Oregon Iron Company
Encyclopedia
The Oregon Iron Company was an iron smelting
company located in what is now Lake Oswego, Oregon
. The company was established in 1865, and in 1867, became the first company in the United States to smelt iron west of the Rocky Mountains
. The company failed after a few years, but was reorganized as the Oswego Iron Company in 1878, and again as the Oregon Iron and Steel Company in 1883. With the addition of a larger furnace, this last incarnation of the company prospered, reaching peak production in 1890. By 1894, however, pressure from cheaper imported iron combined with the effects of the Panic of 1893
forced the company to close its smelter. The company continued to operate a pipe foundry until 1928, and until the early 1960s, existed as a land management company, selling its real estate holdings which expanded the city of Lake Oswego.
is credited to Morton M. McCarver (who had served as speaker of the Provisional Legislature of Oregon
) in 1862. McCarver's brown hematite
ore was tested and found to be of excellent quality (from 56–75% metal). In addition, the ore lay near the surface and the Oswego bed was estimated to contain 60000 short tons (54,431.1 MT) of ore. Since the site also featured vast forests that could be turned into charcoal
to feed the smelting furnaces, and ready access to water for power, the potential of a successful mining operation was easily recognized.
In 1865, a group of financiers in Portland, Oregon
, which included former Portland mayors William S. Ladd
and Henry Failing
, as well as Portland Gas Light Company founders Herman C. Leonard and John Green, incorporated an iron smelting company which they named the Oregon Iron Company. Ladd (who served as President) and the others hoped to make Oswego the "Pittsburgh
of the West," believing that having a local source of iron would help their other businesses, which included the Oregon Central Railroad
and the Oregon Steam Navigation Company
.
To oversee construction of a charcoal-fired blast furnace
, the company recruited George Wilbur. Wilbur modeled his design on the Lime Rock Furnace in Lime Rock, Connecticut. The furnace was designed by British stonemason Richard Martin and was completed in 1867. Meanwhile, a dam was built on Sucker Creek to harness water for power, forests were cleared to be turned into charcoal to feed the furnace, and limestone
, used during iron smelting to remove impurities, was quarried from the San Juan Islands
in Washington Territory
, and shipped and unloaded at the company docks on the adjacent Willamette River
.
On August 24, 1867, the Oregon Iron Company became the first company in the United States to smelt pig iron
west of the Rocky Mountains. The first pigs were given to J. C. Trullinger, who owned the townsite of Oswego. From 1867 to 1869, the company smelted nearly 2400 short tons (2,177.2 MT) of iron.
Ladd's group soon found their business expertise in other areas did not apply as well to the iron industry. Their lack of experience, coupled with a dispute over water rights, caused the company to close in 1869. After a brief respite in which they filled an order for iron wheels for the Central Pacific Railroad
from 1874 to 1876, the company closed for good in 1878 and the assets were sold off at a sheriff's auction.
The purchasers were led by Ernest Crichton and L. B. Seeley, experienced furnace managers from Ohio’s Hanging Rock
iron region. Under the new name of the Oswego Iron Company, the company made a number of significant improvements: they purchased the Oswego townsite along with large tracts of forest, settled the water rights issue, remodeled the furnace, opened several new mines, constructed several homes for its workers, and built a narrow gauge
railroad for hauling the ore. From 1877 to 1881, the Oswego Iron Company produced 18500 short tons (16,782.9 MT) of iron.
However, to finance these improvements, the company also incurred massive debt, and with the market price for iron remaining low, the company was sold in 1880 to another group of Portland financiers led by Simeon Gannett Reed
and railroad baron Henry Villard
.
In 1882, the company was reincorporated as the Oregon Iron and Steel Company with Reed as its President and William M. Ladd, son of Oregon Iron Company founder William S. Ladd, as its vice president. Borrowing from Villard, Reed built a new smelter north of the original furnace which had five times its capacity. The new iron works opened in 1888, and production boomed. The company employed 300 men and Oswego's population soared, as hotels, churches, saloons, and an opera house were built to support the town. A railroad line to Portland was completed in 1886, making Oswego more accessible.
The company reached its peak production in 1890, smelting 12305 short tons (11,162.9 MT) of iron. However, half the company's resources were dedicated to making charcoal from wood. The availability of cheaper imported coke
-fired iron, the overall reduction in demand for iron as railroad expansion slowed, and the economic effects of the Panic of 1893
, all combined to hasten the final closure of the furnace in 1894. The company continued to operate a pipe foundry on the site of the new furnace until 1928.
.
The company existed as a shell until 1960, when in its final act, it deeded its powerhouse and dams to lake shareholders.
The original blast furnace still stands in Lake Oswego's George Rogers Park along the Willamette River
. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1974. In 2010, a seven-year restoration of the furnace was completed.
Of the two first pigs smelted in 1867, one is displayed in the Oregon Historical Society
and one remains in place as a street marker at the northwest corner of Ladd and Durham streets in Lake Oswego.
