Edgar Thomson Steel Works
Encyclopedia
The Edgar Thomson Steel Works is a steel mill
in North Braddock, Pennsylvania
. It is active since 1872.
, on the banks of the Monongahela River
east of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
. On July 9, 1755, in the Battle of the Monongahela, French and Indian forces from Fort Duquesne
defeated the expedition of British General Edward Braddock
, who himself was mortally wounded.
Braddock's Field also was the site of a rally of rebellious militiamen and farmers during the Whiskey Rebellion
, prior to a massive march on the city of Pittsburgh on August 1, 1794.
The site is on the banks of the Monongahela, which provides cost-effective, riverine transportation of coke
, iron and finished steel products.
The Edgar Thomson Steel Works was designed and built because of the Bessemer process
, the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass production of steel. In the process, air blowing through the molten iron removed impurities via oxidation. This took place in the Bessemer converter, a large ovoid steel container lined with clay or dolomite.
In the summer of 1872, while in Europe, Andrew Carnegie
learned about the Bessemer process. He returned to Pittsburgh with plans to build his own Bessemer plant. The main partners and stockholders were: Andrew Carnegie, William Coleman, Andrew Kloman, Henry Phipps, David McCandless Wm. P. Shinn, John Scott, David A. Stewart, and Thomas Carnegie. The firm was known as Carnegie, McCandless, and Company. The plant was named after J. Edgar Thomson, who was the president of the Pennsylvania Railroad
.
On January 1, 1873, ground work broke on the Edgar Thomson Steel Works. It has been estimated that the plant was built for about $1.2 million. The mill was built by Alexander Lyman Holley
, who also found a manager to run the mill, Capt. William Jones
, a Civil War veteran. On August 22, 1875, the Edgar Thomson Steel Works' hulking Bessemer converter produced its first heat of liquid steel, destined to become 2,000 steel rails for the Pennsylvania Railroad. The mill was capable of producing 225 tons of steel rails per day.
In 1892, the workers of the plant took part in one of the most serious strikes in U.S. history. The Homestead Strike
arose when Henry Clay Frick
, an associate and partner of Carnegie’s, took over while Carnegie traveled to Scotland. Frick attempted to cut the wages of the steel workers. The steelworkers at the Duquesne and Edgar Thomson Works joined the strike and shut their mills down in sympathy. Frick took extreme measures. He brought in thousands of strikebreakers. When he sent in 300 Pinkerton
guards to protect the strikebreakers, a riot broke out, resulting in 10 deaths and thousands of injuries. To prevent any further bloodshed, the Governor, Robert Pattison, sent two brigades to stop the fighting. Carnegie, McCandless and Company recommenced operations with non-union immigrant workers.
In 1901, Carnegie sold the Carnegie Steel Company
, including the Edgar Thomson Works, to J. P. Morgan
, Elbert H. Gary
and other investors, as part of the foundation of U.S. Steel
.
. In 2005, the mill produced 2.8 million tons of steel, equal to 28% of U.S. Steel’s domestic production. The mill employs about 900 persons, some of whom belong to the second or third generations of their families to work in the mill.
Among improvements to its physical plant is a $250 million continuous caster, which converts liquid steel directly into slabs, installed in 1992.
In April 1995, the mill was designated a historic landmark by ASM International
, a society that honors works of structural engineering. Other structures honored by the society are the Statue of Liberty
and the Eiffel Tower
.
Image:EdgarThomsonSteelWorks75DPI.jpg|A Bessemer converter blowing a heat of steel
Image:EdgarThomsonSteelWorks.JPG|Inside of the plant, circa 1915
Image:EdgarThomsonWorks10.JPG|Works on October 26, 2007
Steel mill
A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel.Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon. It is produced in a two-stage process. First, iron ore is reduced or smelted with coke and limestone in a blast furnace, producing molten iron which is either cast into pig iron or...
in North Braddock, Pennsylvania
North Braddock, Pennsylvania
North Braddock is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. North Braddock was organized from a part of Braddock Township in 1897. North Braddock is a suburb east of Pittsburgh with a 15-minute travel time to the city...
. It is active since 1872.
History
The mill occupies the historic site of Braddock's FieldBraddock's Field
Braddock's Field is a historic battlefield on the banks of the Monongahela River, at Braddock, Pennsylvania, near the junction of Turtle Creek , about nine miles southeast of the "Forks of the Ohio" in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
, on the banks of the Monongahela River
Monongahela River
The Monongahela River is a river on the Allegheny Plateau in north-central West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania in the United States...
east of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
. On July 9, 1755, in the Battle of the Monongahela, French and Indian forces from Fort Duquesne
Fort Duquesne
Fort Duquesne was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the junction of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers in what is now downtown Pittsburgh in the state of Pennsylvania....
defeated the expedition of British General Edward Braddock
Edward Braddock
General Edward Braddock was a British soldier and commander-in-chief for the 13 colonies during the actions at the start of the French and Indian War...
, who himself was mortally wounded.
Braddock's Field also was the site of a rally of rebellious militiamen and farmers during the Whiskey Rebellion
Whiskey Rebellion
The Whiskey Rebellion, or Whiskey Insurrection, was a tax protest in the United States in the 1790s, during the presidency of George Washington. Farmers who sold their corn in the form of whiskey had to pay a new tax which they strongly resented...
, prior to a massive march on the city of Pittsburgh on August 1, 1794.
The site is on the banks of the Monongahela, which provides cost-effective, riverine transportation of coke
Coke (fuel)
Coke is the solid carbonaceous material derived from destructive distillation of low-ash, low-sulfur bituminous coal. Cokes from coal are grey, hard, and porous. While coke can be formed naturally, the commonly used form is man-made.- History :...
