Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1866-02-14
NiIes.-A Glance at the "FaIcOn
TrOR WOrks.,i

the Falcon Iron Works. These works were
founded in l84a, by James Ward, William
Ward and Thomas Russell, for the manu-
~facture Of bar iron and nails. The firm was
then as now, called James Ward & Co., all
three of the partners being practical arti-
zans from Pittsburg. They first designed
locating their mill at Warren, and endeav-
ored TO procure land suitable for the purpose,
but not meeting with the encouragement
they desired, and inducements being held
out to them to go to Niles, to that place they
accordingly went.
The original size of the mill was forty-fve
by ninety feet, operated by n engine of sew
ty-fve horse power. They commenced OPP
erations with only six hands. Mr.. James
Ward was engineer. William Ward was
puddler and heater and Thomas Russell roll
er. The firm now employs between four
and five hundred hands, and at least twelve
hundred of the people of Niles, about four
ffths of the entire population. are dependent
upon them for support. They went to work
with one furnace for boiling iron part of the
time, and the balance for heating; one
pair merchant rolls, fifteen inch train and
one hammer for forging blooms. The
amount of iron finished was three tons a
week and thirty kegs of nails; the iron being
sold for five cents a pound, and the nails for
six and one-fourth. They have from time
to time made extensive additions to their
works, with a corresponding increase of ma
ohinery, and nov have a rail road spike ma
chine with capacity of fifty kegs per day,
SIX trains of rolls, one ten inch train, one
eighteen inch train, one fifteen inch train or
bar mill, one sheet mill, one plate or nail
mill, one train of muck rolls, five engines,
sixteen boilers; eight heating furnaces, if
teen boiling furnaces, two boat spike ma
chimes, and are able to turn out two hundred
tons Of finished iron and eight hundred kegs
of nails per week. The Falcon Iron Works
are now considered worth a half a million of
dollars. There is a side track running from
the Mahoning Division of the Atlantic &
Great Western railway, Immediately past
the blast furnace and to the store house of
the rolling mill, to facilitate the shipment of
iron and coal.
This firm has reasons Tor believing that
they were the pioneer parties of the West
ern country, who succeeded in making mer-
charitable iron out of stonecoa pig, the most
important iron production of the Mahoning
valley. This Company have used a great
deal of this kind of iron during the past
twenty years, and a considerable amount of
the Lake Superior and Lake Champlain ores,
The reputation of their iron and nails is
equal to any in the country. They also
manufacture a large amount of iron for car
and locomotive building.
Their blast furnace, the largest in the Ma
honing valley, was erected in 1858, and has
ever since been in successful operation. 1t
is situated a short distance from the mill on
the east side of Mosquito creek, and is now
producing one hundred and fifty tons of iron
per week. 1t is extensive in all its appoint
ments, and worked by a powerful engine
They use annually five thousand tons of
Lake Superior ore, also five thousand tons ma
tive ore, black-band and mill cinder. The
native ore is obtained from Austintown, and
Jackson, and the blackboard from Mineral
Ridge, and is found in the Mahoning valley
in immense quantities, below the coal beds.
1t is the same ore as that from which the
CELEBRATED Scotch pig-iron of Scotland is
made.
The coal used at this extensive establish
ment is supplied by Andrews s. Hitchcock,
John Morris 6 Co., and other parties. The
amount consumed by the Falcon Iron Works
is over one hundred tons daily.
A word or two in reference to the process
of making iron and nails may not be out of
place. Pig iron comes from the blast fur
mace in a crude state, together with more or
less cinder and other impurities. Pudding
separates the-iron from these substances, and
helps to mix the metal materials and gives
the iron the necessary toughness. From the
pudding furnaces it is taken in balls of near
" a hundred pounds each to the squeezers.
This operation drives out the cinder II q
shower of sparks, extracts other impurities
and renders the iron ready for manufacture
ing. After this process it is passed to the
various sized train rolls, and through the
largest first, then through a lesser size, and
so continued until it Is Of the required shape,
of long bar or sheet iron. 1t is then taken
to the cooling sheds. If 1t is to be cORYer-
verted into nails, it is reheated to a white
heat, and then run through a nail plate tram,
which rolls it down to q proper thickness
It is then cooled and cut into plates a foot
long, and of the required width for the Yari-
ous sized nails. These plates are placed up
IN edge on red hot Goals and heated to a
proper temperature, and from thence trans
fered to the nail machines, where they are
cut into nails, Then put in kegs, branded
and made ready for market.
Messrs. James Ward and James Noble are
proprietors of the Russia sheet iron nail,
noticed in our paper two weeks ago. It is
located on the river about a quarter of a
mile below the rolling mill. Mr.. james
Ward is boring for oil on his W shook"
The well is but q short distance from the
mill, and is row down twelve
and fifty feet. he intends to keep
on boring til he reaches oil, or gets so far
into the bowels of the earth that themachin-
cry wont work.
We did not have time to visit the mill of
Messrs. Harris, Davis & Co. We understood
the mill to be closed for repairs-nor the
rivet factory Of Swindler s. Doulan, which
mas also temporarily suspended work,
We went through the machine and boiler
shop and foundry of Mr.. Thomas Carter.