Description: This photograph shows a sailboat cruising along the shores of Lake Erie, ca. 1960-1970s. The shoreline and trees frame the image of the lone sailboat, which is seen at a distance. Lake Erie, one of North America’s Great Lakes, forms most of Ohio's northern boundary. During the 1700s and 1800s, Lake Erie provided a quick means of transportation for fur traders as well as settlers hoping to improve their fortunes in the Ohio Country. Its importance grew during the 1810s and the 1820s as Americans began to build canals. The completion of the Erie Canal, which connected the Hudson River in New York with Lake Erie, provided the first navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Upper Midwest. The Erie Canal system gave Ohio farmers a relatively quick and inexpensive route to transport their products to market. Thanks to its location on Lake Erie, Cleveland quickly grew to become one of the state’s leading industrial centers. During the War of 1812, both the English and the American armies and navies hoped to gain exclusive control over the lake. The side that controlled Lake Erie would have an easier time sending troops and supplies in an invasion of the enemy's territory. On September 10, 1813, at the Battle of Lake Erie, an American fleet under the command of Oliver Hazard Perry defeated a British fleet, securing control of the lake for the United States. The victory eliminated England's threat to the American Northwest. Lake Erie also served as parts of boundaries in treaties between the United States and the Indians during the late 1700s and the early 1800s. Among the most important of these agreements was the Treaty of Greeneville (1795). View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06654
Subjects: Erie, Lake, Coast (Ohio); Great Lakes (North America); Boats; Lake Erie Islands (Ohio); Sailboats; Sailing
Places: Marblehead (Ohio); Ottawa County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows sailboats cruising along the shores of Lake Erie, ca. 1960s or 1970s. The sailboat in the foreground has two occupants. Its main sail displays the image of a star and the number 1605. Lake Erie, one of North America’s Great Lakes, forms most of Ohio's northern boundary. During the 1700s and 1800s, Lake Erie provided a quick means of transportation for fur traders as well as settlers hoping to improve their fortunes in the Ohio Country. Its importance grew during the 1810s and the 1820s as Americans began to build canals. The completion of the Erie Canal, which connected the Hudson River in New York with Lake Erie, provided the first navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Upper Midwest. The Erie Canal system gave Ohio farmers a relatively quick and inexpensive route to transport their products to market. Thanks to its location on Lake Erie, Cleveland quickly grew to become one of the state’s leading industrial centers. During the War of 1812, both the English and the American armies and navies hoped to gain exclusive control over the lake. The side that controlled Lake Erie would have an easier time sending troops and supplies in an invasion of the enemy's territory. On September 10, 1813, at the Battle of Lake Erie, an American fleet under the command of Oliver Hazard Perry defeated a British fleet, securing control of the lake for the United States. The victory eliminated England's threat to the American Northwest. Lake Erie also served as parts of boundaries in treaties between the United States and the Indians during the late 1700s and the early 1800s. Among the most important of these agreements was the Treaty of Greeneville (1795). View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06655
Subjects: Erie, Lake, Coast (Ohio); Great Lakes (North America); Boats; Lake Erie Islands (Ohio); Sailboats; Sailing
Places: Marblehead (Ohio); Ottawa County (Ohio)
 

