fbpx
Wikipedia

Phoenix Iron Works (Phoenixville, Pennsylvania)

February 13, 2024

For other uses of "Phoenix Iron Works", see Phoenix Iron Works.

The Phoenix Iron Works (1855: Phoenix Iron Company; 1949: Phoenix Iron & Steel Company; 1955: Phoenix Steel Corporation),[1] located in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, was a manufacturer of iron and related products during the 19th century and early 20th century. Phoenix Iron Company was a major producer of cannon for the Union Army during the American Civil War. The company also produced the Phoenix column, an advance in construction material.[2] Company facilities are a core component of the Phoenixville Historic District, a National Register of Historic Places site that was in 2006 recognized as a historic landmark by ASM International.

Mid-19th-century engraving of the Phoenix Iron Works

History edit

Founded in 1790 to produce nails and purchased in 1812 by New Jersey industrialist Robert Waln, the Phoenix Iron Company (later renamed the Phoenix Iron Works) produced pig iron, wrought iron, and other iron-related materials and end products. As the complex grew, it featured a huge blast furnace and puddling furnace, an adjacent iron foundry, warehouses, ancillary buildings, and associated equipment. In 1825, the company was the first to generate steam by burning anthracite coal. Other innovations followed. Engineers at the foundry invented a power-driven rolling method to weld and forge wrought iron, a process that enabled the iron company to begin producing cannon for the United States Army.[3]

In the late 20th century, the company declined along with the steel and iron industry of Pennsylvania. By 1984, production in Phoenixville had ceased. In 1986, the new management of the renamed Phoenix Steel Corporation announced plans to close its remaining production plants in Claymont, Delaware. The following year, the rolling mill closed, all production of steel ceased, Phoenix made its last shipment of steel, and its remaining production and maintenance employees were laid off. Throughout 1987, a number of investors approached Phoenix about acquiring the Claymont mill, and in 1988, Phoenix sold it to CITIC, a state-owned investment company of the People's Republic of China for $13 million. A new corporation, CitiSteel, was formed to operate the facility. CitiSteel refurbished and modernized the plant, spending $25 million to convert Claymont from a "specialty mill" that produced various low-volume, high-cost steels for specific uses to a "minimill" using technologically advanced equipment to mass-produce a few types of steel at high volume and low cost.[4]

In 1998, the Phoenixville Area Economic Development Corporation (PAEDCO) took ownership of the building. Under the guidance of the National Park Service, PAEDCO undertook exterior renovations and constructed the Schuylkill River Heritage Center which occupies 1,600 sq.ft. of the historic Foundry Building. The museum tells the story of the Phoenix Iron & Steel Company and also provides information about the industrial legacy of the Schuylkill River.(www.phoenixvillefoundry.org) The Hankin Group acquired the Phoenix Foundry property from PAEDCO in 2006 to create an 18,000 square feet (1,700 m2) event space.[5]

As of 2012, the Phoenix Steel site is empty. Most of its buildings were dismantled. Only the old foundry and company office buildings remain from the once-sprawling complex; both have been restored and put to other uses.[citation needed]

Products edit

 
3-Inch Ordnance Rifle

Besides the Griffen Gun and the Phoenix Column, the company produced iron for rails for the Pennsylvania Railroad and other eastern railroad lines, wrought iron for fencing and home decorative usage, and similar applications, as well as steel products. The Eiffel Tower in Paris used puddled iron from Phoenixville.[6]

Griffen Gun edit

In 1855 John Griffen Jr. (1812-1884) developed the famous Griffen Gun while he was at the Safe Harbor Iron Works, a large rolling mill, located in Safe Harbor, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania) and was operated by the firm Reeves, Abbott & Co. of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1855, the Phoenix Iron Works (Phoenixville, Pennsylvania) foundry began producing six-pounder smoothbore artillery pieces known as Griffen Guns, after inventor John Griffen Jr. (1812-1884). Hundreds were turned out before production shifted in 1861 to other Griffen designs.[7] Company owner Daniel Reeves spent much money on equipment and processes to modernize the factory and make it one of America's leading producers of iron and steel.[citation needed]

During the Civil War, the factory manufactured over 1,000 Griffen-designed 3-inch Ordnance rifles, the lion's share of the more than 1,400 similar guns eventually bought by the Army (see Field Artillery in the American Civil War). Produced by the company's unique rolling process, the 820 lb (370 kg) wrought iron barrels were durable and resisted bursting, unlike the cast iron gun tubes of Phoenixville's smaller competitors. At its peak, the factory was producing fifty rifles a week.[citation needed]

Many of these rifled guns are in private collections, municipal parks, and at battlefields across the country, including the Gettysburg Battlefield. They are distinguished by the letters PIC (for Phoenix Iron Company) stamped on the muzzle.[8]

Phoenix column edit

 
An arc of Phoenix Columns adorns a plaza outside the old foundry building.

