USA > Pennsylvania > Allegheny County > Pittsburgh > Standard history of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania > Part 30
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(a) Pittsburg in 1826 .- Samuel Jones. (Much of what follows in a few succeeding pages is from the same publication.)
267
268
HISTORY OF PITTSBURG.
country. Three hundred tons of pig-metal were yearly converted by them into stoves, grates, plow-plates and all sorts of castings, from one-quarter of a pound to four tons in weight. In 1826 twenty hands were employed (b). In 1824 the Stackhouse & Thompson Foundry was built on Liberty and Second streets and attached to their steam-engine factory. Their castings were intended for steamboats and steam machinery generally. They used 120 tons of metal yearly, employed from five to seven hands and produced $7,200 worth of products (b). One-fourth of a mile east of Pittsburg was situated Price's Cupola Furnace, which produced iron castings and brass articles. His crucibles for fusing copper, brass, etc., were important products and the only successful vessels of the kind made here. The annual value of his castings was about $4,000 (c). The Birmingham Foundry, carried on by Sutton & Nicholson in 1826, con- sumed annually about 200 tons of metal, which was made into castings of all kinds, valued at $12,000. It was connected with the rolling-mill there. By steam machinery he made screws for tobacco presses, paper-mills and fullers' machines. He did iron turning of all kinds. In the eight foundries above mentioned there were made in twelve months (1825-6) 2,126 tons of metal, by 106 hands, with a consumption of 65,000 bushels of coal, producing manufac- tures valued at $132,610 (c).
In 1826 the manufacture of nails was carried on so extensively here that the product exceeded that of all the rest of the Western country. The patent nail-machines had revolutionized the manufacture and almost wholly super- seded the hammer and the die. Six of the nail factories thus operated were connected with the rolling-mills, while some six others continued to produce nails in the old way. The product of all was about as follows (c):
Factories.
Pounds weight.
Value.
Union Rolling Mill.
720,000
$43,200
Sligo Rolling Mill.
400,000
32,000
Pittsburg Rolling Mill.
782,887
86,544
Grant's Hill Mill.
500,000
30,000
Juniata Hill Mill
500,000
40,000
Pine Creek Mill
457,000
34,100
Eagle Mill.
600,000
36,000
Miscellaneous
360,000
28,800
Total.
4,319,887 $330,644
By 1826 Pittsburg had attained great celebrity in the number and superior grade of its steam engines manufactured. The engineers and mechanics were constantly adding improvements which increased the superiority of their machines in every respect. The engines were nearly all constructed on the high-pressure principle in contradistinction to the low pressure. In 1819 the Columbian Steam Engine Company established its works at Second Street and Redoubt Alley. Mark Stackhouse, associated with Mahlon Rogers and Oliver Evans, was placed in charge of the works. He had a high reputation as an engineer and as the possessor of much ability and strength of character. His engines, from the start, secured a fame second to that of no others produced in all the Western country, at least. In fact, several of them were sent over the mountains in wagons for use East. This establishment was one of the boasts of Pittsburg. Connected with it at a later date was a steam turning, boring and grinding factory. Warden & Arthurs also manufactured large engines, in 1826, for steamboats on the rivers and on the lakes north. Their factory was located at Second and West streets. Stackhouse & Thompson, at Third
(b) Pittsburg in 1826 .- S. Jones.
(c) Pittsburg in 1826 .- S. Jones.
269
HISTORY OF PITTSBURG.
and Liberty, in 1826, also manufactured engines for use on Western waters. Smith & Benny, on Grant's Hill, began to manufacture engines about 1825. M. B. Belknap, on Pine Creek, followed the same pursuit, as did Mahlon Rogers at Fourth and Grant streets. In 1826 the products, etc., of the engine factories here were as follows:
Establishments.
Engines made in 1825.
Hands Employed.
Value of Products. $30,000
Columbian Steam Engine Company ...
7
20
Warden & Arthurs .. .
5
30
35,000
Stackhouse & Thompson
5
30
35,000
Smith & Benny
3
15
14,000
M. B. Belknap.
2
6
8,000
Mahlon Rogers
2
3
800
Total
24
104
$122,800
On hand.