Description: The ship in the photograph is the "William D. Crawford" being unloaded by a Hulett, specialized unloading machine. The Whiskey Island Hulett Ore Unloaders were built in 1912 for the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) by Wellman – Seaver – Morgan Company of Cleveland. The dock is located in on Whiskey Island in Cleveland, Ohio on the coast of Lake Erie, between the mouth of the Cuyahoga River and Edgewater Park. The Hulett automatic ore unloader was invented by George Hulett of Cleveland, Ohio and patented in 1898. The first working machine was built the following year at Conneaut Harbor in Conneaut, Ohio. It was successful, and many more were built along the Great Lakes, especially the southern shore of Lake Erie to unload steamers full of taconite from the iron mines near Lake Superior. Until 1903 they were built by Webster, Camp & Lane Company of Akron, Ohio. Substantial improvements were later made on the design by Samuel T. Wellman. It is these second-generation Huletts which continue to stand to this day. The electrically operated Hulett unloader runs on two sets of parallel tracks along the face of the docks, one near the edge and one further back, with normally enough distance for four sets of railroad tracks in between. Steel towers, riding on wheeled trucks, support girders that run from front to back, perpendicular to the dock face. Along these girders runs a carriage which can move toward or away from the dock face. This in turn carries a large walking beam which can be raised or lowered; at the dock-end is a vertical column with a large scoop bucket on the end. A parallel beam is mounted half-way down this column to keep the column vertical as it is raised or lowered. The machine's operator, stationed in the vertical beam above the bucket for maximum cargo visibility, could spin the beam at any angle. The scoop bucket is thus lowered into the ship's hold, closed to capture about 10 tons of ore, then raised and moved back toward the dock. The Cleveland Huletts were used until 1992, when Conrail, who had inherited them from PRR, decided to abandon them because self-unloading boats were standard on the American side of the lake, rending them obsolete. Most, if not all, have since been scrapped. In 1999, only six remained, the group of four at Whiskey Island in Cleveland, Ohio the oldest. In spite of the Cleveland machines being on the National Register of Historic Places and designated as a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark, they were demolished in 2000 by the Cleveland Port Authority to enable development of the land they were located on. The Port Authority disassembled and retained two Huletts, to enable their reconstruction at another site, which is pending. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B04F11_07_01
Subjects: Lake Erie; Shipping industry; Docks--Ohio--Cleveland; Lake steamers--Great Lakes (North America)--History; Shipping--Erie, Lake; Cargo ships; Ores--Transportation; Hulett iron-ore unloaders; National Register of Historic Places
Places: Cleveland (Ohio); Cuyahoga County (Ohio)
 

Description: The ship in the photograph is the "Carle C. Conway", an ore carrier, being unloaded by a Hulett, specialized unloading machine. The 'R. L. Agassiz', originally the 'William A. Hawgood' of 1907, became the 'Carle C. Conway' in 1934 and was broken up at Port Arthur in 1963. The words "National Steel Corporation" appears along the sides of the steamship. The Whiskey Island Hulett Ore Unloaders were built in 1912 for the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) by Wellman – Seaver – Morgan Company of Cleveland. The dock is located in on Whiskey Island in Cleveland, Ohio on the coast of Lake Erie, between the mouth of the Cuyahoga River and Edgewater Park. The Hulett automatic ore unloader was invented by George Hulett of Cleveland, Ohio and patented in 1898. The first working machine was built the following year at Conneaut Harbor in Conneaut, Ohio. It was successful, and many more were built along the Great Lakes, especially the southern shore of Lake Erie to unload steamers full of taconite from the iron mines near Lake Superior. Until 1903 they were built by Webster, Camp & Lane Company of Akron, Ohio. Substantial improvements were later made on the design by Samuel T. Wellman. It is these second-generation Huletts which continue to stand to this day. The electrically operated Hulett unloader runs on two sets of parallel tracks along the face of the docks, one near the edge and one further back, with normally enough distance for four sets of railroad tracks in between. Steel towers, riding on wheeled trucks, support girders that run from front to back, perpendicular to the dock face. Along these girders runs a carriage which can move toward or away from the dock face. This in turn carries a large walking beam which can be raised or lowered; at the dock-end is a vertical column with a large scoop bucket on the end. A parallel beam is mounted half-way down this column to keep the column vertical as it is raised or lowered. The machine's operator, stationed in the vertical beam above