The Phoenix Column, patented by Samuel Reeves in 1862, was a hollow cylinder composed of four, six, or eight wrought iron segments riveted together. The resulting column was much lighter and stronger than the solid cast iron columns of the day.[9] They allowed the construction of massive structures without brutally heavy load-bearing walls. Taller and taller buildings could now be built on narrow urban plots, helping facilitate the creation of the skyscraper and high-stress-load-bearing bridges.

Phoenix Bridge Company edit

The success of the Phoenix column led to the formation of a construction subsidiary named Clarke, Reeves & Co. Later renamed the Phoenixville Bridge Works and finally the Phoenix Bridge Company, the firm ultimately built some 4,200 bridges, primarily wrought iron truss railway bridges.[10] Phoenix Bridge helped build the Manhattan Bridge, the Walnut Street Bridge in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and the Calhoun Street Bridge, between Trenton, New Jersey, and Morrisville, Pennsylvania, and projects as far away as Chile, Russia and China.[10] In 1900, the Bridge Company was awarded the contract for the Quebec Bridge across the St. Lawrence River, which collapsed in 1907.[10][11] Despite the blow to its reputation, Phoenix Bridge lived on for another half-century, ultimately closing in 1962.[9] A number of the company's works are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.[12]

Works include:

Works in Brazil:

  • Complexo FEPASA, in Jundiaí, São Paulo, Brazil. The railway workshop shed structure was bought in 1890.[15]
  • Recife's Bridge at Capibaribe river, was built in 1884.[16]

Gallery edit

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ "Phoenix Steel Corporation Records, 1827-1963 (bulk 1856-1949)". Retrieved 2008-06-28.
  2. ^ Link, Gary (1992). Bennett, Lola (ed.). Hayden Bridge (PDF) (Report). Washington, DC 20013-7127: Historic American Engineering Record. Survey number: OR-19.{{cite report}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  3. ^ Hazlett, page 94.
  4. ^ "Georgetown Law School Phoenix Steel sale to CITIC". December 12, 1994.
  5. ^ . Archived from the original on 2008-09-18.
  6. ^ "Phoenixville.net".
  7. ^ Hazlett, page 46.
  8. ^ Cole, page 25. Phil Cole, a licensed battlefield guide at Gettysburg and artillery author, has located 62 PIC tubes on the battlefield. Unstamped 3-inch rifles were generally produced in smaller facilities in New York and other locations.
  9. ^ a b "Historical Markers: Phoenix Iron Company". Retrieved 2008-06-28.
  10. ^ a b c "Without Fitting, Filing or Chipping by Tom Winpenny: An illustrated History of the Phoenix Bridge Company". Retrieved 2008-06-28.
  11. ^ "QUEBEC BRIDGE CONTRACT LET.; Awarded to the Phoenix Bridge Company of Pennsylvania". The New York Times. 1900-05-01. Retrieved 2008-06-28.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  13. ^ Much, Justin. "Saving the bridge: Preserving an historical Mill City icon". Statesman Journal.
  14. ^ "HAER PA,52-DING,1- (sheet 1 of 3) - Dingmans Ferry Bridge, U.S. Route 209 & State Route 739 vicinity, Dingmans Ferry, Pike County, PA". www.loc.gov.
  15. ^ Silva, Taina Maria (2019-09-26). "Oficinas ferroviárias em São Paulo: um estudo sobre a formação espacial da oficina da Companhia Paulista em Jundiaí (1892-1896)". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  16. ^ Gerodetti, João Emilio; Cornejo, Carlos (2005). Railways of Brazil in Postcards and Souvenir Albums. Solaris Editorial. ISBN 978-85-89820-03-5.

References edit

  • Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention & Innovation, Smithsonian National Museum of American History
  • Cole, Philip, The 3" Ordnance Rifle, CHARGE! magazine, Issue 13, 2006.
  • Hazlett, James C.; Olmstead, Edwin; and Parks, M. Hume; Field Artillery Weapons of the Civil War. University of Illinois Press, 2004. ISBN 0-252-07210-3.
  • Martino, Vincent Jr.; Phoenixville. Arcadia Publishing, 2002. ISBN 0-7385-1112-9.

