of the P., C., C. & St. L. Railroad and Slack.Streets, where were erected modern buildings equipped with the latest and best machinery that could be de- vised. The largest building, the moulding department, is 400 feet by 70 feet, besides four other large buildings used in connec- tion with the various processes of manufac- ture. A railroad switch is run into the main building where cars are loaded for shipment, and coal, coke and iron are un- loaded, thus affording the greatest econ- omy in arrangement. A store and ware- house were conducted at Market Street and when that building was burned in October, 1895, it was decided to conduct all business at the works. Alexander B., son of G. E. Sharp, entered the firm in 1893, and the es- tablishment is conducted as the Ohio Foun- dry Company, the original proprietor he- ing deceased. This plant employs about 200 hands, and is one of the leading indus- tries of the city.
In 1856 Frazier, Kilgore & Co. erected a rolling mill then south of the city for the manufacture of bar iron and nails. They operated it until 1859 when the property was purchased by Spaulding, Woodward & Co., a firm composed of David Spanld- ing. S. H. Woodward, Calvin B. Doty, Will- iam R. E. Elliott, John MeClinton, Holston Harden, Henry Wallace and others. Messrs. Spaulding, Doty, Elliott and Me- Clinton took up their residence in Steu- benville, Mr. Spaulding becoming business manager, Doty superintendent of the nail factory, and Elliott of the boiling or pud- dling department. The War of the Rebel- lion gave a great impetus to the iron busi- ness, and a rapid enlargement of the works followed, including the erection of a pair of blast furnaces, sinking of coal shaft, building of coke ovens, etc. About 1882 the
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partnership became a corporation under the name of the Jefferson Iron Works Com- pany, with a capital of $800,000, and the stock selling at 115. A steel plant was added, and in 1890 the works Ind n capac- ity of 10,000 kegs of steel nails per week, besides their other products. At this time Mr. Spaulding retired from the company and in 1883 organized n new company which built the Spaulding Iron Works at Brilliant, whose forge department with twenty furnaces prodneed fifty tons of mnek iron per day for shipment, and the seventy-eight muil manchines 4,500 kegs of steel nails. This establishment ran several years when financial difficulties closed it. In the meantime the La Belle Iron Works Company, of Wheeling, composed largely of the same men who once owned the Jef- ferson, purchased the latter property with a large tract of adjacent territory, bringing the area of the grounds up to 125 aeres, aud proceeded to the erection of one of the largest iron and steel plants in the country. The capital has been gradually increased until it is now $10,000,000, and the stock sells considerably above par. The com- pany owns and operates its own ore and conl mines, coke plants, limestone deposits, blast furnaces, steel plant, finishing depart- ments, consisting of universal and sheared plate mills, sheet mills, pipe mills, corru- gating and galvanizing departments, nail factory and auxiliary departments such as foundry machine shop. ete. It also has its own steamers on the lakes for transporting ore, and with the exception of short rail transportation across the state of Ohio ab. solutely handles and controls its raw prod- net from the Minnesota mines to the fin- ished .prodnet at the mill. It has three mines in the Mesaba district, La Belle, Miller and Wacootah, the last named hav- ing a record of 4,660 gross tons or 233 car- loads of ore per day. The coke plant is located at La Belle, Pa., in the Connellsville district, from which shipment can be made direet to the mill either by rail or water, as both the coke plant and Steubenville properties extend to the river banks. As
heretofore described, the coal plant is di- rectly under and around the mill, with a supply of this fuel sufficient for a hundred years to come simply at cost of excavation. Natural gas is convenient for any special work, and the company has a fair supply from a leased well on Water Street, Steu- benville, and elsewhere. When the first blast furnace was erected on the Jefferson plant it had a capneity of 90 to 100 tons per week. The present furnaces have a capac- ity of 400 tons each per day. A few years ago pig metal was cast in sand casting beds on the ground, now the molten metal is car- ried by a huge ladle to the moulding mn chine, and, except in the case of reserved stock, the fiery mass is carried directly on to the open hearth department, to be converted into bessemer. The mill oper- ates ten open hearth furnaces with a capac- ity of 1,500 tous daily. From here the steel ingots are conveyed