the bucket for maximum cargo visibility, could spin the beam at any angle. The scoop bucket is thus lowered into the ship's hold, closed to capture about 10 tons of ore, then raised and moved back toward the dock. The Cleveland Huletts were used until 1992, when Conrail, who had inherited them from PRR, decided to abandon them because self-unloading boats were standard on the American side of the lake, rending them obsolete. Most, if not all, have since been scrapped. In 1999, only six remained, the group of four at Whiskey Island in Cleveland, Ohio the oldest. In spite of the Cleveland machines being on the National Register of Historic Places and designated as a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark, they were demolished in 2000 by the Cleveland Port Authority to enable development of the land they were located on. The Port Authority disassembled and retained two Huletts, to enable their reconstruction at another site, which is pending. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B04F11_24_01
Subjects: Lake Erie; Shipping industry; Docks--Ohio--Cleveland; Lake steamers--Great Lakes (North America)--History; Shipping--Erie, Lake; Cargo ships; Ores--Transportation; Hulett iron-ore unloaders; National Register of Historic Places
Places: Cleveland (Ohio); Cuyahoga County (Ohio)
 

Description: The ship in the photograph is the "Carle C. Conway", an ore carrier, being unloaded by a Hulett, specialized unloading machine. The 'R. L. Agassiz', originally the 'William A. Hawgood' of 1907, became the 'Carle C. Conway' in 1934 and was broken up at Port Arthur in 1963. The words "National Steel Corporation" appears along the sides of the steamship. The Whiskey Island Hulett Ore Unloaders were built in 1912 for the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) by Wellman – Seaver – Morgan Company of Cleveland. The dock is located in on Whiskey Island in Cleveland, Ohio on the coast of Lake Erie, between the mouth of the Cuyahoga River and Edgewater Park. The Hulett automatic ore unloader was invented by George Hulett of Cleveland, Ohio and patented in 1898. The first working machine was built the following year at Conneaut Harbor in Conneaut, Ohio. It was successful, and many more were built along the Great Lakes, especially the southern shore of Lake Erie to unload steamers full of taconite from the iron mines near Lake Superior. Until 1903 they were built by Webster, Camp & Lane Company of Akron, Ohio. Substantial improvements were later made on the design by Samuel T. Wellman. It is these second-generation Huletts which continue to stand to this day. The electrically operated Hulett unloader runs on two sets of parallel tracks along the face of the docks, one near the edge and one further back, with normally enough distance for four sets of railroad tracks in between. Steel towers, riding on wheeled trucks, support girders that run from front to back, perpendicular to the dock face. Along these girders runs a carriage which can move toward or away from the dock face. This in turn carries a large walking beam which can be raised or lowered; at the dock-end is a vertical column with a large scoop bucket on the end. A parallel beam is mounted half-way down this column to keep the column vertical as it is raised or lowered. The machine's operator, stationed in the vertical beam above the bucket for maximum cargo visibility, could spin the beam at any angle. The scoop bucket is thus lowered into the ship's hold, closed to capture about 10 tons of ore, then raised and moved back toward the dock. The Cleveland Huletts were used until 1992, when Conrail, who had inherited them from PRR, decided to abandon them because self-unloading boats were standard on the American side of the lake, rending them obsolete. Most, if not all, have since been scrapped. In 1999, only six remained, the group of four at Whiskey Island in Cleveland, Ohio the oldest. In spite of the Cleveland machines being on the National Register of Historic Places and designated as a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark, they were demolished in 2000 by the Cleveland Port Authority to enable development of the land they were located on. The Port Authority disassembled and retained two Huletts, to enable their reconstruction at another site, which is pending. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B04F11_15_01
Subjects: Lake Erie; Shipping industry; Docks--Ohio--Cleveland; Lake steamers--Great Lakes (North America)--History; Shipping--Erie, Lake; Cargo ships; Ores--Transportation; Hulett iron-ore unloaders; National Register of Historic Places