External links edit

  • Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. PA-493, "Phoenix Iron Works"
  • HAER No. PA-493-A, "Phoenix Iron Company, Foundry Building", 19 photos, 10 measured drawings, 3 data pages, 2 photo caption pages
  • HAER No. PA-493-B, "Phoenix Iron Company, French Creek Bridge", 8 photos, 1 photo caption page
  • HAER No. PA-493-C, "Phoenix Iron Company, Rolling Mill", 24 photos, 2 photo caption pages
  • HAER No. PA-493-D, "Phoenix Iron Company, Girder Shop No. 6", 8 photos, 1 photo caption page
  • HAER No. PA-493-E, "Phoenix Iron Company, Pump House", 2 photos, 1 photo caption page
  • HAER No. PA-493-F, "Phoenix Iron Company, Administration Building", 2 photos, 1 photo caption page
  • Phoenix Bridge Company projects on Structurae
  • Album of designs of the Phoenixville Bridge-Works / by Clarke, Reeves & Co., 1873
  • Album of designs of the Phoenix Bridge Company : successors to Clarke, Reeves & Co., Phoenixville Bridge Works., 1885

February 13, 2024
phoenix, iron, works, phoenixville, pennsylvania, other, uses, phoenix, iron, works, phoenix, iron, works, phoenix, iron, works, 1855, phoenix, iron, company, 1949, phoenix, iron, steel, company, 1955, phoenix, steel, corporation, located, phoenixville, pennsy. For other uses of Phoenix Iron Works see Phoenix Iron Works The Phoenix Iron Works 1855 Phoenix Iron Company 1949 Phoenix Iron amp Steel Company 1955 Phoenix Steel Corporation 1 located in Phoenixville Pennsylvania was a manufacturer of iron and related products during the 19th century and early 20th century Phoenix Iron Company was a major producer of cannon for the Union Army during the American Civil War The company also produced the Phoenix column an advance in construction material 2 Company facilities are a core component of the Phoenixville Historic District a National Register of Historic Places site that was in 2006 recognized as a historic landmark by ASM International Mid 19th century engraving of the Phoenix Iron WorksContents 1 History 2 Products 2 1 Griffen Gun 2 2 Phoenix column 3 Phoenix Bridge Company 4 Gallery 5 See also 6 Notes 7 References 8 External linksHistory editFounded in 1790 to produce nails and purchased in 1812 by New Jersey industrialist Robert Waln the Phoenix Iron Company later renamed the Phoenix Iron Works produced pig iron wrought iron and other iron related materials and end products As the complex grew it featured a huge blast furnace and puddling furnace an adjacent iron foundry warehouses ancillary buildings and associated equipment In 1825 the company was the first to generate steam by burning anthracite coal Other innovations followed Engineers at the foundry invented a power driven rolling method to weld and forge wrought iron a process that enabled the iron company to begin producing cannon for the United States Army 3 In the late 20th century the company declined along with the steel and iron industry of Pennsylvania By 1984 production in Phoenixville had ceased In 1986 the new management of the renamed Phoenix Steel Corporation announced plans to close its remaining production plants in Claymont Delaware The following year the rolling mill closed all production of steel ceased Phoenix made its last shipment of steel and its remaining production and maintenance employees were laid off Throughout 1987 a number of investors approached Phoenix about acquiring the Claymont mill and in 1988 Phoenix sold it to CITIC a state owned investment company of the People s Republic of China for 13 million A new corporation CitiSteel was formed to operate the facility CitiSteel refurbished and modernized the plant spending 25 million to convert Claymont from a specialty mill that produced various low volume high cost steels for specific uses to a minimill using technologically advanced equipment to mass produce a few types of steel at high volume and low cost 4 In 1998 the Phoenixville Area Economic Development Corporation PAEDCO took ownership of the building Under the guidance of the National Park Service PAEDCO undertook exterior renovations and constructed the Schuylkill River Heritage Center which occupies 1 600 sq ft of the historic Foundry Building The museum tells the story of the Phoenix Iron amp Steel Company and also provides information about the industrial legacy of the Schuylkill River www phoenixvillefoundry org The Hankin Group acquired the Phoenix Foundry property from PAEDCO in 2006 to create an 18 000 square feet 1 700 m2 event space 5 As of 2012 update the Phoenix Steel site is empty Most of its buildings were dismantled Only the old foundry and company office buildings remain