6
30,000
Total
30
$152,800
The Eichbaum wire factory, in Kensington, was conducted a few years, or until the depression succeeding the War of 1812 fell upon the country, when it was abandoned and not revived until 1825, when Arnold Eichbaum set it again in operation with an engine of ten horsepower and with seven hands. In 1826, besides the Juniata bar-iron brought from that stream, there were conveyed here about 5,000 tons of pig-metal, the product of twelve or thirteen blast furnaces in the counties of Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Westmoreland, Venango, Crawford and others (d). A steam turning and grinding mill in Kensington was owned and conducted by William Hall in 1826, and produced turnings of brass and iron and iron articles require grinding.
In 1825 the Phoenix Factory of Adams, Allen & Co. was in successful operation, making all sorts of machinery for picking, carding and drawing cotton. Lewis Peterson was yet doing a large business in copper and tin ware. William J. Howard and Robert Rogers, at Wood and Second streets, made stills, washkettles, teakettles and tinware. In September, 1826, the firm of L. & P. Peterson succeeded L. Peterson, coppersmith. J. & J. Patterson, Jr., of Bir- mingham, made locks, latches, bolts, knobs. J. Drocurt & Co. made tin and copper ware. In November, 1826, axes sold here for $14 to $16 per dozen; Juniata bar-iron, $120 per ton; rolled iron, $90 to $95 per ton; pig-iron, $28 to $30 per ton; country steel, $9 to $12.50 per hundredweight; nails, 5 to 8 cents per pound; spades and shovels, $8 to $11 per dozen (e). Early in 1827 Richard Bowen offered for sale his well-known rolling and slitting mill, nail factory and adjacent buildings, all situated on Lots 33 and 34.
"The whole amount of foreign iron brought into the United States, it is stated, does not exceed 30,000 tons, an amount which can be produced by about fifteen good American establishments. Of the imported iron the English is the worst. American iron regulates the market and is sold in Philadelphia at $100" (f).
The Union Rolling Mill, situated in Kensington, erected in 1819, was "the largest and most extensive establishment of the kind in the Western country" in 1826. It was owned by Messrs. Baldwin, Robinson, McNickle & Beltzhoover. The two engines of 100 horsepower each used in the mill were built by the Columbian Steam Engine Company in 1819, and, together with their cast-iron
Pittsburg in 1826 .- S. Jones.
Mercury, November, 1826.
(f) Gazette, January, 1827.
270
HISTORY OF PITTSBURG.
mountings and equipments, weighed 500,000 pounds. In 1825 this mill con- verted into bar, boiler, sheet and rod iron about 1,500 tons, valued at $150,000. One hundred hands were employed (g). In 1821 Grant's Hill Iron Works were erected by William. H. Hays and David Adams. The engine of eighty horsepower was built by the Columbian Steam Engine Company. In 1826 employment was given to thirty hands and the annual value of the products was about $67,000. They manufactured bar, boiler, nail, hoop and rod iron from 600 tons of pig-metal and 200 tons of blooms (g). In 1824 Dr. Peter Shoenberger erected the Juniata Iron Works on the Allegheny River in Northern Liberties, as a branch of his large works on the Juniata River. His engine of 120 horse- power was built by Matthew Smith, of the firm of Benny & Smith. The struc- ture was erected under the superintendence of M. B. Belknap. There were annually converted into bar, boiler, nail, sheet and rod iron about 500 tons of pig-metal and 300 tons of blooms. The annual value of the products in 1826 vas about $88,000 (h). The Sligo Rolling Mill was built in 1825 by Robert T. Stewart and John Lyon, and was considered a branch of their works on the Juniata. It was located on the south side of the Monongahela, opposite Market Street. The iron used by this mill was in the shape of blooms and was immediately fit for rolling. They consumed from the start about 900 tons annually. Their engine, built by Mark Stackhouse, was 130 horsepower. Thirty hands were employed in 1826, and products worth $99,000 were manufactured yearly, consisting of bar, boiler, nail and sheet iron. The National Works at Harper's Ferry ordered a lot of Sligo iron for use as musket barrels (h). It became justly celebrated. In 1825 the Dowlais Iron Works were built in Ken- sington by Leonard Lewis. Its engine was 100 horsepower. Though the mill was shut down in 1826, its capacity when in operation was 600 tons annually of bar, boiler and sheet iron. How much business it transacted cannot be learned (h). In 1826 the old Pittsburg Rolling Mill, which had been established and put in operation by Christopher Cowan in 1812, though not for rolling purposes, was owned and operated by Richard Bowen. Its engine of 70 horse- power had been built by the Columbian Steam Engine Company, and was used to drive one pair of rolls and slitters and ten nail machines. Bar-iron only to the amount of 500 tons annually was manufactured into boiler, sheet, nail and rod iron. Employment was given to twenty-one hands and the annual product was valued at $70,000. Pine Creek Rolling Mill, situated on Pine Creek, a few miles above Pittsburg on the Allegheny, and owned in 1826 by M. B. Belknap, used an engine of 100 horsepower and manufactured boiler, sheet, nail and rod iron. Water power, as well as steam, was employed in this mill. Forty hands were employed and 600 tons of bar-iron were consumed annually in the manufacture of axes, scythes, sickles, shovels, etc. (i). The following is the summary for the rolling-mills in 1825:
Iron Mills (i).