Places: Cleveland (Ohio); Cuyahoga County (Ohio)
 

Description: The freighter, W. W. Holloway, docked at the Coal Dock in Cleveland, Ohio View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B04F11_26_01
Subjects: Lake Erie; Shipping industry; Lake steamers--Great Lakes (North America)--History; Shipping--Erie, Lake; Cargo ships; Geography and Natural Resources; Docks and ports; Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Federal Writers' Project
Places: Cleveland (Ohio); Cuyahoga County (Ohio)
 

Description: The ship in the photograph is the "William D. Crawford", and ore carrier, being unloaded by a Hulett, specialized unloading machine. The Whiskey Island Hulett Ore Unloaders were built in 1912 for the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) by Wellman – Seaver – Morgan Company of Cleveland. The dock is located in on Whiskey Island in Cleveland, Ohio on the coast of Lake Erie, between the mouth of the Cuyahoga River and Edgewater Park. The Hulett automatic ore unloader was invented by George Hulett of Cleveland, Ohio and patented in 1898. The first working machine was built the following year at Conneaut Harbor in Conneaut, Ohio. It was successful, and many more were built along the Great Lakes, especially the southern shore of Lake Erie to unload steamers full of taconite from the iron mines near Lake Superior. Until 1903 they were built by Webster, Camp & Lane Company of Akron, Ohio. Substantial improvements were later made on the design by Samuel T. Wellman. It is these second-generation Huletts which continue to stand to this day. The electrically operated Hulett unloader runs on two sets of parallel tracks along the face of the docks, one near the edge and one further back, with normally enough distance for four sets of railroad tracks in between. Steel towers, riding on wheeled trucks, support girders that run from front to back, perpendicular to the dock face. Along these girders runs a carriage which can move toward or away from the dock face. This in turn carries a large walking beam which can be raised or lowered; at the dock-end is a vertical column with a large scoop bucket on the end. A parallel beam is mounted half-way down this column to keep the column vertical as it is raised or lowered. The machine's operator, stationed in the vertical beam above the bucket for maximum cargo visibility, could spin the beam at any angle. The scoop bucket is thus lowered into the ship's hold, closed to capture about 10 tons of ore, then raised and moved back toward the dock. The Cleveland Huletts were used until 1992, when Conrail, who had inherited them from PRR, decided to abandon them because self-unloading boats were standard on the American side of the lake, rending them obsolete. Most, if not all, have since been scrapped. In 1999, only six remained, the group of four at Whiskey Island in Cleveland, Ohio the oldest. In spite of the Cleveland machines being on the National Register of Historic Places and designated as a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark, they were demolished in 2000 by the Cleveland Port Authority to enable development of the land they were located on. The Port Authority disassembled and retained two Huletts, to enable their reconstruction at another site, which is pending. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B04F11_29_01
Subjects: Lake Erie; Shipping industry; Docks--Ohio--Cleveland; Lake steamers--Great Lakes (North America)--History; Shipping--Erie, Lake; Cargo ships; Ores--Transportation; Hulett iron-ore unloaders; National Register of Historic Places
Places: Cleveland (Ohio); Cuyahoga County (Ohio)
 

Description: Original description reads: "Cleveland Cliff Iron Co. dock, Lake Erie, west of the mouth of the Cuyahoga River, near Edgewater Park." The ship in the photograph is the "Fred G. Hartwell", an ore carrier built in 1922, being unloaded by a Hulett, a specialized unloading machine. This group of four Huletts can be found on Whiskey Island, between the mouth of the Cuyahoga River and Edgewater Park, in Cleveland, Ohio. The Hulett Automatic Ore Unloader was invented by George H. Hulett, a native of Ohio, in the late 1800's. The unloader became an essential element in the development of the iron ore industry in Ohio, allowing rapid unloading of cargo and increasing the volume and efficiency of ore docks at Ohio ports. The machines