Phoenix Iron Company technical drawings

Transcription

1 04 Finding aid prepared by Celia Caust-Ellenbogen and Faith Charlton through the Historical Society of Pennsylvania's Hidden Collections Initiative for Pennsylvania Small Archival Repositories. Last updated on January 22, National Iron & Steel Heritage Museum

2 Table of Contents Summary Information...3 Biography/History...3 Scope and Contents... 5 Administrative Information... 5 Related Materials... 6 Controlled Access Headings Page 2 -

3 Summary Information Repository National Iron & Steel Heritage Museum Creator Phoenix Iron Company Title Phoenix Iron Company technical drawings Call number 04 Date [inclusive] Extent 35 cubic feet Language English Abstract Established in 1790 and incorporated in 1855, the Phoenix "works" in Phoenixville (Chester County, Pa.) produced nails, railroad rails, Civil War cannons, weaponry for 20th century wars, and structural steel. Among its well known products were the Griffen Gun, 1861, and the Phoenix Column, It closed in The Phoenix Iron Company technical drawings, , are mostly of equipment used by the company, as well as items they produced and a few maps. Biography/History "The Phoenix Steel Company [in Phoenixville, Chester County, Pa.] began in the late 18th century as a manufacturer of cut nails. It later became a major producer of railroad rails and iron and steel structural members. It remained a specialty producer and did not engage in backward or forward integration around the turn of the century like the larger steel companies. - Page 3 -

4 "The operation at Phoenixville began in 1790 when Benjamin Longstreth built the first nail factory in the United States at this site. In 1813 he sold it, and Lewis Wernwag ( ), a pioneer bridge builder in the United States, acquired a part interest and named it the Phoenix Iron Works. Wernwag was responsible for the invention and improvement of nail making machinery. In 1821 Jonah and George Thompson, Philadelphia merchants, bought the plant. By 1825 it had become the largest nail factory in the United States. In 1827 Benjamin Reeves ( ) and his brother David ( ), nail manufacturers in New Jersey, purchased the plant and formed the partnership of Reeves & Whitaker with Joseph Whitaker ( ), James Whitaker and Francis Leaming. In 1840 the company built its first blast furnace to use anthracite, and in 1846 first produced railroad rails. "In 1846 Reeves formed a second partnership, Reeves, Abbott & Company, which constructed a large rolling mill at Safe Harbor, Pa. on the Susquehanna River. Together, the two plants produced one-eighth of all iron rolled in Pennsylvania. Both John Griffen and John Fritz received their early training at Safe Harbor. It was incorporated as the Safe Harbor Iron Works on May 5, During the Civil War, the plant manufactured Dahlgren guns, but the works were badly damaged by a flood in They were operated on a reduced scale from 1877 to 1894, when they were abandoned. "Reeves & Whitaker dissolved upon the withdrawal of Whitaker in 1847; the new firm of Reeves, Buck & Co. was formed, with Robert S. Buck as partner. In 1855 it was incorporated as the Phoenix Iron Co., with David Reeves as president and his son Samuel J. Reeves ( ) as vice president. David Reeves started the first structural shape mill in the United States in 1855 and began the fabrication and design for bridges. In 1861 the company commenced manufacture of a cannon invented by John Griffen ( ), who was for many years superintendent of the Phoenix Iron Works; this gun was an important weapon during the Civil War. In 1862 Samuel J. Reeves invented the Phoenix column, the first hollow wrought iron column to be patented; it became widely used in buildings and bridges throughout the country and was one of the company's best known products. "In 1871 Samuel J. Reeves succeeded his father as president and in the same year began erection of the largest rolling mill in the world; this building served as a model for the Centennial Exhibition building erected in Philadelphia in However, the huge works lay idle during much of the depression of Samuel J. Reeves died in 1878 and was succeeded by his son David ( ), who secured large contracts for structural shapes for the New York City elevated railroads. In 1884 the company began its transition to steel and started rolling steel shapes for naval cruisers; in 1889 the first steel was poured. In 1901 it installed the first fully electrically operated rolling mill traveling tilting table in its structural mill. David Reeves was succeeded as president in 1923 by his son Samuel J. Reeves ( ). "After the younger Reeves' death in 1944, the plant changed hands several times and became engaged in types of steel manufacture other than the structural shapes for which its mills were originally designed. In 1949 it was completely shut down and then acquired by the Barium Steel Corp. It was reorganized as the Phoenix Iron & Steel Company on September 6, 1949, and reopened on January 14, In 1955 it absorbed two other Barium subsidiaries, the Central Iron & Steel Company of Harrisburg and Chester Blast Furnace, Inc. The Barium Steel Corporation was sold to Stanley Kirk in 1959 and broken up. The Phoenix operation was reorganized as The Phoenix Steel Corporation. - Page 4 -

5 Phoenix could not survive the crisis that hit the American steel industry in the 1970s and the entire plant shut down in In 1988 the Phoenix Pipe & Tube Company was organized to operate the seamless pipe mill set up in The remainder of the site was cleared for development in " Bibliography: Quoted text from: Finding aid for "Phoenix Steel Corporation Records, (bulk )." Hagley Museum & Library, collection Accessed October 3, Scope and Contents This collection consists of technical drawings, mostly for equipment used by the company, as well as items they produced and a few maps. Most of the items are oversize. The materials are on a variety of types of paper, including blueprints, transparencies, linens, and paper. An item-level inventory of this collection exists on-site. Note that the bulk of the Phoenix Iron Company records are held at the Hagley Museum and Library in Delaware and at the Historical Society of the Phoenixville Area in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Administrative Information National Iron & Steel Heritage Museum Finding aid prepared by Celia Caust-Ellenbogen and Faith Charlton through the Historical Society of Pennsylvania's Hidden Collections Initiative for Pennsylvania Small Archival Repositories. Sponsor This preliminary finding aid was created as part of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania's Hidden Collections Initiative for Pennsylvania Small Archival Repositories. The HCI-PSAR project was made possible by a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Access Restrictions Contact National Iron and Steel Heritage Museum for information about accessing this collection. - Page 5 -

6 Immediate Source of Acquisition Note Gift of Historical Society of Phoenixville Area. Phoenix Iron Company technical drawings Processing Information Note Summary descriptive information on this collection was compiled in as part of a project conducted by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania to make better known and more accessible the largely hidden collections of small, primarily volunteer run repositories in the Philadelphia area. The Hidden Collections Initiative for Pennsylvania Small Archival Repositories (HCI-PSAR) was funded by a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. This is a preliminary finding aid. No physical processing, rehousing, reorganizing, or folder listing was accomplished during the HCI-PSAR project. In some cases, more detailed inventories or finding aids may be available on-site at the repository where this collection is held; please contact National Iron and Steel Heritage Museum directly for more information. Related Materials Related Archival Materials Note Historical Society of the Phoenixville Area: Phoenix Iron Company records, Hagley Museum & Library: Phoenix Steel Corporation Records, (bulk ), collection Hagley Museum & Library: Phoenix Bridge Company records, Accessions 916 and Controlled Access Headings Corporate Name(s) Phoenix Iron Company Phoenix Iron Works (Phoenixville, Pa.) - Page 6 -

7 Geographic Name(s) Chester County (Pa.) Phoenixville (Pa.) Subject(s) Iron founding Iron industry and trade Iron, Structural Steel industry and trade Steel, Structural - Page 7 -