Hands Tons of Bushels Coal Employed. Iron Used. Consumed.
Value of Products.
Union Rolling Mill. .
.IO0
1,500
182,000
$150,000
Pittsburg Rolling Mill.
2I
500
30,000
70,000
Sligo Rolling Mill.
30
900
90,000
99,000
Juniata Iron Works
60
800
129,700
88,000
Grant's Hill Works
30
900
90,000
67,000
Pine Creek Rolling Mill.
40
600
40,000
85,000
Totals.
28I
5,200
561,700
$559,000
(g) Pittsburg in 1826 .- S. Jones.
(h) Pittsburg in 1826 .- S. Jones.
(i) Pittsburg in 1826 .- S. Jones.
27I
HISTORY OF PITTSBURG.
In 1826, in addition to the above mentioned iron industries, the following other metal-producing establishments were conducted here: Four brass foun- dries, employing eleven hands and one or two constantly engaged in casting brass for machinery; eleven separate tinning shops, employing sixty-five hands and turning out annually $44,000 worth of products; six coppersmith shops, which made stills, kettles, pipes, etc., employing twenty-five hands and making annu- ally $14,000 worth of products; twenty-four blacksmith shops, employing one hundred and fifteen persons and producing $47,000 worth annually, one of them, that of Mr. Waters, near Herron's steam mill, making weekly thirty dozen shovels and six dozen axes, or annually 18,720 shovels and 3,744 axes; six whitesmith shops, two of which, conducted by Thomas Hazleton and by Hugh Hazleton, manufactured scale-beams and balances; the lock factory of J. and J. Patterson, Jr., in Birmingham, employing eleven hands and producing annually 1,100 dozen articles, valued at $4,950; six whitesmiths, employing forty-five hands and making $23,000 worth of goods annually; four gunsmiths, employing six hands and making rifles, with or without percussion locks; eight silversmiths and watch repairers, using thirteen men and producing $12,500 worth annually (j).
In November, 1827, the Gazette noticed that thirty-one steam engines vary- ing from ten to two hundred horsepower were employed in the various manu- facturing enterprises of Pittsburg. In May, 1828, pig-iron advanced here from $28 to $30 per ton to $30 to $33 per ton. Iron industries were crowded with orders beyond their capacity (k).
Townsend & Co. manufactured sieves, riddles, fenders, etc., at their factory on Market Street, and in 1828 began making an excellent quality of iron wire at their new factory in Beaver Falls. The wire was made of Juniata iron and was declared to be as good as the best English product. They made all sizes from number I to number 36 and "can produce the immense quantity of a ton per week" (1).