remained in use, with few changes, until the early 1990s. Cliffs Natural Resources, formerly Cleveland-Cliffs, is a Cleveland, Ohio business firm that specializes in the mining and beneficiation of iron ore and the mining of coal. The firm's earliest predecessor was the Cleveland Iron Mining Company, founded in 1847. Samuel Mather and six associates had learned of rich iron-ore deposits recently discovered in the highlands of the Upper Peninsula region of Michigan. The final decades of the 1800s were a period of business consolidation from the partnership-sized businesses of an earlier generation to a new type of business firm, the stock-market-traded corporation intent on maximizing market share. The former Cleveland Iron Mining Co. was a survivor of this shakeout, purchasing many of its competitors. One key merger in 1890, with Jeptha Wade's Cliffs Iron Company led the combined firm to change its name to the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company. William G. Mather, the son of Samuel, guided Cleveland-Cliffs as president and later as chairman of the board during the period of 1890-1947. Under Mather, Cleveland-Cliffs was a leader in the development of the classic-type lake freighter, a bulk-cargo vessel especially designed to carry Great Lakes commodities. The 618-foot (188 m)-long William G. Mather, launched in 1925, is a surviving example of this ship type. For almost a century, the black-hulled Cleveland-Cliffs ships were familiar sights on the upper Lakes. In 1933, Edward Greene (the son-in-law of Jeptha Homer Wade II) replaced William G. Mather as the head of the company. Demand for American iron ore hit peaks during World War I, World War II, and the post-WWII consumer boom, and the company enjoyed success for many decades. The periods following the recessions of 1974-75 and 1981-83 were harsh ones for the iron ore industry. Cleveland-Cliffs shrank its operations, closing many of their plants and began turning the associated tailings ponds into compensatory wetlands for its other properties. In 1984, Cliffs withdrew from the Great Lakes shipping industry. In June 2007, Cleveland-Cliffs purchased its first domestic coal property. In line with its venture into coal, the company changed its name from Cleveland-Cliffs to Cliffs Natural Resources in October 2008. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B04F11_31_01
Subjects: Lake Erie; Shipping industry; Docks--Ohio--Cleveland; Lake steamers--Great Lakes (North America)--History; Shipping--Erie, Lake; Cargo ships; Ores--Transportation; Hulett iron-ore unloaders; National Register of Historic Places; Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company; Mather, Samuel, 1851-1931; Mather, Willi
Places: Cleveland (Ohio); Cuyahoga County (Ohio)
 

Description: Original description reads: "Cleveland Cliff Iron Co. dock, Lake Erie, west of the mouth of the Cuyahoga." The ship in the photograph is the "Carle C. Conway", an ore carrier, being unloaded by a Hulett, specialized unloading machine. This group of four Huletts can be found on Whiskey Island, between the mouth of the Cuyahoga River and Edgewater Park, in Cleveland, Ohio. The 'R. L. Agassiz', originally the 'William A. Hawgood' of 1907, became the 'Carle C. Conway' in 1934 and was broken up at Port Arthur in 1963. The words "National Steel Corporation" appears along the sides of the steamship. The Hulett Automatic Ore Unloader was invented by George H. Hulett, a native of Ohio, in the late 1800's. The unloader became an essential element in the development of the iron ore industry in Ohio, allowing rapid unloading of cargo and increasing the volume and efficiency of ore docks at Ohio ports. The machines remained in use, with few changes, until the early 1990s. Cliffs Natural Resources, formerly Cleveland-Cliffs, is a Cleveland, Ohio business firm that specializes in the mining and beneficiation of iron ore and the mining of coal. The firm's earliest predecessor was the Cleveland Iron Mining Company, founded in 1847. Samuel Mather and six associates had learned of rich iron-ore deposits recently discovered in the highlands of the Upper Peninsula region of Michigan. The final decades of the 1800s were a period of business consolidation from the partnership-sized businesses of an earlier generation to a new type of business firm, the stock-market-traded corporation intent on maximizing market share. The former Cleveland Iron Mining Co. was a survivor of this shakeout, purchasing many of its competitors. One