from the once sprawling complex both have been restored and put to other uses citation needed Products edit nbsp 3 Inch Ordnance RifleBesides the Griffen Gun and the Phoenix Column the company produced iron for rails for the Pennsylvania Railroad and other eastern railroad lines wrought iron for fencing and home decorative usage and similar applications as well as steel products The Eiffel Tower in Paris used puddled iron from Phoenixville 6 Griffen Gun edit In 1855 John Griffen Jr 1812 1884 developed the famous Griffen Gun while he was at the Safe Harbor Iron Works a large rolling mill located in Safe Harbor Lancaster County Pennsylvania and was operated by the firm Reeves Abbott amp Co of Philadelphia Pennsylvania In 1855 the Phoenix Iron Works Phoenixville Pennsylvania foundry began producing six pounder smoothbore artillery pieces known as Griffen Guns after inventor John Griffen Jr 1812 1884 Hundreds were turned out before production shifted in 1861 to other Griffen designs 7 Company owner Daniel Reeves spent much money on equipment and processes to modernize the factory and make it one of America s leading producers of iron and steel citation needed During the Civil War the factory manufactured over 1 000 Griffen designed 3 inch Ordnance rifles the lion s share of the more than 1 400 similar guns eventually bought by the Army see Field Artillery in the American Civil War Produced by the company s unique rolling process the 820 lb 370 kg wrought iron barrels were durable and resisted bursting unlike the cast iron gun tubes of Phoenixville s smaller competitors At its peak the factory was producing fifty rifles a week citation needed Many of these rifled guns are in private collections municipal parks and at battlefields across the country including the Gettysburg Battlefield They are distinguished by the letters PIC for Phoenix Iron Company stamped on the muzzle 8 Phoenix column edit nbsp An arc of Phoenix Columns adorns a plaza outside the old foundry building The Phoenix Column patented by Samuel Reeves in 1862 was a hollow cylinder composed of four six or eight wrought iron segments riveted together The resulting column was much lighter and stronger than the solid cast iron columns of the day 9 They allowed the construction of massive structures without brutally heavy load bearing walls Taller and taller buildings could now be built on narrow urban plots helping facilitate the creation of the skyscraper and high stress load bearing bridges Phoenix Bridge Company editThe success of the Phoenix column led to the formation of a construction subsidiary named Clarke Reeves amp Co Later renamed the Phoenixville Bridge Works and finally the Phoenix Bridge Company the firm ultimately built some 4 200 bridges primarily wrought iron truss railway bridges 10 Phoenix Bridge helped build the Manhattan Bridge the Walnut Street Bridge in Harrisburg Pennsylvania and the Calhoun Street Bridge between Trenton New Jersey and Morrisville Pennsylvania and projects as far away as Chile Russia and China 10 In 1900 the Bridge Company was awarded the contract for the Quebec Bridge across the St Lawrence River which collapsed in 1907 10 11 Despite the blow to its reputation Phoenix Bridge lived on for another half century ultimately closing in 1962 9 A number of the company s works are listed on the U S National Register of Historic Places 12 Works include Boston University Bridge between Cambridge Massachusetts and Boston Massachusetts built in 1927 Bridge in West Fallowfield Township Ross Fording Road over Octoraro Creek near Steelville West Fallowfield Township Pennsylvania NRHP listed 12 Bridge in Upper Frederick Township Fagleysville Rd over Swamp Creek Fagleysville Pennsylvania Phoenix Bridge Co NRHP listed 12 Brocton Arch jct of Main St with Lake and Highland Aves Brocton New York Phoenix Bridge Co NRHP listed 12 County Line Bowstring over West Creek Northwest of Hollis Hollis Kansas and Wayne Kansas Phoenix Bridge Co NRHP listed 12 Etters Bridge Green Lane Dr and Yellow Breeches Creek Fairview Township Pennsylvania and Lower Allen Township Pennsylvania Phoenix Bridge Co NRHP listed 12 Phoenix Bridge Northwest of Eagle Rock off Virginia 615 over Craig Creek Eagle Rock Virginia Phoenix Bridge Co NRHP listed 12 Trenton City Calhoun Street Bridge spans Delaware River between Morrisville Pennsylvania and Trenton New Jersey Phoenix Bridge Co NRHP listed 12 Mill City Oregon Railroad Bridge now a pedestrian bridge A Phoenix Column bridge manufactured in 1888 moved to San Jose CA then Lake Oswego Oregon then to Mill City Oregon Installed 1919 Abandoned by Southern Pacific railroad