SURVEY OF INDUSTRIAL BRADDOCK
By Hugh P. Meese

In 1850 the Monongahela at Braddock's Field rolled through a quiet scene of sylvan beauty. Thickly wooded hills shaded her peaceful waters on the south, while on the Braddock side long grassy swards dipped to the river's brim.The low land along the river, now filled in with cinder, ash, and slag, and usurped by belching steel plants, was the home of the bullfrog and the meadowlark, while on a summer's night a thousand glow worms swung their lanterns in the swamp land and gave the first faint prophesy of the myriad electric arcs that later were to change night into day upon that ground. Not clouds of smoke, but flocks of white-winged pigeons hung beneath the clear, unsullied sky, and in quiet hickory groves the oriole swung his nest where now the operator's cage scurries back and forth on the Edgar Thomson cranes. The robin and the woodthrush called, and no steam siren split the air, nor was the busy tapping of the woodpecker yet transformed into the clamor of the pneumatic riveter. The rail-saw not yet challenged the nightly supremacy of the screech-owl and the bat, and no sudden clang of steel startled the sleeper's ear. Truly a golden age.

But not for Braddock was the lure of green fields and running waters. Hers was to be a life of action and achievement, hers was no Lotus land of dreams. Already the faint tapping of a hammer and musical song of a distant saw-mill come at intervals on the quiet air: her industrial history is beginning.

As in so brief a survey only a few of the more import lo... can be mentioned, we will waive consideration of the countless little enterprises that Braddock must have mothered between the days of Frazier's cabin and the middle of the last century, and assume our story with the barrel and furniture factory of seventy years ago.

This barrel factory, which also made chairs and furniture of the rougher type, seems to have been founded shortly before 1850 by a Mr. Soles and others of Scotch descent, who originally hailed from Massachusetts. The exact date of its commencement is shrouded in obscurity, but we know that about 1850 John and Daniel Richardson purchased the business and started the Braddock Saw Mill and Boat Yard, located on the present site of the city's water plant. This firm, in turn, was later bought out by Lazear, Sollinger, and Patton, and was doing business as late as 1878, when the property was purchased by the Borough of Braddock as a site for the city's water plant.

In 1861, shortly after the inauguration of the great Civil War, the McVay-Walker Foundry was built at Braddock, and during the rebellion made many supplies for the Federal Government. Later this firm did much of the small casting work for the Edgar Thomson plant, and has really been the mother of all Braddock's steel and iron industries. It is still doing business today at the age of 57 years, although during 1916 the firm suffered a disastrous fire. It is undoubtedly the oldest of Braddock's larger industries.

Among the numerous lumber companies that followed the early planing mill were the Grannis Brothers and the Dowler Lumber Company. The Dowler Lumber Company was established in 1866, according to Mr. Thos. J. Dowler, and went out of business in 1912.

1872 saw the commencement of the world-famous Edgar Thomson Steel Works, and likewise the start of the famous local plant of McCrady Brothers, who now do such an extensive business in hauling and in sand, coal, lime, stone, etc. James McCrady did much of the hauling work for the new plant, and McCrady Bros. have grown steadily ever since, until at the present time it has over 60 teams and 11 motor trucks, and is well known for reliability and promptness all over Allegheny County. The firm today consists of J. H. McCrady, J. H. McCrady, Jr., Ed. McCrady, W. F. McCrady, H. C. McCrady, J. F. Baldwin, and W. L. Bender.

Late in 1875 the Edgar Thomson Steel Works (which are treated at length later in this article) got into operation, and no industrial developments of major importance appear in this district until 1882. In that year the famous "Duquesne Forge" to which reference is so frequently made by old inhabitants, was built at Rankin on the ground now occupied by the McClintic Marshall Construction Company.