to the soaking pit, and hence by electrical apparatus to the bloom- ing-mill, where they are rolled to size for shearing into slabs or billets. Here are also three plate mills for rolling car and ship pintes, skelp, sheet and tin bars. In addition are two three-high sheared plate mills with a daily capneity of 450 gross tons. The tube works comprising the pipe mill proper, coupling shop, galvanizing de- partment and warehouse, cover a space of four city blocks. The new sheet depart- meut recently built covers an area of ten aeres and consists of two jobbing and eight sheet mills, having a total capacity of 6,500 tons monthly with facilities for galvaniz- ing and corrugating. The yard trackage of the establishment aggregates forty-two miles and it operates eleven locomotives in addition to two maintained by the rail- roads for the exclusive use of the plant. Three powerful locomotive cranes also make part of the equipment. The foundry, laboratories and all other departments are completely up to date. The office building is a handsome three-story structure at the foot of Third Street. The first floor con- tains reception hall and private offices, sec- ond, various departments including tele-
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SCENE ON MINGO ROAD NEAR STEUBENVILLE
SOUTH FOURTH STREET, BUSINESS SECTION, STEUBENVILLE
PLEASANT HEIGHTS, STEUBENVILLE
SOUTH FOURTH STREET, STEUBENVILLE
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phone exchange and telegraph offices, and This company was organized in the sum- the third, draughting and purchasing de- partments, and restaurant for officials and clerks. Both Pennsylvania and Wabash railway systems pass directly through the plant, and are connected up with the yard system, and there is a water frontage of about half a mile. The company also has two skelp mills and a factory for the man- nfacture of cut nails at Wheeling, and sales offices in New York, Philadelphia, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Chicago, St. Louis, New Or- leans, Denver, San Francisco, Portland, Ore., Billings, Mont., Boston, St. Paul and Montreal. During the panic year, 1908, the works continued in operation, and the com- pany employs some 4,000 men, with a monthly payroll of $200,000. It would re- quire four hundred cars to haul the aggre- gate production of the different mills and furnaces, outside the output of the ore mines and coke ovens. The following fig- ures represent the average for each day of twenty-four hours:
STEUBENVILLE WORKS.
Gross tons,
Pig Iron. . .
850
Basic Open Hearth Steel Ingots,
1,250
Billets and &lahs. 1,000
Sheet 700
Universal Plates. 450
Sheared Plates .. 250
Basic Open llearth and Bessemer Steel Skelp. 250
Merchant Pipe. 250
Line Pipe and Casing. 150
Sheets, Black and Galvanized.
200
WHEELING WORKS.
Gross tons.
Skelp. Nail and Tack Plate,
250
Cut Nails, every style (kegs per day). 1,000
The present board of directors is com- posed of Isaac M. Scott, president ; W. D. Crawford, vice president; D. J. Sinclair, A. H. Woodward, George Greer, W. S. Foltz, Edward Hazlett, H. C. Franzheim. Hon. N. E. Whitaker, J. J. Holloway, W. II. Hearne.
Adjoining the LaBelle property on the north are the works of the Pope Tin Plate Company, a comparatively modern enter- prise but conducting an extensive trade.
iner of 1901 the first ground being broken for the erection of buildings on September 12 of that year and operations started July 9, 1902. It occupies the site of the old Wells-Stokely manor, one of Steubenville's historic places which had to give way to commercialism. The plant consists of twelve hot and ten cold mills and their tin house equipment of sixteen tinning pots. A 1,400-horsepower Corliss engine is re- quired to operate the hot mills and a 1,000- horsepower Buckeye engine pulls the cold mills. The power transmission is by the rope method with a large wheel 25 feet in diameter and 11 feet across its face, weigh- ing 125 tons. Their annual product ap- proximates 700,000 boxes of tin amounting to over $3,000,000. Their tin is used in making tin cans and hollow ware of all kinds, while the black plate is largely cou- sumed by stamping works for metal ceil- ings, etc., where high grade flexible steel is required. It also enters into the manu- facture of enamel kitchen ware, lacquer ware, etc. Its prodnet is shipped to all points in the United States and many for- eign countries, including China, Japan, India and the Philippines. Six years ago this company employed about 400 men, but with the heavy demand for the product this number has been increased from time to time until at the present over 800 ex- perienced workmen are employed at the highest prevailing wages. Additional ground has been purchased for enlarge- ments which may be needed in the near future.