Another account, in 1825, fixed the iron industry at seven rolling mills, eight foundries, six engine factories and one wire factory (m). In 1829 the same authority gives nine foundries, eight rolling mills, nine nail factories and seven engine factories, with a total consumption of 6,000 tons of pigs and an equal quantity of blooms (m). In 1828 a writer (n) speaks of the Sligo Rolling Mill, erected in 1825 and owned and operated by Robert T. Stewart and John Lyon; the Juniata Iron Works, built in 1824 by Dr. Peter Shoenberger and operated by M. B. Belknap, superintendent; Grant's Hill Iron Works, erected in 1821 and owned and operated by William H. Hays and David Adams; Union Rolling Mill, built in 1819, and owned and operated by Baldwin, Robinson & McNickle; Dowlais Iron Works, commenced in 1825 and conducted by Mr. Lewis; Pittsburg Rolling Mill, conducted by R. Bowen; the Pine Creek Rolling Mill, owned and conducted by Elkin & Ludlow. Of the foundries the same writer speaks of Jackson Foundry, owned by Kingsland, Lightner & Sauers; the Eagle Foundry, by Anthony Beelen; the Phoenix Foundry, by Freeman & Miller; the Stackhouse Foundry; the Allegheny Foundry, by William Franklin; the foundry operated by Stackhouse & Thompson, and the Cupola Foundry, by William Price, Birmingham.
Edward Ensell, early and prominently identified with the glass industry here, died July 26, 1828. He had been here twenty-six years, and was a native of Birmingham, England. In April, 1829, M. S. Mason & Co. succeeded to the
(j) Pittsburg in 1826 .- S. Jones.
(1) Gazette, March 17, 1829.
(n) Mrs. Anne Royall.
(k) Gazette, May, 1828.
(m) Gazette, 1825 and 1829.
272
HISTORY OF PITTSBURG.
ownership of the Pennsylvania Rolling Mills. F. H. Oliphant had just sold his interest in the same. Mr. McDonough was the company.
In 1829 the Juniata Iron Works, operated by Peter Shoenberger & Son, with about seventy-five hands, made 50 tons of pigs and blooms weekly. The nail factory of Shoenberger & Packard, with fifty-five hands, made each week 30,000 pounds of nails. The Pittsburg Cast Steel and File Factory, in Northern Liber- ties, near Pittsburg, was owned and conducted in 1829 by Broadmeadow & Co. They made an excellent quality of files and blister steel. They expected soon to commence making steel and cast-steel from the blister bars. Waters' shovel factory, in 1829, with forty hands, made from sixty to seventy dozen spades and shovels weekly, besides doing a large general smithing work. At the Cuthbert & Co. foundry twenty hands were employed and the same number at Mc- Clurg's.
In 1829 several manufacturers of iron failed, and it was claimed by those who opposed the protective system that the result was due to overproduction under too strong a protective schedule. Friends of the system denied this, and pointed out the immense importations of foreign products in spite of the tariff, and to the fact that a large percentage of the population preferred to buy foreign instead of domestic goods, even at a higher price.
In 1830 the Ætna Rolling Mill, near Pittsburg, owned and conducted by H. S. Spang & Son, was in complete operation, making nails and Juniata iron. In May, 1830, P. Shoenberger & Son., Barnett & Shorb, Mason, Miltenberger & Co., H. Blake & Co. and H. S. Spang & Son, manufacturers of iron and nails, published a schedule of their wares with prices annexed, the prices being subject to a discount of five per cent. for cash, or a satisfactory discount for large quan- tities. The following was the schedule:
Bar-iron, per ton SIIO to $115
Square iron, per ton. IIO to
160
Round iron, per ton IIO to 170
Hoop-iron, per ton
I20 to 145
Sheet-iron, per ton. 175 to 190 I60
Fire-bed iron, per ton
Boiler-iron, per ton.
115 to
I45
Coopers' hoops, per ton. 150 to 180
Nailrods, per ton. .
I25
Nails and spikes, per pound. 6 to 9 cents
The Kensington Rolling Mill, in May, 1829, operated by Leonard, Semple & Leonard (S. and R. Leonard and A. McN. Semple), stood on the Monon- gahela above Suke's Run. They made and kept on hand for sale hoop, round, square, tire or flat iron; nail, chain, deck and spike rods, etc.
"Pittsburg steel manufactured by S. Broadmeadow & Co .- This steel will bear a welding heat and is tempered or hardened as the Crowly steel, and we warrant it as equal to the best English blister steel. May 15, 1829. S. Broad- meadow & Co." (o).
