Morgan Park (Duluth)
Encyclopedia
Morgan Park is a neighborhood
in Duluth
, Minnesota
, United States
.
Arbor Street / 88th Avenue West serves as a main arterial route in the community.
conception. Connected to the city of Duluth by an East and West road link, the town was somewhat isolated from the rest of the city, and until the 1930s, only employees of the U.S. Steel Corporation and its subsidiaries could live there. The town proprietor, actually known as the Morgan Park Company, a direct subsidiary of Minnesota Steel Company who operated the steel plant, was responsible for trash pickup, lawn and house care, police and fire protection, health care (until the hospital closed in the 1920s) and snow removal. Residents of the town were expected to keep their homes in a generally conservative and well kept manner. Failure to do so, and the Morgan Park Company would accomplish the task(s) for you and deduct accordingly from your paycheck.
steel and cement plants, and Morgan Park itself, were not the direct result of a vast expanding industrial empire in the United States at the turn of the century in this area, but more in part, they were leverage in a "gentleman's agreement" between the United States Steel Corporation and the State of Minnesota. During the early 1900s, the Minnesota Legislature gave thought of imposing a hefty ore tax on every ton of ore that left the vast deposits on the Iron Range. No other company would be hurt more by this than the newly incorporated U.S. Steel. So in a trade for producing some finished materials within the state that supplied the most iron ore to the company, the company built the manufacturing complex at Duluth. The idea was that coal and other raw materials could be hauled up the Lakes to Duluth in their otherwise empty cargo holds while en route for the iron ore they hauled to the mills on the lower lakes. In fact, many speculators thought that Duluth would become a massive manufacturing center, second only to Pittsburgh or Chicago, but these speculations never came close to being realized.
The Minnesota Steel Company, which was incorporated by U.S. Steel in 1907, was the subsidiary operating unit of U.S. Steel in Duluth. The steel plant was under construction in 1908 and poured its first ingot of steel on December 11, 1916 and was the largest integrated steel works west of Chicago until Geneva Steel
was constructed in 1943. Minnesota Steel Company was the largest employer in the city of Duluth from its inception to its closing, to include the steel and cement plants, and was the fourth largest industrial manufacturing facility in the State of Minnesota. Minnesota Steel was the holding company for the steel plant (and for Morgan Park itself) until it was leased to the American Steel and Wire Division (AS&W) of U.S. Steel in June 1932 as part of a restructuring effort by the parent company to deal with the Great Depression and market problems which were associated with it.
AS&W would remain the plant's main operating parent under the U.S. Steel imperial umbrella until 1964, when another restructuring move by U.S. Steel placed several of its smaller operations under one division. (At this point forward, the steel plant was known simply within the Corporation and the market as USS Duluth Works.)
The Duluth Works was primarily a wire product manufacturer, taking raw materials such as iron ore and coke
, and converting them into iron and, later, steel for the production of blooms, bars, billets and rods. The Duluth Works shipped many of its semi-finished products to other U.S. Steel mills for finishing, while the merchant and wire mills utilized its own steel to furnish various types of nails, wire, barbed wire, fencing and fence posts, highway mesh, and sign posts and other various products. As an act of pride, the Duluth Works nail department left out the fourth barb, used in holding the wire and then striking the top of it to make a head, leaving an obvious omission on the side of the nail to signify that this nail was made in Duluth and was used in promotions in the Twin Ports area to entice consumers to "Look for the missing fourth barb" on the nail to in fact see if it was made at Duluth Works.
In the late 1930s until its closing, Duluth Works fence posts, steel wool and barbed wire, were only produced within the U.S. Steel empire solely at the Duluth Works, a unique designation within the company itself. The wire mesh product, created in 1954, (along with its Universal Atlas Cement plant) was also instrumental in the building of the ICBM
missile silos of the midwest for the Strategic Air Command
of the United States Air Force
.