The crucible
from the second furnace, which was dismantled and sold for scrap in 1926, is still intact in Lake Oswego's Roehr Park.
History of ferrous metallurgy
The history of ferrous metallurgy began far back in prehistory. The earliest surviving iron artifacts, from the 5th millennium BC in Iran and 2nd millennium BC in China, were made from meteoritic iron-nickel. It is not known when or where the smelting of iron from ores began, but by the end of the...
company located in what is now Lake Oswego, Oregon
Lake Oswego, Oregon
Lake Oswego is a city located primarily in Clackamas County in the U.S. state of Oregon. Small portions of the city are also located in neighboring Multnomah and Washington counties. Located south of Portland surrounding the Oswego Lake, the town was founded in 1847 and incorporated as Oswego in...
. The company was established in 1865, and in 1867, became the first company in the United States to smelt iron west of the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
. The company failed after a few years, but was reorganized as the Oswego Iron Company in 1878, and again as the Oregon Iron and Steel Company in 1883. With the addition of a larger furnace, this last incarnation of the company prospered, reaching peak production in 1890. By 1894, however, pressure from cheaper imported iron combined with the effects of the Panic of 1893
Panic of 1893
The Panic of 1893 was a serious economic depression in the United States that began in 1893. Similar to the Panic of 1873, this panic was marked by the collapse of railroad overbuilding and shaky railroad financing which set off a series of bank failures...
forced the company to close its smelter. The company continued to operate a pipe foundry until 1928, and until the early 1960s, existed as a land management company, selling its real estate holdings which expanded the city of Lake Oswego.
Early history
The discovery of iron ore near the settlement of Oswego in the hills south of PortlandPortland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
is credited to Morton M. McCarver (who had served as speaker of the Provisional Legislature of Oregon
Provisional Legislature of Oregon
The Provisional Legislature of Oregon was the single-chamber legislative body of the Provisional Government of Oregon. It served the Oregon Country of the Pacific Northwest of North America from 1843 until early 1849 at a time when no country had sovereignty over the region...
) in 1862. McCarver's brown hematite
Limonite
Limonite is an ore consisting in a mixture of hydrated iron oxide-hydroxide of varying composition. The generic formula is frequently written as FeO·nH2O, although this is not entirely accurate as limonite often contains a varying amount of oxide compared to hydroxide.Together with hematite, it has...
ore was tested and found to be of excellent quality (from 56–75% metal). In addition, the ore lay near the surface and the Oswego bed was estimated to contain 60000 short tons (54,431.1 MT) of ore. Since the site also featured vast forests that could be turned into charcoal
Charcoal
Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...
to feed the smelting furnaces, and ready access to water for power, the potential of a successful mining operation was easily recognized.
In 1865, a group of financiers in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, which included former Portland mayors William S. Ladd
William S. Ladd
William Sargent Ladd was an American politician and businessman in Oregon. He twice served as Portland, Oregon’s mayor in the 1850s. A native of Vermont, he was a prominent figure in the early development of Portland, and co-founded the first bank in the state in 1859...
and Henry Failing
Henry Failing
Henry Failing was a banker, and one of the leading businessmen of the Pacific Northwest of the United States. He was one of Portland, Oregon's earliest residents, and served as that city's mayor for three two-year terms...
, as well as Portland Gas Light Company founders Herman C. Leonard and John Green, incorporated an iron smelting company which they named the Oregon Iron Company. Ladd (who served as President) and the others hoped to make Oswego the "Pittsburgh
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...
of the West," believing that having a local source of iron would help their other businesses, which included the Oregon Central Railroad
Oregon Central Railroad
The Oregon Central Railroad was the name of two railroad companies in the U.S. state of Oregon, each of which claimed federal land grants that had been assigned to the state in 1866 to assist in building a line from Portland south into California...
and the Oregon Steam Navigation Company
Oregon Steam Navigation Company
The Oregon Steam Navigation Company was an American company incorporated in 1860 in Washington with partners J. S. Ruckle, Henry Olmstead, and J. O. Van Bergen...
.
Construction
Blast furnace
A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally iron.In a blast furnace, fuel and ore and flux are continuously supplied through the top of the furnace, while air is blown into the bottom of the chamber, so that the chemical reactions...
, the company recruited George Wilbur. Wilbur modeled his design on the Lime Rock Furnace in Lime Rock, Connecticut. The furnace was designed by British stonemason Richard Martin and was completed in 1867. Meanwhile, a dam was built on Sucker Creek to harness water for power, forests were cleared to be turned into charcoal to feed the furnace, and limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
, used during iron smelting to remove impurities, was quarried from the San Juan Islands
San Juan Islands
The San Juan Islands are an archipelago in the northwest corner of the contiguous United States between the US mainland and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The San Juan Islands are part of the U.S...
in Washington Territory
Washington Territory
The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 8, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington....