In April, 1829, the firm of Hugh Gallagher & Co. (foundrymen), consisting of Hugh Gallagher, Samuel Stackhouse and James Thompson, was dissolved. L. & P. Peterson made and laid the lead pipes for the city water-works in 1829. F. A. Bemis began, in 1829, to manufacture all sorts of cotton and woolen machinery, turning lathes, etc. The Pine Creek Iron Works, five miles above Pittsburg, formerly in possession of M. B. Belknap, and carried on for a few years previous to 1829 by McClurg & Co. and by Elkin & Ledlie in the
(o) Gazette, May, 1829.
273
HISTORY OF PITTSBURG.
manufacture of nails, spades, axes, hoes and the rolling of iron, passed into the hands of an assignee in 1829, Elkin & Ledlie having failed. In the summer of 1829 Adam Ramage manufactured printing presses, copperplate, seal and copying presses, etc.
The Pennsylvania Rolling Mill, located in Allegheny and operated by Mason, Miltenberger & Co. in 1829, made and kept for sale rolled, bar, round, square, sheet, boiler and fire-bed iron, and deck, spike and rail rods and all sizes of nails and brads. The firm consisted of Matthew S. Mason, George Milten- berger (who was superintendent) and Ignatius McDonough.
The Juniata Iron Works, near Pittsburg, owned and operated by P. Shoenberger & Son, manufactured and kept for sale bar, round, square, boiler, hoop and sheet iron, and all sizes of nails from No. 3 to No. 20. The following prices prevailed in Pittsburg in 1829 (p) :
Iron, bar, Juniata, ton
$120.00
Iron, rolled, ton. . $90 to 95.00
Iron, planished, ton. 100.00
Iron, sheet, hundredweight. 10.50
Iron, pig, ton. 30.00
Iron, sadirons, pound. .06
Iron, nails, pound.
.06 to .IO
Axes, dozen.
$14 to $16.00
Steel, country, hundredweight 8 to 9.00
"Thousands of tons of metal are brought by canal and turnpikes to Pitts- burg to be made by foundries and rolling mills into steam engines, bar-iron, boiler-iron, anchors for the lakes, sugar-mills and sugar-kettles for Louisiana, castings bar-iron, nails, farming utensils, etc." (q).
The Juniata Mill and Nail Factory stood on the north side of the Alle- gheny River and east side of the Pennsylvania Canal. The proprietors were James Anderson, Sylvanus Lothrop and Henry Blake. The works were pro- pelled by a II0-horsepower engine and sixty hands were employed. It rolled 1,500 tons of blooms into bars, boilers and sheet-iron, and made 400 tons of nails annually. From 450 to 500 bushels of coal were used daily for the engine, worth 33 cents per bushel at the works. It was first put in operation September 28, 1829.
"Upon diligent inquiry we learn that there are consumed annually in the different foundries, rolling-mills and steam-enginc factories in and about Pitts- burg, 6,000 tons of blooms and 5,000 tons of pig-mctal. These articles are brought principally down the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers. Last year consider- able quantities were brought up from Ohio and Kentucky, and contracts have lately been made for a large quantity from Tennessee. There are nine foundries, which use about 3,500 tons of pig-metal and employ about 225 hands. The roll- ing mills are eight in number and are now chiefly employed in rolling Juniata blooms, of which they use about 6,000 tons. They also consume about 1,500 tons of pig-metal and employ about 320 hands. There are nine nail factories, which manufacture daily about eighteen tons of nails and employ about 150 hands. There are also about seven steam-engine factories, in which are employed about 210 hands. As yet but three steam engines have been sent east of the moun- tains, four or five to the northern lakes and one to Mexico. Within two or three years past the casting of sugar-kettles, sugar-mills, and small steam engines to drive them, for the planters of Louisiana, has become a very important branch of our manufacturing business, and is increasing. In addition to the metal and
(p) Prices in August, 1829.
(q) Gazette, September, 1829.
274
HISTORY OF PITTSBURG.
blooms above mentioned a large quantity of bar-iron is brought to Pittsburg from Juniata" (r).
January 1, 1830, the Gazette noted the arrival here of a quantity of pig-metal from Tennessee and its continued shipment to this wharf, and observed that this state of affairs was different from what it was fifteen years before.