around 1967 and used as a pedestrian and bike bridge 13 Current restoration being undertaken by Save our Bridge Dingman s Ferry Bridge in Dingman Township Pennsylvania and Sandyston Township New Jersey was built in 1900 using Phoenix columns and other steel from another Phoenix bridge 14 Works in Brazil Complexo FEPASA in Jundiai Sao Paulo Brazil The railway workshop shed structure was bought in 1890 15 Recife s Bridge at Capibaribe river was built in 1884 16 Gallery edit nbsp Restored Phoenix Iron Works foundry building 40 08 06 N 75 31 03 W 40 13500 N 75 51750 W 40 13500 75 51750 Phoenix Iron Company Foundry nbsp Restored company office building 40 08 04 N 75 30 47 W 40 13444 N 75 51306 W 40 13444 75 51306 Phoenix Iron Company Office nbsp Bridge on the Works site crossing French Creek once carrying a spur from the Pickering Valley Railroad constructed with Phoenix columns 40 08 08 4 N 75 31 03 W 40 135667 N 75 51750 W 40 135667 75 51750 Phoenix Column Truss Bridge nbsp County Line Bowstring near Hollis Kansas39 39 14 N 97 34 23 W 39 65389 N 97 57306 W 39 65389 97 57306 County Line Bowstring Bridge nbsp Disused railway bridge Rehue river Angol Chile nbsp Disused railway bridge Rehue river Angol ChileSee also editHayden Bridge Springfield Oregon Notes edit Phoenix Steel Corporation Records 1827 1963 bulk 1856 1949 Retrieved 2008 06 28 Link Gary 1992 Bennett Lola ed Hayden Bridge PDF Report Washington DC 20013 7127 Historic American Engineering Record Survey number OR 19 a href Template Cite report html title Template Cite report cite report a CS1 maint location link Hazlett page 94 Georgetown Law School Phoenix Steel sale to CITIC December 12 1994 About the Phoenixville Foundry Archived from the original on 2008 09 18 Phoenixville net Hazlett page 46 Cole page 25 Phil Cole a licensed battlefield guide at Gettysburg and artillery author has located 62 PIC tubes on the battlefield Unstamped 3 inch rifles were generally produced in smaller facilities in New York and other locations a b Historical Markers Phoenix Iron Company Retrieved 2008 06 28 a b c Without Fitting Filing or Chipping by Tom Winpenny An illustrated History of the Phoenix Bridge Company Retrieved 2008 06 28 QUEBEC BRIDGE CONTRACT LET Awarded to the Phoenix Bridge Company of Pennsylvania The New York Times 1900 05 01 Retrieved 2008 06 28 a b c d e f g h National Register Information System National Register of Historic Places National Park Service July 9 2010 Much Justin Saving the bridge Preserving an historical Mill City icon Statesman Journal HAER PA 52 DING 1 sheet 1 of 3 Dingmans Ferry Bridge U S Route 209 amp State Route 739 vicinity Dingmans Ferry Pike County PA www loc gov Silva Taina Maria 2019 09 26 Oficinas ferroviarias em Sao Paulo um estudo sobre a formacao espacial da oficina da Companhia Paulista em Jundiai 1892 1896 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help Gerodetti Joao Emilio Cornejo Carlos 2005 Railways of Brazil in Postcards and Souvenir Albums Solaris Editorial ISBN 978 85 89820 03 5 References editLemelson Center for the Study of Invention amp Innovation Smithsonian National Museum of American History Cole Philip The 3 Ordnance Rifle CHARGE magazine Issue 13 2006 Hazlett James C Olmstead Edwin and Parks M Hume Field Artillery Weapons of the Civil War University of Illinois Press 2004 ISBN 0 252 07210 3 Martino Vincent Jr Phoenixville Arcadia Publishing 2002 ISBN 0 7385 1112 9 External links editMap all coordinates using OpenStreetMapDownload coordinates as KML GPX all coordinates GPX primary coordinates GPX secondary coordinates Historic American Engineering Record HAER No PA 493 Phoenix Iron Works HAER No PA 493 A Phoenix Iron Company Foundry Building 19 photos 10 measured drawings 3 data pages 2 photo caption pages HAER No PA 493 B Phoenix Iron Company French Creek Bridge 8 photos 1 photo caption page HAER No PA 493 C Phoenix Iron Company Rolling Mill 24 photos 2 photo caption pages HAER No PA 493 D Phoenix Iron Company Girder Shop No 6 8 photos 1 photo caption page HAER No PA 493 E Phoenix Iron Company Pump House 2 photos 1 photo caption page HAER No PA 493 F Phoenix Iron Company Administration Building 2 photos 1 photo caption page Phoenix Bridge Company projects on Structurae Album of designs of the Phoenixville Bridge Works by Clarke Reeves amp Co 1873 Album of designs of the Phoenix Bridge Company successors to Clarke Reeves amp Co Phoenixville Bridge Works 1885 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Phoenix Iron Works Phoenixville Pennsylvania amp oldid 1195238187 Phoenix Bridge Company, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.