The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1874-02-07
WHEELING INDUSTRIES.
The Belmont MN.

Of Z. N, Norton and others from the Vir-
ginia Mill organization early in The year |
1s49. The success attending the, opera. |
tons Of that mill during the time oil their |
connection with II had more fully sdeyel- |
oped the natural advantages Of Wheeling |
ss a manufacturing point and had at
tracted tue attention Of practical men
elsewhere who were DESTROYS Of securing
for themselves more immediate and
higher results from their small capital
and skilled labor than seemed possible
under the shadow of the wealth. which
controlled the iron interests Of The great
manufacturing centers of the country.
Mr.. Norton and his associates therefore
had no difficulty in drawing number Of
the best class Of workmen from other
cities 10 the support Of their new enter
prise A company was soon formed
consisting OF William Bailey, 8. H. Wood.
ward, Henry Wallace, @. B. Doty, Hol.
ston Harden, +. d. Norton, William
Hay, Hugh McGiven, John Wright and
E. n. Norton, These gentlemen consti-
tuted corps of experienced, practical
iron workers, From the late Joseph
Caldwell they purchased two acres Of
land lying on the bank Of the river In
what Is now known as Center Wheeling
but which at that time, although eni-,
braced In the city limits; was only corn
field, for which they paid sixteen hundred
dollars, On this ground they selected
cite and erected the Belmont Mill and
put into II eighteen machines, Just
after the works were completed Henry
Moore, of this city was admitted TO the
partnership. and the company represented
q capital Of forty thousand dollars.
Active operations were commenced In
October ls49 with L. N. Norton
as President and William Bailey as man
ager Of the mill, under the title OF Norton,
Bailey s. Co. just about this time q rad.
ical change was effected In the method Of
manipulating the iron in the Bloom, as 1t
is called, by the introduction Of the Bur
den squeezer. Previous to the invention
Of this machine the preparation oil the
bloom Tor the rolls was effected by means
offs tilt hammer, under which the bloom
was brought TO such shape as admitted its
passage through the rolls, after this II was
reheated and drawn into nail plate. The
Introduction Of the steam hammer, which
was used in the Virginia Mill was consid.
cred a long stride In advance towards per-
lection and economy Of manipulation. In
the preparation Of the bloom for the ham.
mer the raw pig metal was not brought
upt that intense heat which now char
scterizes the operation OF boiling or pud-
ding, consequently the true conditions oil
the iron when brought to the hammer
could not be so accurately determined and
there was an unavoidable irregulArity in
the quality OF the plate manufactured
from 1t. As we have said, radical changes
and msniiest advantages followed the in
PRODUCTION Of the squeezer, the thorough
boiling Of the iron by which much lar
ger percentage oil impurities were driven
of, the more perfect elimination offender
by the squeezing process and the intro
duction of muck bar, by the cutting, cross
piling and relocating OF which have been
secured that uniformity In quality of iron
which had hitherto been impossible,
but which was so desirable quail.
ity, 10 nail plate. A very mark
ed improvement was also made 10 the
method Of rolling nail plate by the intro
duction Of what are called Bull head rolls.
Formerly the plate had been drawn out
on sheet rolls, just as sheet iron is still
made. The plate was then cut into strips
with but ordinarily, very little regard TO
the grain Of the iron. While this plan may
have made no very precephble difference
in the appearance of the nails, 1t made a
very material difference In the quality.
Under the improved rolls the iron came
out in long narrow strips, but Of uni
form width Of ten or twelve inches, and
thus when sheared up secured absolute
uniformity In the grain Of the nails.
These great improvements were quickly
adoptedby the Belmont Company, and
their first use in this city was ln their
mill. The Virginia Mill haviOg fallen
into unskilled management, the Bel
mont Immediately took-precedcnce, and
entered upon that career Of success which
has attended its operations ever since. It
continued under Its first management
until November, 1861, something over
two years, at which time In, the parlance
Of the mills, there was swarm, and
Messrs. Bailey, Woodward and others
retired from the Company, Henry Moore
becoming the purchaser Of the retiring
interest," The late j. G. Acheson then be.
came q member Of the Company, and the
title became Norton, Aoheson & Co. In
1853 Joseph Bell became stakeholder,
and was added to the active membership.
From year 10 year the business continued
to increase with uninterrupted prosperity;
50 that in the year 1850 its productive ca.
pacity had been broughtup to eighty ma,
chimes, or more than four times the
original number. Alter the COM
mencement OF the civil war, when
trade had become stimulated in the
highest degree and all manufactured
products had reached fabulous prices
the Belmont Company, in order 10 supply
hemuck bar necessary for its uddenly ex.
banded business, rented from the SGoen
berger family their Top Mil property,
which, since the failure Of the hrm Of j
M. Todd s. Co, had remained idle. They
had barely got the property renovated Tor
their purposes when the Government
then in the heighth Of its preparations for
crushing the great rebellion-made over.
foras Nn 4ha linn YaVv I.Ns al m ~, "a 49,.