HISTORY: “Valley of the Conemaugh” by Thomas J. Chapman, 1865 Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Diann Olsen , September, 2008 Copyright 2008 All rights reserved. http://http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/cambria/ _______________________________________________ THE VALLEY OF THE CONEMAUGH. BY THOMAS J. CHAPMAN. ALTOONA, PA.: McCRUM & DERN, PRINTERS. 1865. --------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER VIII. THE CAMBRIA IRON WORKS. If Johnstown is the metropolis of the Conemaugh valley, it is, owing entirely to the Cambria Iron Works. We have seen that prior to 1853, at which time these works were established, the town was a rather unimportant affair. It is true, the Pennsylvania Railroad, which was completed about this time, might have had the effect of causing some improvement to be made in it, though to what extent it is of course impossible to say. But whatever advantage the construction of that thoroughfare might have been to the town, there is no question that it would have been vastly more than counterpoised by the subsequent sale and abandonment of the old main line. The credit of establishing this mammoth enterprise is mainly due to the Hon. George S. King, of Johnstown. Mr. King, in company with others, owned several furnaces, and large tracts of ore land in the neighborhood of this place. About 1852, stockholders and capital were secured, and a company was forth- --------------------------------------------------------------------- THE CONEMAUGH. 153 with organized under the general manufacturing law of June 14th, 1836. The capital required by the act of incorporation was one million of dollars. Operations were at once commenced. A large and well constructed frame building was put up. The building was in the form of a cross; the main part was six hundred feet long and one hundred feet wide, and the transverse part three hundred and fifty feet in length and seventy-five feet in width. It contained a large amount of heavy machinery, which was set in motion by five powerful steam engines. The works were kept in operation by the original company for some time, but did not prosper. In May, 1855, they were leased for a term of years by Wood, Morrell & Co. In the hands of this company new life was infused into the enterprise. The works were set going to their fullest capacity, and an air of activity, energy and prosperity was every where apparent. In the summer of 1857, however, a casualty befel the rolling mill that threatened at the time to put a qietus to its career of prosperity and usefulness, and plunge the town back into the state of torpidity from which it was just emerging. About six o'clock, Saturday even- --------------------------------------------------------------------- 154 THE HISTORY OF ing, August 1st, of that year, the mill was discovered to be on fire. The fire had originally broken out in a small out building contiguous to the mill, from which it was speedily communicated to the latter. The lumber of which the building was composed being thoroughly dried by the sun of summer and the constant heat of the furnaces within, took fire with the quickness of tinder, and in a comparatively few minutes after the first outbreak of the fire, the whole immense structure was en- veloped inflames. The tidings spread through the town with the greatest rapidity, and in a very brief space of time a vast concourse of spectators had collected to witness the destruction they were powerless to prevent. The scene struck terror, and dismay to the hearts of the assembled thousands.* The work of destruction, however, was soon over, and the spot where a few hours before had stood the mammoth rolling mill, was cov- ered only with blackened and smouldering ruins. The mill had contained twenty-one double and eleven single heating furnaces, and a large amount of valuable machinery, together with a set of rolls of an improved kind that had been put up but a day or two before. The ----- *See Cambria Tribune, August 5, 1857. --------------------------------------------------------------------- THE CONEMAUGH. 155 loss amounted to fully one hundred thousand dollars; and, but for the massive and durable character of the principal part of the machinery, it would have been vastly greater. The work of erecting a new mill was immediately commenced. The rubbish was cleared away and temporary wooden sheds were put up, in which business was at once resumed. These were replaced as fast as possible by a building Of a more substantial and creditable character. By the latter part of the same month the works were again in operation as vigorously and prosperously as before, and the rebuilding of the mill carried on to a considerable stage. It is a remarkable fact that this building, one of the largest and best constructed works of the kind in the world, was erected over the heads of the numerous workmen connected with the mill, without causing a single accident to any one, or interfering in any degree with the course of operations within. The new building is of brick, and is covered with a roof of slate. It stands upon the site of the old mill, as we have said, though it is somewhat larger in every direction. It was completed in 1858. In 1863, another mill, three hundred feet long by one hundred feet wide, was built. It stands parallel with the old --------------------------------------------------------------------- 156 THE HISTORY OF mill, and not more than thirty or forty feet distant, and is connected with it by a wing. Another mill is now in course of erection. It is attached to the northern end of the transverse portion of the old mill. It will cover over an acre of ground. These buildings are designed to be all of the same style of architecture and finish. There are now in operation twenty-two heating furnaces and thirty double puddling furnaces, a train of rail-rolls, squeezers, and other machinery necessary to a complete rolling mill. The machinery used in these works is of the most improved kinds. There are three vertical steam engines, and the fly-wheels are immense castings weighing forty tons, and make as high as seventy-five or eighty revolutions per minute. A writer in one of the daily papers published in Pittsburgh, thus describes the process of manufacturing railroad iron at this mill: “The ore is taken from the mines near the works, and after being put through the roasting process, which requires some time, it is thrown into the blast furnaces, of which there are four in number, capable of running one hundred and. ninety tons each per week; thence the metal is transferred to the puddling furnaces, and after undergoing the process of puddling, it goes thence. --------------------------------------------------------------------- THE CONEMAUGH. 