, iron and finished steel products.
The Edgar Thomson Steel Works was designed and built because of the Bessemer process
Bessemer process
The Bessemer process was the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass-production of steel from molten pig iron. The process is named after its inventor, Henry Bessemer, who took out a patent on the process in 1855. The process was independently discovered in 1851 by William Kelly...
, the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass production of steel. In the process, air blowing through the molten iron removed impurities via oxidation. This took place in the Bessemer converter, a large ovoid steel container lined with clay or dolomite.
In the summer of 1872, while in Europe, Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...
learned about the Bessemer process. He returned to Pittsburgh with plans to build his own Bessemer plant. The main partners and stockholders were: Andrew Carnegie, William Coleman, Andrew Kloman, Henry Phipps, David McCandless Wm. P. Shinn, John Scott, David A. Stewart, and Thomas Carnegie. The firm was known as Carnegie, McCandless, and Company. The plant was named after J. Edgar Thomson, who was the president of the Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
.
On January 1, 1873, ground work broke on the Edgar Thomson Steel Works. It has been estimated that the plant was built for about $1.2 million. The mill was built by Alexander Lyman Holley
Alexander Lyman Holley
Alexander Lyman Holley was a mechanical engineer and was considered the foremost steel and plant engineer and designer of his time, especially in regard to applying research to modern steel manufacturing processes...
, who also found a manager to run the mill, Capt. William Jones
William Jones
-Academics and authors:* William Jones , Welsh mathematician who proposed the use of the symbol π* Sir William Jones , English philologist who proposed a relationship among Indo-European languages...
, a Civil War veteran. On August 22, 1875, the Edgar Thomson Steel Works' hulking Bessemer converter produced its first heat of liquid steel, destined to become 2,000 steel rails for the Pennsylvania Railroad. The mill was capable of producing 225 tons of steel rails per day.
In 1892, the workers of the plant took part in one of the most serious strikes in U.S. history. The Homestead Strike
Homestead Strike
The Homestead Strike was an industrial lockout and strike which began on June 30, 1892, culminating in a battle between strikers and private security agents on July 6, 1892. It was one of the most serious disputes in U.S. labor history...
arose when Henry Clay Frick
Henry Clay Frick
Henry Clay Frick was an American industrialist, financier, and art patron. He founded the H. C. Frick & Company coke manufacturing company, was chairman of the Carnegie Steel Company, and played a major role in the formation of the giant U.S. Steel steel manufacturing concern...
, an associate and partner of Carnegie’s, took over while Carnegie traveled to Scotland. Frick attempted to cut the wages of the steel workers. The steelworkers at the Duquesne and Edgar Thomson Works joined the strike and shut their mills down in sympathy. Frick took extreme measures. He brought in thousands of strikebreakers. When he sent in 300 Pinkerton
Pinkerton National Detective Agency
The Pinkerton National Detective Agency, usually shortened to the Pinkertons, is a private U.S. security guard and detective agency established by Allan Pinkerton in 1850. Pinkerton became famous when he claimed to have foiled a plot to assassinate president-elect Abraham Lincoln, who later hired...
guards to protect the strikebreakers, a riot broke out, resulting in 10 deaths and thousands of injuries. To prevent any further bloodshed, the Governor, Robert Pattison, sent two brigades to stop the fighting. Carnegie, McCandless and Company recommenced operations with non-union immigrant workers.
In 1901, Carnegie sold the Carnegie Steel Company
Carnegie Steel Company
Carnegie Steel Company was a steel producing company created by Andrew Carnegie to manage business at his steel mills in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area in the late 19th century.-Creation:...
, including the Edgar Thomson Works, to J. P. Morgan
J. P. Morgan
John Pierpont Morgan was an American financier, banker and art collector who dominated corporate finance and industrial consolidation during his time. In 1892 Morgan arranged the merger of Edison General Electric and Thomson-Houston Electric Company to form General Electric...
, Elbert H. Gary
Elbert Henry Gary
Elbert Henry Gary was an American lawyer, county judge and corporate officer. He was a key founder of U.S. Steel in 1901, bringing together partners J. P. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie, and Charles M. Schwab. The city of Gary, Indiana, a steel town, was named for him when it was founded in 1906...
and other investors, as part of the foundation of U.S. Steel
U.S. Steel
The United States Steel Corporation , more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an integrated steel producer with major production operations in the United States, Canada, and Central Europe. The company is the world's tenth largest steel producer ranked by sales...
.
Current operations
Today, two blast furnaces (Furnaces No.1 and No. 3) continue in operation at the Edgar Thomson Steel Works, which remains part of U.S. SteelU.S. Steel
The United States Steel Corporation , more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an integrated steel producer with major production operations in the United States, Canada, and Central Europe. The company is the world's tenth largest steel producer ranked by sales...
. In 2005, the mill produced 2.8 million tons of steel, equal to 28% of U.S. Steel’s domestic production. The mill employs about 900 persons, some of whom belong to the second or third generations of their families to work in the mill.
Among improvements to its physical plant is a $250 million continuous caster, which converts liquid steel directly into slabs, installed in 1992.
In April 1995, the mill was designated a historic landmark by ASM International
ASM International
ASM International, formerly known as the American Society for Metals, is a professional organization for materials scientists and engineers working with metals....
, a society that honors works of structural engineering. Other structures honored by the society are the Statue of Liberty
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...
and the Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower is a puddle iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris. Built in 1889, it has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world...
.
Images
Image:EdgarThomsonSteelWorks75DPI.jpg|A Bessemer converter blowing a heat of steel
Image:EdgarThomsonSteelWorks.JPG|Inside of the plant, circa 1915
Image:EdgarThomsonWorks10.JPG|Works on October 26, 2007