Description: This photograph shows a factory in the Mahoning Valley region, specifically in Youngstown, Ohio. The railroad tracks are separated from the factory by the river, which is spanned by a bridge in the distance. The factory, which features a number of billowing smokestacks, was most likely part of the steel industry in the Youngstown area. After getting its start in steel in the 1880s, Youngstown was second only to Pittsburgh in terms of total steel production in the United States by the 1920s. Though hampered by labor conflicts and the Great Depression, the industry continued to grow through World War II. With the further growth of the automobile industry in the years following the war and its demand for steel, Youngstown's economy expanded even more. This economic growth slowed in the late 20th century, as the steel industry across the United States began to decline. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B07F09_001_1
Subjects: Mahoning River; Steel industry and trade--Ohio--Youngstown--History; Factories; Manufacturing industries--Ohio
Places: Youngstown (Ohio); Mahoning County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph showing employees at hand-operated sheet mills involved in steel production, ca. 1890-1899. After the American Civil War, iron manufacturers in Ohio began to introduce new processes to refine iron ore. The resulting product was steel, which was much stronger and more versatile than iron. Because Ohio's numerous steel companies were quick to adopt new technology, Ohio became the second-largest producer of steel in the nation by the 1890s. Developments in the steel industry helped to encourage construction of large buildings, such as skyscrapers, as well as bridges and other projects. The automobile industry also contributed to the growth of the steel industry in the early decades of the twentieth century. Although the mill in this photograph is not identified, it could have been one of any number around the state in the 1890s. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL03918
Subjects: Manufacturing industries--Ohio; Ohio Economy--Economy--Labor; Iron and steel workers--Ohio; Steel industry
Places: Ohio
 

Description: Blast furnace and south wall of ore yard 1916 at Republic Steel Youngstown, Ohio. The Republic Iron and Steel Company was organized in 1899, establishing its headquarters in Chicago, Illinois. In 1905 the company moved its headquarters to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and in 1911 transferred them to Youngstown, Ohio. The company became the Republic Steel Corporation in 1930 and in 1936 moved to Cleveland, Ohio. Until the decline of the steel industry in the 1970s and early 1980s, Republic was a vital economic force in the Mahoning Valley area. Nationally, the company was a mainstay of steel production in the United States, producing steel used by, among others, the American automobile, defense, and air industries. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, at a time when steel companies across the country were closing plants, the company substantially reduced its operations in the vicinity of Youngstown. In 1983 LTV bought Republic Steel, making the former company the nation's second largest steel-making concern. The Brown Collection contains materials on the Republic Corporation up until the time of its merger with LTV. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AC2_YHCIL_MSS0012_B04F35_004
Subjects: Republic Steel Corporation; Steel Industry; Blast furnaces--Equipment and supplies; Blast furnaces--Design and construction; Steel industry and trade--Youngstown (Ohio); Blast furnaces--United States
Places: Youngstown (Ohio); Mahoning 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: This picture depicts tanker cars on railroad tracks with attached and unattached hoses at Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company's Brier Hill works. This is the scene of a tanker accident. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AC2_YHCIL_MSS0140_B01F01_005
Subjects: Steel industry--1930-1940; Steel industry and trade--Accidents; Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company. Brier Hill works; Steel Industry-- Youngstown (Ohio)
Places: Youngstown (Ohio); Mahoning County (Ohio)
 

Description: This scene depicts Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company tanker cars on a sidetrack at the Brier Hill works. This is the scene of the Brier Hill tanker accident. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AC2_YHCIL_MSS0140_B01F01_006
Subjects: Steel industry--1930-1940; Steel industry and trade--Accidents; Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company. Brier Hill works; Steel Industry-- Youngstown (Ohio)
Places: Youngstown (Ohio); Mahoning County (Ohio)
 

Description: This scene depicts a railroad junction with tanker cars in the distance at Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company's Brier Hill works. This is the scene of the Brier Hill tanker accident. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AC2_YHCIL_MSS0140_B01F01_007
Subjects: Steel industry--1930-1940; Steel industry and trade--Accidents; Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company. Brier Hill works; Steel Industry-- Youngstown (Ohio); Railroad switches
Places: Youngstown (Ohio); Mahoning County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph depicts an accident at Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company's Campbell boiler shop involving a plate shears case. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AC2_YHCIL_MSS0140_B01F02_001
Subjects: Steel industry--1930-1940; Steel industry and trade--Accidents; Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company. Campbell works; Steel Industry-- Youngstown (Ohio)
Places: Campbell (Ohio); Mahoning County (Ohio)
 

Description: This scene depicts an accident at Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company's Campbell works boiler shop involving a plate shears case. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AC2_YHCIL_MSS0140_B01F02_002
Subjects: Steel industry--1930-1940; Steel industry and trade--Accidents; Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company. Campbell works; Steel Industry-- Youngstown (Ohio)
Places: Campbell (Ohio); Mahoning County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph depicts a plate shears case and steel plates hanging on a chain at Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company's Campbell works boiler shop. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AC2_YHCIL_MSS0140_B01F02_003
Subjects: Steel industry--1930-1940; Steel industry and trade--Accidents; Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company. Campbell works; Steel Industry-- Youngstown (Ohio)
Places: Campbell (Ohio); Mahoning County (Ohio)
 

Description: This scene at Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company's Campbell works boiler shop depcits a plate shears case with a single plate hanging from chains. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AC2_YHCIL_MSS0140_B01F02_004
Subjects: Steel industry--1930-1940; Steel industry and trade--Accidents; Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company. Campbell works; Steel Industry-- Youngstown (Ohio)
Places: Campbell (Ohio); Mahoning County (Ohio)
 

Description: This picture depicts an accident scene at Youngstown Sheet & Tube's Brier Hill works. Included are pipes and hoses attached and unattached from railroad tanker cars. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AC2_YHCIL_MSS0140_B01F01_001
Subjects: Steel industry--1930-1940; Steel industry and trade--Accidents; Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company. Brier Hill works; Steel Industry-- Youngstown (Ohio)
Places: Youngstown (Ohio); Mahoning County (Ohio)