The Duquesne Forge was originally constructed on Duquesne Way, Pittsburgh, by Joseph Heigh, William Miller later becoming a partner in the firm, and the name being changed to "Miller's Forge." The Pittsburgh plant was torn down and rebuilt at Braddock in 1882 under the old name, "Duquesne Forge," Miller and Alexander McKim (now of Swissvale, Pa.) being partners in the enterprise. The river industry was of great importance in those days, and the forge made all sorts of boat and ship supplies, such as stanchions, shanks, shafts, chains, gears, etc., some of the forgings running as high as 100,000 pounds weight. The original firm had done work for Government torpedo boats during the Civil War, and when the Spanish War broke out the Rankin firm made some 300 cannon for the Government, weighing on an average 25,000 pounds apiece. The firm employed about 200 men, and was one of the large industries of its day. In 1905 McClintic Marshall absorbed the property.

The success of the Lucy, Isabella, and Edgar Thomson Blast Furnaces was very alluring to other steel men in the early 80's, and in 1883 we find William Clark Sons and Company building the first of what is now known as the Carrie Furnaces at Rankin, on 36 acres of ground purchased from John Adams. The first blast furnace produced about 100 tons of iron a day, under the supervision of Superintendent Martin H. Thompson. The original furnace was removed from Port Washington, Ohio, and blown in February 29, 1884. They are each 100 feet high, with 23-foot bosh and 15-foot hearth. Subsequent superintendents of the plant have been:

William Rotthof, Harry Watt, George K. Hamfeldt, Jacob A. Mohr.

The Carrie Furnace Company erected a second furnace in 1900, and the Carnegie Steel Company, which later took control, has built the following additional furnaces:—Two furnaces in 1900.One furnace in 1903.Two furnaces in 1907.

The acreage has been increased from 35 to 66 acres, and the production from 35,000 to 894,000 tons of pig iron annually.The plant now employs about 1,000 men, and is under the supervision of Mr. A. A. Corey, Jr., General Superintendent of the Homestead Steel Works. It is, of course, a subsidiary of the United States Steel Corporation.

In May, 1884, the Braddock Tannery, operated by Owen Sheekey and James Callery, commenced operations in Rankin on the site of the present Wire Mill. It covers 17 acres and originally employed about 60 men, and in its best days did a business of from $150,000 to $200,000 annually. The plant, however, was burned out in 1886, and thereafter did business on a somewhat smaller scale, employing only about of men. A second disastrous fire occurred August 28, 1893, upon which the firm went out of business, selling out to the Braddock Wire Company. On the occasion of the first fire they had sold about 12 acres to the wire company, and they now sold the remainder of their ground to the same concern. Information on this subject was secured from the sons of Mr. Owen Sheekey, and from the Superintendent of the Rankin Wire Mill, Mr. E. H. Broden.

In 1885 the W. R. McCloy Glass Works were erected at Rankin Station, on a 5-acre tract of land fronting on the Union Siding of the P. McK. & Y. and B. & O. Railroads, and extending back to the Monongahela river, the property adjoining the ground of the Duquesne Forge on the south. Here one of the first tank furnaces ever built in the Pittsburgh district for making crystal blown glass was constructed. The product chiefly consisted of lantern globes, fruit and candy jars. In the year 1887 The Braddock Glass Company, Ltd. was organized and incorporated, and the capacity of the plant enlarged by the installation of one 10-pot furnace. This company employed about 150 men, and in addition to the former product, also turned out a complete line of lamp chimneys. In March, 1892, the plant was totally destroyed by fire, which is said to have originated from sparks emitted by a passing switching locomotive. The whole country was at that time entering a period of depression, and the works were consequently not rebuilt.