. Homestead
. Duquesne
. Fairless. McKeesport. Many plants that were once powerhouses within U.S. Steel and the industry as a whole, were now victims of the cutting torches. The dumping of foreign steel in the United States was partly to blame, but it was also because the Duluth Works wasn't substantially modernized throughout the years with more modern Basic Oxygen Furnaces (BOF) to replace its outdated open hearth technology that was introduced at the plant at its construction, and was located in a market where other plants could meet its own output and demand. The Duluth Works, despite being an integrated steel maker, only utilized 20% of its own steel for products that it made for its own market area, an area that was sparsely populated and small in demand. The rest of its semi-finished steel material was sent to Joliet
Works, Chicago
and Gary
. This fact, in conjunction with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agencey (MPCA) and U.S. Steel's own Board of Directors, were to eventually spell doom for the 3,500 workers at the plant. After years of debate and speculation, in June 1970 the MPCA amid growing environmental concerns, gave U.S. Steel three years to conduct a study of its harmful emissions at the Duluth Works and a two years follow up window to implement corrective actions. Rather than conduct the studies, U.S. Steel decided in September 1971 to close the "hot side" of the Duluth Works. This meant that all iron and steel making productions at the facilities of the blast furnaces, pig iron
casters and open hearths would cease. 1,600 steel workers were out of a job. The cold side operations were to continue, using brought in steel from Gary
or other U.S Steel plants, to make rod and wire products. This continued until October 1973, when the cold side shut down, leaving only the coke
plant, the cement plant and several other smaller operations at work in Morgan Park. The cement plant (operated by Universal Atlas Cement Company - another subsidiary of U.S. Steel) closed in 1976, leaving only the coke
plant still operating and a mere 200 employees still at Morgan Park. Finally in 1979, the MPCA clamped down on the emissions of the coke
plant as well, and in 1981 the coke
plant, the last of U.S. Steel's vast grip on Morgan Park and the city of Duluth, was closed.
This did not relieve U.S. Steel from its responsibilities as a land tenant. The land occupied by the former plant and the surrounding area was polluted after almost 70 years of heavy industry. So polluted, that the Pollution Control Agencey placed the site on the U.S. Superfund list in 1984. That year, buildings were inspected and harmful materials removed and in 1988, razing and demolition of the once massive complex began. The last of the buildings was brought down in 1997. Today the land of the former steel and cement plants sit primarily vacant. Although the cement plant has been deemed as "cleaned" by U.S. Steel and the city of Duluth, the former steel plant site of the Duluth Works still has areas affected with pollution which are areas of concern for area residents and prospective new tenants of the property. The MPCA, EPA and U.S. Steel continue to monitor and treat the 640 acres (2.6 km²) site and surrounding areas.
The Duluth company Ikonics Corporation, in April 2008, has expressed intent to build a warehouse facility on the former cement plant site and has made preparations on the land to move forward with the plan and the City of Duluth's Duluth Economic and Development Authority, or DEDA, using up to 40 acres (161,874.4 m²) of the former industrial plant. After almost 30 years, some activity will return to Morgan Parks industrial plain.
Neighborhoods of Duluth, Minnesota
The city of Duluth, overlooking Lake Superior in the U.S. state of Minnesota has several distinct neighborhoods.- Central :*Canal Park*Central Hillside*Downtown Duluth*East Hillside*Park Point- Eastern Duluth :*Chester Park / UMD*Congdon Park...
in Duluth
Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Arbor Street / 88th Avenue West serves as a main arterial route in the community.
History
At the time of its completion, Morgan Park stood as one of the crowning achievements of company townCompany town
A company town is a town or city in which much or all real estate, buildings , utilities, hospitals, small businesses such as grocery stores and gas stations, and other necessities or luxuries of life within its borders are owned by a single company...
conception. Connected to the city of Duluth by an East and West road link, the town was somewhat isolated from the rest of the city, and until the 1930s, only employees of the U.S. Steel Corporation and its subsidiaries could live there. The town proprietor, actually known as the Morgan Park Company, a direct subsidiary of Minnesota Steel Company who operated the steel plant, was responsible for trash pickup, lawn and house care, police and fire protection, health care (until the hospital closed in the 1920s) and snow removal. Residents of the town were expected to keep their homes in a generally conservative and well kept manner. Failure to do so, and the Morgan Park Company would accomplish the task(s) for you and deduct accordingly from your paycheck.
Morgan Park's Industry – The Duluth Works
The Duluth WorksDuluth Works
The Duluth Works was an industrial steel and cement manufacturing complex located in Duluth, Minnesota, in operation 1915 to 1987. The complex was operated by the United States Steel Corporation. Officially, the plant's purpose was to supply the growing Midwest with steel finished products....
steel and cement plants, and Morgan Park itself, were not the direct result of a vast expanding industrial empire in the United States at the turn of the century in this area, but more in part, they were leverage in a "gentleman's agreement" between the United States Steel Corporation and the State of Minnesota. During the early 1900s, the Minnesota Legislature gave thought of imposing a hefty ore tax on every ton of ore that left the vast deposits on the Iron Range. No other company would be hurt more by this than the newly incorporated U.S. Steel. So in a trade for producing some finished materials within the state that supplied the most iron ore to the company, the company built the manufacturing complex at Duluth. The idea was that coal and other raw materials could be hauled up the Lakes to Duluth in their otherwise empty cargo holds while en route for the iron ore they hauled to the mills on the lower lakes. In fact, many speculators thought that Duluth would become a massive manufacturing center, second only to Pittsburgh or Chicago, but these speculations never came close to being realized.