key merger in 1890, with Jeptha Wade's Cliffs Iron Company led the combined firm to change its name to the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company. William G. Mather, the son of Samuel, guided Cleveland-Cliffs as president and later as chairman of the board during the period of 1890-1947. Under Mather, Cleveland-Cliffs was a leader in the development of the classic-type lake freighter, a bulk-cargo vessel especially designed to carry Great Lakes commodities. The 618-foot (188 m)-long William G. Mather, launched in 1925, is a surviving example of this ship type. For almost a century, the black-hulled Cleveland-Cliffs ships were familiar sights on the upper Lakes. In 1933, Edward Greene (the son-in-law of Jeptha Homer Wade II) replaced William G. Mather as the head of the company. Demand for American iron ore hit peaks during World War I, World War II, and the post-WWII consumer boom, and the company enjoyed success for many decades. The periods following the recessions of 1974-75 and 1981-83 were harsh ones for the iron ore industry. Cleveland-Cliffs shrank its operations, closing many of their plants and began turning the associated tailings ponds into compensatory wetlands for its other properties. In 1984, Cliffs withdrew from the Great Lakes shipping industry. In June 2007, Cleveland-Cliffs purchased its first domestic coal property. In line with its venture into coal, the company changed its name from Cleveland-Cliffs to Cliffs Natural Resources in October 2008. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B04F11_42_01
Subjects: Lake Erie; Shipping industry; Docks--Ohio--Cleveland; Lake steamers--Great Lakes (North America)--History; Shipping--Erie, Lake; Cargo ships; Ores--Transportation; Hulett iron-ore unloaders; National Register of Historic Places; Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company; Mather, Samuel, 1851-1931; Mather, Willi
Places: Cleveland (Ohio); Cuyahoga County (Ohio)
 

Description: A photograph of a modern day Lake Steamer and the Byrd Sailing Ship (City of New York) at the 9th Street docks in Cleveland, Ohio. The City of New York was the ship Admiral Richard E Byrd outfitted for his famous polar exploration. The City of New York later became a museum of polar exploration, touring the Atlantic Coast and the Great Lakes. She ended up in Cleveland, where she was trapped by a newly constructed bridge. She remained there until World War II. To help meet the great need for additional shipping during the was, her masts were taken down and she left the Great Lakes for service on the east coast. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B04F11_19_01
Subjects: Ships--Design; Ships; Cargo ships; Lake steamers--Great Lakes (North America)--History; Docks--Ohio--Cleveland; Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Federal Writers' Project
Places: Cleveland (Ohio); Cuyahoga County (Ohio)
 

Description: This map shows both electric and steam railways in Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan. Although we often think of electric railways as being simply for transportation within a city, in fact they were important links in the transportation network between cities as well. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: MAPVFM0065_4
Subjects: Electric railroads; Railroads--Ohio; Transportation--Ohio--History; Great Lakes (North America); Maps;
Places: Ohio; Indiana; Michigan
 

Description: Caption reads: "'Unloading Ore at Cleveland'. Cleveland Cliff Iron Co., Docks, Lake Erie, west of the mouth of the Cuyahoga. District 4. Proj. Photog. - John Steinke, 1940." This photograph shows the cargo vessel 'Carle C. Conway' being unloaded using four Huletts in Cleveland, Ohio. The dock is located in on Whiskey Island, on the coast of Lake Erie, between the mouth of the Cuyahoga River and Edgewater Park. The 'R. L. Agassiz', originally the 'William A. Hawgood' of 1907, became the 'Carle C. Conway' in 1934 and was broken up at Port Arthur in 1963. The words "National Steel Corporation" appears along the sides of the steamship. The Hulett automatic ore unloader was invented by George Hulett of Ohio in the late 1800s; he received a patent for his invention in 1898. The first working machine was built the following year at Conneaut Harbor in Conneaut, Ohio. It was successful, and many more were built along the Great Lakes, especially the southern shore of Lake Erie to unload boats full of taconite from the iron mines near Lake Superior. Substantial