In 1886 Col. Thomas Fitch and William Edenborn purchased 12 acres of land from the Sheekey Tannery and built the first Rankin Wire Mill,'2' known as the "Braddock Wire Company." The development of the plant has been as follows:

The following list shows the resident managers of the plant, and the dates on which they took office:

Col. Thos. Fitch 1886
Mr. Porter 1889
J. W. Govier 1889
Peter Mcllvrie 1890
Geo. Nash 1898
Walter C. Stone 1901
E. H. Broden 1902
August Mann 906
Chas. W. Lutz 1907
F. H. Nullmeyer  1909
F. D. Haynes  1910
I. G. Austin  1913
H. S. White 1916  

The plant today produces rods, wire, wire nails, staples, galvanized wire, annealed wire, woven fence, barbed wire, and nail kegs, and employs about 1,250 men. In addition to Mr. G. W. Jewett, who is Manager of Wire Mills in the Pittsburgh District of the American Steel & Wire Company, the following men are now on the operating staff of the Rankin Works of the American Steel & Wire Company:_E. H. Broden, E. D. Thompson, J. T. Saunders, William Murphy, J. W. Kilburn, H. B. Trott, Thos. Chambers, John Tompos, M. E. Reyneke, John McAfee, Fred Hultgren, G. W. Jewett, Jr., P. Crane, R. E. Hurrell, C. S. Young, A. Faloona, P. Olson, W. M. Riedl, J. C. Jamison, A. J. Rylander, A. J. Day, Chas. Eddstrom, John Nelson, J. P. Caulfield, C. Hultgren, and P. McDonough.

A Braddock lumber firm which has withstood the test of years is the Braddock Lumber Company, originally the Braddock Planing Mill Co., established in 1887 by Henry Miller and W. A. Davis at the B. & O. Railroad and Eighth Street. The plant later changed hands and became known as the Braddock Lumber Company, the present management taking charge in 1908. In 1916 all interests of the firm passed into the hands of the present manager, William McCollum, and his brother, Mark McCollum, who are now full owners of the establishment. The plant is one of the largest and best equipped planing mills in Western Pennsylvania, and has the largest retail lumber yard and most varied assortment of stock in this district, employing at full capacity about 35 men. Officers: William McCollum, President; Lillian McCollum, Vice President; Mark McCollum, Secretary and Treasurer.

The Braddock Wire Planted was constructed by Col. Thos. W. Fitch in 1891 on 5 1/2 acres purchased from Redman & Haney. While the original plant produced but 90 tons of rods in 24 hours, the works today put out 400 tons of rods in 24 hours and 340 tons of wire, and the plant has shown steady progress.

The plant at present consists of one Garrett Rod Mill, one 216 block wire mill, 16 annealing furnaces, one cold drawing department, one power house, machine shop, carpenter, and other repair shops. Mr. A. Eyman is Assistant Superintendent of the Braddock plant.

Another Braddock firm that commenced operations about the same time is the Rankin plant of the Consolidated Expanded Metal Company, now operated by H. B. Chess, Jr., P. F. Chess, and others. The company has offices in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and produces metal lath and concrete reinforcement at the rate of about 14,000 yards of lath and 100,000 feet of reinforcement daily at Rankin.

The original plant was erected about 1890 by Harvey B. Chess and Walter Chess, who removed a steel plant they had on the South Side to Rankin. Originally a puddling furnace was installed and a few plates rolled, but this business was soon abandoned. The original plant was erected on part of the A. Hayes estate, and has steadily grown since its inception, until now it employs from 100 to 150 men in the Rankin plant alone.

The original Price & Alman Lumber Company began business little before the above firm began operations, Joseph Price starting a lumber business on Corey Avenue, Braddock, about 1887. In 1897 Samuel R. Alman entered the firm and the business was moved to its present location. The firm now employs about thirty men, runs a first class planing mill, and does an extensive general lumber business.

Another Braddock lumber firm that has reached a ripe age is McBride Brothers, which started in 1892 on an acre of ground purchased from Chess Bros., and has continued to the present day putting out high grade planing mill products. From 1892 to 1913 the firm consisted of M. J. McBride and E. F. McBride, and from 1913 to date has consisted of H. E. McBride, W. J. McBride, and C. J. McBride. The equipment of the plant at this writing consists of individual motor drive for the usual planing mill machinery, such as moulder, rip saw, cut-off saw, shaper, drum sander, scroll saw, surfacer, joiner, etc.