The Minnesota Steel Company, which was incorporated by U.S. Steel in 1907, was the subsidiary operating unit of U.S. Steel in Duluth. The steel plant was under construction in 1908 and poured its first ingot of steel on December 11, 1916 and was the largest integrated steel works west of Chicago until Geneva Steel
Geneva Steel
Geneva Steel was a steel mill located in Vineyard, Utah, founded during World War II to enhance national steel output. It operated from December 1944 to November 2001...
was constructed in 1943. Minnesota Steel Company was the largest employer in the city of Duluth from its inception to its closing, to include the steel and cement plants, and was the fourth largest industrial manufacturing facility in the State of Minnesota. Minnesota Steel was the holding company for the steel plant (and for Morgan Park itself) until it was leased to the American Steel and Wire Division (AS&W) of U.S. Steel in June 1932 as part of a restructuring effort by the parent company to deal with the Great Depression and market problems which were associated with it.
AS&W would remain the plant's main operating parent under the U.S. Steel imperial umbrella until 1964, when another restructuring move by U.S. Steel placed several of its smaller operations under one division. (At this point forward, the steel plant was known simply within the Corporation and the market as USS Duluth Works.)
The Duluth Works was primarily a wire product manufacturer, taking raw materials such as iron ore and 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 :...
, and converting them into iron and, later, steel for the production of blooms, bars, billets and rods. The Duluth Works shipped many of its semi-finished products to other U.S. Steel mills for finishing, while the merchant and wire mills utilized its own steel to furnish various types of nails, wire, barbed wire, fencing and fence posts, highway mesh, and sign posts and other various products. As an act of pride, the Duluth Works nail department left out the fourth barb, used in holding the wire and then striking the top of it to make a head, leaving an obvious omission on the side of the nail to signify that this nail was made in Duluth and was used in promotions in the Twin Ports area to entice consumers to "Look for the missing fourth barb" on the nail to in fact see if it was made at Duluth Works.
In the late 1930s until its closing, Duluth Works fence posts, steel wool and barbed wire, were only produced within the U.S. Steel empire solely at the Duluth Works, a unique designation within the company itself. The wire mesh product, created in 1954, (along with its Universal Atlas Cement plant) was also instrumental in the building of the ICBM
Intercontinental ballistic missile
An intercontinental ballistic missile is a ballistic missile with a long range typically designed for nuclear weapons delivery...
missile silos of the midwest for the Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
of the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
.
Closing and Fate
The fate of the Duluth Works was to be similar of other plants during the early 1970s to the mid 1980s. The story was the same as at other plants all over the country; YoungstownYoungstown
Youngstown may refer to:A place*Canada**Britannia Youngstown, Edmonton, Alberta**Youngstown, Alberta*United States**Youngstown, Florida**Youngstown, Indiana**Youngstown, New York**Youngstown, Ohio***Youngstown State University...
. Homestead
Homestead, Pennsylvania
Homestead is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA, in the "Mon Valley," southeast of downtown Pittsburgh and directly across the river from the city limit line. The borough is known for the Homestead Strike of 1892, an important event in the history of labor relations in the United...
. Duquesne
Duquesne
-Individuals:* Abraham de Bellebat, marquis du Quesne, governor of Martinique in 1716* Abraham Duquesne, French admiral* Calleigh Duquesne, a character in the television series CSI: Miami...
. Fairless. McKeesport. Many plants that were once powerhouses within U.S. Steel and the industry as a whole, were now victims of the cutting torches. The dumping of foreign steel in the United States was partly to blame, but it was also because the Duluth Works wasn't substantially modernized throughout the years with more modern Basic Oxygen Furnaces (BOF) to replace its outdated open hearth technology that was introduced at the plant at its construction, and was located in a market where other plants could meet its own output and demand. The Duluth Works, despite being an integrated steel maker, only utilized 20% of its own steel for products that it made for its own market area, an area that was sparsely populated and small in demand. The rest of its semi-finished steel material was sent to Joliet
Joliet
There are several people and things named Joliet:*Louis Jolliet, a 17th century explorer of North America*Joliet, Illinois, United States, a city named after Louis Jolliet**Joliet Prison*Joliet, Montana, United States...