157 through the squeezers, and thence through the puddle rolls, when it is ready for the heating furnaces. After being heated in the latter, it is prepared for its final rolling into bars." These works employ about, twenty-seven hundred hands, and from three hundred to four hundred head of horses and mules. The amount of finished rails made here in the year 1864, was about forty thousand tons. The capacity of the works, when the part now building is completed, will be from 60 to 70,000 tons. There are over thirty-five engines employed in driving the works; the waste heat from the heating and puddling furnaces generating all the steam required. A visit to these works after night, when they are in full operation, causes one to think of old Vulcan and his assistants forging thunderbolts for Jove in their smithy under Mount Etna. In 1864, valuable additions were made to these works by the building of a new black smith shop, machine and pattern shop, and a foundry. The blacksmith shop is an octagon of 74 feet diameter. It contains sixteen fires, which are blown by means of a large fan that is kept in motion by steam. The fire-places are smoke-consuming, and the interior of this model blacksmith shop, which is neatly paint- --------------------------------------------------------------------- 158 THE HISTORY OF ed and whitewashed, is as clean and tidy as a dry goods store. The machine and pattern shop is two hundred and twelve feet long, and sixty-four feet wide. The foundry is one hundred and forty-eight feet in length, and seventy in breadth. These new buildings all stand contiguous to the main works. They are of brick, and covered with slate, and are furnished with all appliances calculated to secure comfort to the workmen, and to facilitate their work. Besides the large quantities of metal manufactured for the use of these works by the furnaces mentioned above, vast amounts of pig metal, worn out railroad iron, car wheels, and old metal of a miscellaneous description, are used. The metal yard, where the shipping and unshipping of rails and iron are carried on, presents a scene of activity second only to the interior of the mill itself. Acres of ground, almost, are sometimes literally covered to the depth of many feet with the new rails ready for transportation, and old metal brought there to be worked over. Perhaps no iron works in the world are so well situated with reference to the raw material to be worked up, as well as to facilities for shipping its products to market. The ore, --------------------------------------------------------------------- THE CONEMAUGH. 159 coal, and so forth, necessary to the carrying on of the works are right at hand. Railways are constructed leading from the mines right to the place where these minerals are wanted, without having to transport them a long distance, and subject them to repeated handling. The great Pennsylvania Railroad passes within a few rods of the works, and branches connect with it, thus affording excellent means for shipping the rails here manufactured to every section of the country. For the accommodation of the employees of this immense enterprise, comfortable dwelling houses have been erected by the company. These houses are to be counted by scores. They do not present that squalid, crowded, uncomfortable appearance which is characteristic of the tenement houses that are usually huddled around similar works. These houses are large and well constructed, and are in general better adapted than three-fourths of the dwelling houses any where. Each family has its suite of apartments distinct and separate from its neighbors, or in many instances a house to itself, roomy and comfortable. These dwellings are rented only to the employees of the mill. The rents are not high, and the houses are kept in constant good --------------------------------------------------------------------- 160 THE HISTORY OF repair. This company can afford to be munificent towards its employees, and it is so. Connected with these works are stores and shops of different kinds. There is a large dry goods store, a grocery, and a meat market. There is a blacksmith shop, a carpenter shop, and shops where shoemaking, tailoring, painting, cabinet making, wagon making, harness making, and so forth, are carried on. These various establishments do an immense amount of business, which is felt all through the town. To take away the rolling mill and its influences, Johnstown would be something like the play of Hamlet with the part of Hamlet left out. It is the all-important feature of the town the great centre of industry, from which all other enterprises receive their stimulus. The amount of business transacted by this establishment may be judged from the fact that the internal revenue tax alone, paid by this company for the year 1865, will be over two hundred thousand dollars, or more than one half of the total amount collected in the district during the year. We venture to say that there are but few corporations in the country that pay a larger tax of this kind. The pre-eminent success of this establishment is greatly attributable to the excellent management of --------------------------------------------------------------------- THE CONEMAUGH. 161 Daniel J. Morrell, Esq., the accomplished resident partner of the firm, and Mr. George Fritz, the efficient engineer of the works. In the hands of these gentlemen the Cambria Iron Works have acquired an extent, com- pleteness, and influence unsurpassed by any similar works in the world.