Abont 1828 Mr. Lindsay made hand nails on Market Street, second door above W. & I. E. R. R., now Melching's cigar store. His spikes were used in steam boats. James Means in 1830 had a foundry on Alley A about where the W. & L. E. pas- senger station now stands.
On May 26, 1869, a corporation under the name of Mingo Iron Works Company purchased from Daniel Potter and wife thirty and three-quarters acres of what was known as the Potter farm at Mingo.
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and soon thereafter proceeded to sink a coal shaft, construct coke ovens and erect a blast furnace. That concern merged afterwards into the Junction Iron & Steel Company, which added to the two blast fur- naces then in operation a bar mill and nail factory, and subsequently a steel plant, then one of the best in the country. It contained three cupolas, two five-ton con- verters and blooming mill, making 275 tons per day. The nail factory had 126 machines with a weekly prodnet of 6,000 kegs. In the spring of 1897 the Atna Standard Iron and Steel Company purchased the prop- erty, procuring additional property and making further enlargements, including a continuous mill and two additional finish- ing mills. From them the property passed into the hands of the Carnegie combina- tion which has continued the enlargements and improvements until the plant, which now has an area of some fifty aeres, is one of the best in the valley. At present the plant is confined to the production of Bes- semer steel, and operates fonr blast for- naces, two continuous mills, two blooming mills, besides the Bessemer mill, a capacity of over 500,000 tons yearly, employing 2,000 hands.
The Steubenville Furnace & Iron Com- pany was organized in 1872 by John H. Hawkins, John McFeely and others. It acquired the property of the Brilliant Coal Company, which included about thirty-nine acres of land at the north end of the city with an unfinished coal shaft, and pro- ceeded to erect a blast furnace and com- plete the shaft which was afterwards known as the gravel shaft. It was not a paying business for the original projectors, chiefly because of discrimination in rail- road rates, for those were the days of re- bates and absence of any legal regulation. Nevertheless it continued in almost con- stant operation for years with an annual output of 14,000 tons and a weekly pay roll of $1,100. It was afterwards purchased by the Riverside Iron Company which prac- tically rebuilt the plant, enlarging its ca- pacity to modern requirements.
Joseph Beatty & Co., in 1873, built an iron works at the mouth of Wills Creek for the purpose of manufacturing bolts and similar lines of goods. The place was called Alikanna, a combination formed from the Christian names of Alexander Beatty and wife. It passed through various hands and turned out different products until 1894 when the city of Steubenville acquired the property for the erection of water works.
Reference has already been made to the Irwin and Jefferson machine shops and to these may be added the boiler works of Alonzo Cady, also devoted to oil well supplies.
Although without the boundary of Jeffer- son County yet the Follansbee Tin Plate Works, directly opposite the lower end of Steubenville, may be considered for all practical purposes as a local manufactory, the Ohio River bridge giving close and speedy connection with the city. They were erected in 1903-4 by Follanshee Bros., of Allegheny, Pa., and include a hot mill build- ing 800 feet in length, with an average width of 70 feet, annealing building 440 feet by 70 feet, pickling building 440 feet by 50 feet, tin house 440 feet- by 50 feet, box house 150 feet by 40 feet, boiler aud engine rooms 150 feet by 40 feet, and with a number of other buildings and freight yards covering in all about ten acres along the lines of the Pennsylvania and Wabash railroad systems. equipped with modern machinery, powerful electric cranes, which carry enormous weights from one end of the mill to the other with such ease as to be a source of never ending wonder to the visitor. These works comprise eight hot mills, seven cold mills, bar mill, eight-ton hammer, billet furnace, two ingot furnaces and two melting furnaces. In conjunction with the plant is a thoroughly equipped machine shop, a complete foundry and well arranged laboratories. The yearly prod- uets of the plant amount to 40,000 tons of steel and 30,000 tons of sheet iron and tin plate. This product is shipped to all parts of the world, agencies being maintained in the principal cities of the country. More
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than 750 skilled workmen are employed the entire year, making an average monthly payroll of $50,000, an important item to the commercial interests of this section of the valley and building up a rapidly growing suburb of Steubenville. B. G. Follansbee is president of the company; W. U. Fol- lansbee, secretary and treasurer; William Banfield, general manager; Thomas Rogers, general superintendent; Thomas Gill, tin house superintendent; Ernest Der- went, superintendent steel department, and W. J. Kirk, office superintendent.
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