Works, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and Gary
Gary, Indiana
Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city is in the southeastern portion of the Chicago metropolitan area and is 25 miles from downtown Chicago. The population is 80,294 at the 2010 census, making it the seventh-largest city in the state. It borders Lake Michigan and is known...
. This fact, in conjunction with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agencey (MPCA) and U.S. Steel's own Board of Directors, were to eventually spell doom for the 3,500 workers at the plant. After years of debate and speculation, in June 1970 the MPCA amid growing environmental concerns, gave U.S. Steel three years to conduct a study of its harmful emissions at the Duluth Works and a two years follow up window to implement corrective actions. Rather than conduct the studies, U.S. Steel decided in September 1971 to close the "hot side" of the Duluth Works. This meant that all iron and steel making productions at the facilities of the blast furnaces, pig iron
Pig iron
Pig iron is the intermediate product of smelting iron ore with a high-carbon fuel such as coke, usually with limestone as a flux. Charcoal and anthracite have also been used as fuel...
casters and open hearths would cease. 1,600 steel workers were out of a job. The cold side operations were to continue, using brought in steel from Gary
Gary, Indiana
Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city is in the southeastern portion of the Chicago metropolitan area and is 25 miles from downtown Chicago. The population is 80,294 at the 2010 census, making it the seventh-largest city in the state. It borders Lake Michigan and is known...
or other U.S Steel plants, to make rod and wire products. This continued until October 1973, when the cold side shut down, leaving only the 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 :...
plant, the cement plant and several other smaller operations at work in Morgan Park. The cement plant (operated by Universal Atlas Cement Company - another subsidiary of U.S. Steel) closed in 1976, leaving only the 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 :...
plant still operating and a mere 200 employees still at Morgan Park. Finally in 1979, the MPCA clamped down on the emissions of the 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 :...
plant as well, and in 1981 the 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 :...
plant, the last of U.S. Steel's vast grip on Morgan Park and the city of Duluth, was closed.
This did not relieve U.S. Steel from its responsibilities as a land tenant. The land occupied by the former plant and the surrounding area was polluted after almost 70 years of heavy industry. So polluted, that the Pollution Control Agencey placed the site on the U.S. Superfund list in 1984. That year, buildings were inspected and harmful materials removed and in 1988, razing and demolition of the once massive complex began. The last of the buildings was brought down in 1997. Today the land of the former steel and cement plants sit primarily vacant. Although the cement plant has been deemed as "cleaned" by U.S. Steel and the city of Duluth, the former steel plant site of the Duluth Works still has areas affected with pollution which are areas of concern for area residents and prospective new tenants of the property. The MPCA, EPA and U.S. Steel continue to monitor and treat the 640 acres (2.6 km²) site and surrounding areas.
The Duluth company Ikonics Corporation, in April 2008, has expressed intent to build a warehouse facility on the former cement plant site and has made preparations on the land to move forward with the plan and the City of Duluth's Duluth Economic and Development Authority, or DEDA, using up to 40 acres (161,874.4 m²) of the former industrial plant. After almost 30 years, some activity will return to Morgan Parks industrial plain.
Adjacent Neighborhoods
(Directions following those of Duluth's general street grid system, not actual geographical coordinates)- SmithvilleSmithville (Duluth)Smithville is a neighborhood in Duluth, Minnesota, United States.Grand Avenue serves as a main arterial route in the community.According to the city's official map, Bardon's Peak on West Skyline Parkway lies within the boundaries of the Smithville neighborhood.Stewart Creek flows through the...
(west, north) - Gary – New Duluth (south)
See also
- Duluth WorksDuluth WorksThe Duluth Works was an industrial steel and cement manufacturing complex located in Duluth, Minnesota, in operation 1915 to 1987. The complex was operated by the United States Steel Corporation. Officially, the plant's purpose was to supply the growing Midwest with steel finished products....
- U.S. Steel – United States Steel CorporationU.S. SteelThe 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...
- Company townCompany townA company town is a town or city in which much or all real estate, buildings , utilities, hospitals, small businesses such as grocery stores and gas stations, and other necessities or luxuries of life within its borders are owned by a single company...
s - Gary, IndianaGary, IndianaGary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city is in the southeastern portion of the Chicago metropolitan area and is 25 miles from downtown Chicago. The population is 80,294 at the 2010 census, making it the seventh-largest city in the state. It borders Lake Michigan and is known...
- Grand Avenue – State Highway 23Minnesota State Highway 23Minnesota State Highway 23 is a state highway that stretches from southwest to northeast Minnesota. At in length, it is the second longest state route in Minnesota, after MN 1....