A brick company that is one of the landmarks of Braddock, its plant lying high up on the bluff overlooking the Edgar Thomson Works, is the Keller & Milliken firm. They began operations in April, 1894, at the foot of Eighth Street, Braddock, moving in 1899 to the present location in North Braddock. The firm at present consists of John J. Keller and Homer A. Milliken, carries about 25 men, and produces from three to four million high grade brick per year.

Another firm which does business on quite a large scale is the Crown Wall Plaster Company built in 1897 on ground purchased from E. R. Dowler. W. M. Holmes, original president of the company, died January 18, 1916, when Wesley B. Holmes was elected to that office. The present plant has a capacity of 100 tons of hard wall plaster per day, and runs a factory 25 x 200 feet. They do business on both a retail and carload basis.

A Braddock enterprise that is now almost twenty years old is the Braddock Manufacturing Company, originally known as the Braddock Machine and Manufacturing Company. The plant was constructed in 1898 and 1899. The first stockholders' meeting was held November 2, 1899, in the office of Attorney Joseph F. Mayhugh, at which the following members were present: Henry Stanyon,Jno. B. Miller,Henry Gauermann James Sloss, R. V. Miller, Jos. F. Maybugh.

The meeting voted the incorporation of the Braddock Machine & Manufacturing Company with a capital of $3,000. John D. Miller was elected the first President and Henry Stanyon, Secretary and Treasuler, at the same meeting.

On December 21, 1899, the capital stock was increased to $200,000 and we are informed that John Hutzen, James A. Russell, S. D. Hamilton, W. A. Kulp, Do. G. E. Bair, Dr. Meals, William Howatt, John Rinard and Benj. Brazuell, were prominent stockholders of the enlarged company.

In January, 1902, W. E. Corey, A. R. Peacock, D. Hi. Clemson, Thomas Morrison, and Chas. E. Dinkey purchased practically all of the outstanding stock of this company, and again there was a reorganization. While the concern had previously been merely an iron foundry, the new directors took steps at once to enlarge its capacity, and changed it to a steel foundry with a 20-ton Open Hearth Furnace, and many additional improvements throughout the machine shop.

Succeeding presidents of the firm were:John D. Miller,A. R. Peacock,R. G. Morrison,

On August 22, 1916, the old management was in turn bought out by a new company of which W. E. Troutman is President, R. W. Tener, Secretary and Treasurer, and F. B. McConnell, Manager. The new management has added a 20-ton O. H. Furnace to the equipment, making two 20-ton furnaces in all, and has installed many other improvements throughout the plant. The plant consists of a machine shop, foundry, and office building, and employs from 250 to 300 men. The firm is now capitalized at $300,000, and is capable of doing a business of a million and a half dollars annually. It is known as the Braddock Manufacturing Company, producing high grade machinery and steel castings.

One of the minor industries of the preceding era of development was the Baker Chain Wagon Manufacturing Company, whose original plant was built at Rankin in 1899 on a 2-acre plot of ground, the first chief resident manager being David T. Robling, who held office until 1910. Another early plant, the Standard Chain Company, whose land adjoined the Baker Chain Company's, has since been bought out by the American Chain Company, Incorporated, the present manager being Mr. Noah L. McArthur. While the original plant produced only about 400 tons of wrought iron and steel chain per month, the American Chain Co., Inc., now puts out about 850 tons of chain, ship cables, shackles, and automobile forgings monthly. The plant is fully equipped with chain welding hammers, drop hammers, forging hammers, bull dozers, steam hammers, and testing machines of the most modern pattern.

One of the largest plants of the district is the Rankin plant of the McClintic Marshall Construction Company employing in the neighborhood of a thousand men. No. 1 Shop was built in 1901, followed by Shop No. 2 in 1906. The Rankin plant occupies 20 acres of ground directly across the Monongahela river from the Homestead Steel Works.