, and shipped and unloaded at the company docks on the adjacent Willamette River
Willamette River
The Willamette River is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States...
.
On August 24, 1867, the Oregon Iron Company became the first company in the United States to smelt 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...
west of the Rocky Mountains. The first pigs were given to J. C. Trullinger, who owned the townsite of Oswego. From 1867 to 1869, the company smelted nearly 2400 short tons (2,177.2 MT) of iron.
Ladd's group soon found their business expertise in other areas did not apply as well to the iron industry. Their lack of experience, coupled with a dispute over water rights, caused the company to close in 1869. After a brief respite in which they filled an order for iron wheels for the Central Pacific Railroad
Central Pacific Railroad
The Central Pacific Railroad is the former name of the railroad network built between California and Utah, USA that formed part of the "First Transcontinental Railroad" in North America. It is now part of the Union Pacific Railroad. Many 19th century national proposals to build a transcontinental...
from 1874 to 1876, the company closed for good in 1878 and the assets were sold off at a sheriff's auction.
Oswego Iron Company
Hanging Rock Ponds
The Hanging Rock Ponds are a set of ponds near Hanging Rock, a village along the Ohio River in western Lawrence County, Ohio, United States. The ponds are the result of strip mining, or surface mining for iron ore or coal during the 1960s and 1970s. Hanging Rock Ponds have a total of 51 ponds,...
iron region. Under the new name of the Oswego Iron Company, the company made a number of significant improvements: they purchased the Oswego townsite along with large tracts of forest, settled the water rights issue, remodeled the furnace, opened several new mines, constructed several homes for its workers, and built a narrow gauge
Narrow gauge
A narrow gauge railway is a railway that has a track gauge narrower than the of standard gauge railways. Most existing narrow gauge railways have gauges of between and .- Overview :...
railroad for hauling the ore. From 1877 to 1881, the Oswego Iron Company produced 18500 short tons (16,782.9 MT) of iron.
However, to finance these improvements, the company also incurred massive debt, and with the market price for iron remaining low, the company was sold in 1880 to another group of Portland financiers led by Simeon Gannett Reed
Simeon Gannett Reed
Simeon Gannett Reed was an American businessman and entrepreneur in Oregon. A native of Massachusetts, he made a fortune primarily in the transportation sector in association with William S. Ladd...
and railroad baron Henry Villard
Henry Villard
Henry Villard was an American journalist and financier who was an early president of the Northern Pacific Railway....
.
Oregon Iron and Steel Company
The company reached its peak production in 1890, smelting 12305 short tons (11,162.9 MT) of iron. However, half the company's resources were dedicated to making charcoal from wood. The availability of cheaper imported 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 :...
-fired iron, the overall reduction in demand for iron as railroad expansion slowed, and the economic effects of the Panic of 1893
Panic of 1893
The Panic of 1893 was a serious economic depression in the United States that began in 1893. Similar to the Panic of 1873, this panic was marked by the collapse of railroad overbuilding and shaky railroad financing which set off a series of bank failures...
, all combined to hasten the final closure of the furnace in 1894. The company continued to operate a pipe foundry on the site of the new furnace until 1928.
Land development
Despite its lack of industry, the company still found itself with thousands of acres of land that could be developed. William M. Ladd, who had succeeded Reed as President of Oregon Iron and Steel and his father as President of Ladd & Tilton Bank, formed the Ladd Estate Company to manage these real estate assets. The newly formed Ladd Estate Company converted the depressed company town into a prestigious suburb complete with country club, golf course, polo field, and even worked to rename the harsh-sounding Sucker Lake to Oswego LakeOswego Lake
Oswego Lake is a privately owned lake in Clackamas County, Oregon that is completely surrounded by the city of Lake Oswego. Though the lake is naturally occurring , it is considered a reservoir because of the concrete dam that has increased its size to .-Geologic history:The lake is a former...
.
The company existed as a shell until 1960, when in its final act, it deeded its powerhouse and dams to lake shareholders.
Remnants of infrastructure
Willamette River
The Willamette River is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States...
. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1974. In 2010, a seven-year restoration of the furnace was completed.
Of the two first pigs smelted in 1867, one is displayed in the Oregon Historical Society
Oregon Historical Society
The Oregon Historical Society is an organization that encourages and promotes the study and understanding of the history of the Oregon Country, within the broader context of U.S. history. Incorporated in 1898, the Society collects, preserves, and makes available materials of historical character...
and one remains in place as a street marker at the northwest corner of Ladd and Durham streets in Lake Oswego.
The crucible
Crucible
A crucible is a container used for metal, glass, and pigment production as well as a number of modern laboratory processes, which can withstand temperatures high enough to melt or otherwise alter its contents...
from the second furnace, which was dismantled and sold for scrap in 1926, is still intact in Lake Oswego's Roehr Park.