improvements were later made on the design by Samuel T. Wellman. It is these second-generation Huletts which continue to stand to this day. The electrically operated Hulett unloader runs on two sets of parallel tracks along the face of the docks, one near the edge and one further back, with normally enough distance for four sets of railroad tracks in between. Steel towers, riding on wheeled trucks, support girders that run from front to back, perpendicular to the dock face. Along these girders runs a carriage which can move toward or away from the dock face. This in turn carries a large walking beam which can be raised or lowered; at the dock end of this is a vertical column with a large scoop bucket on the end. A parallel beam is mounted half-way down this column to keep the column vertical as it is raised or lowered. The machine's operator, stationed in the vertical beam above the bucket for maximum cargo visibility, could spin the beam at any angle. The scoop bucket is thus lowered into the ship's hold, closed to capture a quantity (10 tons approx.) of ore, raised, and moved back toward the dock. The lake's Huletts were used until about 1992, when self-unloading boats were standard on the American side of the lake. Most, if not all, have since been scrapped. In 1999, only six remained, the group of four at Whiskey Island in Cleveland, Ohio the oldest. In spite of the Cleveland machines being on the National Register of Historic Places and designated as a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark, they were demolished in 2000 by the Cleveland Port Authority to enable development of the land they were located on. The Port Authority disassembled and retained two Huletts, to enable their reconstruction at another site, but the reconstruction has not yet happened. Cliffs Natural Resources, formerly Cleveland-Cliffs, is a Cleveland, Ohio business firm that specializes in the mining and beneficiation of iron ore and the mining of coal. The firm's earliest predecessor was the Cleveland Iron Mining Company, founded in 1847. Samuel Mather and six associates had learned of rich iron-ore deposits recently discovered in the highlands of the Upper Peninsula region of Michigan. The final decades of the 1800s were a period of business consolidation from the partnership-sized businesses of an earlier generation to a new type of business firm, the stock-market-traded corporation intent on maximizing market share. The former Cleveland Iron Mining Co. was a survivor of this shakeout, purchasing many of its competitors. One key merger in 1890, with Jeptha Wade's Cliffs Iron Company led the combined firm to change its name to the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company. William G. Mather, the son of Samuel, guided Cleveland-Cliffs as president and later as chairman of the board during the period of 1890-1947. Under Mather, Cleveland-Cliffs was a leader in the development of the classic-type lake freighter, a bulk-cargo vessel especially designed to carry Great Lakes commodities. The 618-foot (188 m)-long William G. Mather, launched in 1925, is a surviving example of this ship type. For almost a century, the black-hulled Cleveland-Cliffs ships were familiar sights on the upper Lakes. In 1933, Edward Greene (the son-in-law of Jeptha Homer Wade II) replaced William G. Mather as the head of the company. Demand for American iron ore hit peaks during World War I, World War II, and the post-WWII consumer boom, and the company enjoyed success for many decades. The periods following the recessions of 1974-75 and 1981-83 were harsh ones for the iron ore industry. Cleveland-Cliffs shrank its operations, closing many of their plants and began turning the associated tailings ponds into compensatory wetlands for its other properties. In 1984, Cliffs withdrew from the Great Lakes shipping industry. In June 2007, Cleveland-Cliffs purchased its first domestic coal property. In line with its venture into coal, the company changed its name from Cleveland-Cliffs to Cliffs Natural Resources in October 2008. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B04F08_12_01
Subjects: Lake Erie; Shipping industry; Docks--Ohio--Cleveland; Lake steamers--Great Lakes (North America)--History; Shipping--Erie, Lake; Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company; Hulett iron-ore unloaders; National Register of Historic Places; Mather, Samuel, 1851-1931; Mather, William Gwinn, 1857-1951; Conway, Carle
Places: Cleveland (Ohio); Cuyahoga County (Ohio)