The decade of the '30s was destined to witness a period of intense depression to manufactures and to encounter a tariff policy which can best be described in its effects by the term "survival of the fittest." There were periods of great advancement, but it cannot be said that such were permanent or calculated to add largely to the prosperity of this vicinity, owing to their spasmodic character.
"Resolved, That the Constitution of the United States authorizes acts of Congress to protect manufacturers, and that the actual prosperity of the country attests the wisdom of such acts; and that any diminution of the protection now afforded to iron would be impolitic and injudicious legislation" (s).
In 1830 there were made here 100 steam engines and were rolled 9,282 tons of iron. Five rolling and three slitting mills were erected the two preceding years (1828 and 1829), and it is ascertained that, of the iron manufactured during that period, 600 tons were converted into other articles before they left the city. In 1831 there were 150 steam engines made. During the period in question there were four glass-houses in operation, containing thirty-two pots, at which flint-glass was manufactured, and four others, three of which made monthly 1,500 boxes of window-glass and $1,000 worth of hollowware. The value of the window-glass and bottles made at, and in the neighborhood of, Pittsburg, per year (1830-31), was estimated at more than $500,000 (t).
In 1831 Kingsland, Lightner & Cuddy took possession of the Pittsburg Foundry (McClurg's) at Smithfield and Fifth, and of the Jackson Foundry at Sixth and Liberty, and began to operate both on a large scale, turning out large quantities of sadirons, teakettles, waffle-irons, moldboards, plow and other cast- ings, bark mills, etc. In January, 1831, S. Smith & Co. succeeded R. Bowen in the ownership and management of the Brown Rolling Mill and Nail Factory. Previous to this Sauers & Kingsland had operated the foundry on Water Street near Grant, but about this time the property was offered for sale by Bakewell, Page & Bakewell.
At a meeting of the citizens of Pittsburg, held at the courthouse on Decem- ber 28, 1816, Walter Forward, on behalf of the committee appointed at a previ- ous meeting, stated that the annual consumption of pig-iron in Pittsburg and its immediate vicinity amounted to 1,800 tons; that the number of hands employed was about 150 and the annual value of the products $250,000. "Of wrought- iron there is annually worked up about 2,000 tons, furnishing, according to the best estimate in the power of the committee, products worth $1,300,000." The Gazette of 1831, referring to this, said: "We are assured that the consumption of iron in and about Pittsburg now exceeds 18,000 tons and still rapidly in- creases" (u).
S. B. Mckenzie and D. Blackstock succeeded Blackstock, Bell & Co. in February, 1831, and continued the manufacture of cotton and woolen machinery. Archibald Lamont made vises of such superiority as to receive special mention from the committee of judges of Franklin Institute. Z. Packard manufactured mill and cross-cut saws in 1831, and S. P. Darlington made tilt-hammered spades and shovels.
At the factory of Packard & Estep there was made by Barnett, Shorb & Co. a spade, "and the whole article is out of all comparison superior to anything
(r) Gazette, October 9, 1829.
(s) Resolution approved April 2, 1831.
(t) Western Address Directory (adapted), 1837. (u) Gazette, June 17, 1831.
Frances Torrance.
277
HISTORY OF PITTSBURG.
of the kind that we have ever seen" (v). In March, 1831, Barnett, Shorb & Co. forwarded to Henry Clay, at his home at Ashland, Ky., this spade and also a shovel, ax, hoe and carving knife and fork, products wholly of the manufac- ture of Packard & Estep of Pittsburg. The steel was made under an improved process of an American, E. L. Losey. This branch of the manufacture had just been commenced here, and the articles were sent to Mr. Clay "as a token of our high regard for your private character and eminent public services," and "as a sample of the many good effects produced by that policy of which you have been the able and untiring advocate. The iron was made under our personal inspection and the steel in our convertory." Mr. Clay replied in his usual cordial and patriotic manner (w). In 1831 David Bain manufactured cast sheet lead for chemical retorts, vats, cisterns, boilers, lead pipes, etc. In 1831 J. F. & E. Greer conducted a foundry and steam-engine factory at First and Water streets and added to their establishment an air foundry for iron castings.
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