The two shops are duplicates of each other. The stock yard is about 150 feet wide and 1,000 feet long, traversed by four electric traveling cranes of 10 and 20 tons capacity. A large stock of material is kept constantly on hand to facilitate deliveries, and the company, being the largest independent manufacturer and erector of bridges and buildings in the United States, is known all over the country.

The Company's general offices are on the first floor of a three-story office building, while on the second and third stories are 110 draughtsmen. The Rankin officials of the plant are as follows: E. W. Pittman, Manager; R. A. Pendergrass, Engineer; K. M. McHose, Assistant Manager; H. B. Charles, Purchasing Agent; E. J. Patterson, Assistant Treasurer; C. O. Miller, Auditor; E. A. Gibbs, Manager of Erection.

The Sterling Steel Foundry is one of the newest of Braddock's enterprises, being constructed in 1901 by the Sterling Steel Foundryt on 2 1/2 acres purchased from Samuel Dempster. While the original plant produced but 1,000 tons per month, it now puts out 1,500 tons monthly of high grade steel castings. The plant employs about 300 men, and has a present size of 400 x 250 feet. Mr. Geo. W. Smith is President, other executives being:Wm. Nease, Vice President,H. G. Smith, Treasurer,M. A. Quinn, Secretary.G. J. Chandler, Sales Manager,D. B. Webb, Superintendent,R. T. Mullett, Assistant Manager.

The equipment of the present plant is as follows:Two 20-ton Open Hearth furnaces.One 30-ton crane.One 20-ton crane.Three 10 ton cranes.Three 5-ton cranes.

In a fuller history of the town, attention would have to be given to the work of the many contractors who have built the town, and such a review would give in detail the accomplishments of such men as George Hogg, F. F. Schellenberg, W. S. Husband, T. A. Gillespie, and of the Hodder Construction Company and the Melcher Bros. While space is entirely lacking to recite the histories of these firms, their accomplishments are always before our eyes; their work is itself a silent but impressive monument.

One of the latest industries of this thriving little city is The Pittsburgh Machine Tool Company, which erected its present plant in 1910 on a plot of ground 100 x 200 feet purchased from the Dawes Manufacturing Company. The Company was capitalized at $250,000, having originally been located on the Pittsburgh North Side, and moved to the present location in May, 1911.

The plant contains a thoroughly modern and up to date equipment of machine tools, such as lathes, planers, shapers, milling machines, gear cutters, etc., and turns out engine lathes, 26 inch, to 48 inch swing, and Curtis Rotary Pumps to the value of about $300,000 annually. The company employs about 100 men. F. J. Curtis is President and Manager of the present organization, Frank Moore, Vice President, and E. L. Taggart, Secretary-Treasurer.

All in all, the industries of Braddock are such as would be the boast of many a prouder and more populous city. For every man, woman, and child within her gates she produces daily more than a thousand pounds of commercial metal. Her products encircle the globe, and lie in every land under every flag. On ships, on boats, on automobiles, aeroplanes, or trains—however you go and wherever you go, there will you find the workmanship of this busy little city.

Far indeed is the Braddock of today from the Braddock of 1850. Silent is the kingfisher and the bobolink, and gone are the green fields, the shady groves, and running brooks. For the spirit of Braddock is a virile spirit. Impatient and afire with energy, she shook off the soft Arcadian mantle that nature had thrown about her and descended into the dust and blood of the commercial arena, only to arise, nobler than before, with the standard of steel supremacy in her grimy hand.

Not without pain and privation, travail and unceasing effort has she scattered her trademark all over the earth. She knows no rest; her mills and furnaces never sleep, the city's natural life is a spasm of human effort, and the thunder of her forges marks her heart beats. All day the clang of steel assails the ear, and at night a hundred lurid flames set up the pillar of fire that is the core of Pittsburgh's steel district, itself the steel center of the world.

To the stranger within her gates, her diadem appears at night in the crescent of a thousand blazing arcs that light her famous industries. But those near the heart of Mother Braddock know that she forgets her glory that is of electricity, steel or gold, and pointing to her sons, says like Cornelia, "These are my jewels."