The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1885-07-03
OLD TIME WHEELING.

OLD IlME WHtELlNu.
yos,a,ur Of ths TOP ssginSins and
1,owti Of the Iron Industry.
Writlsa On ~ Isseigiga'ee.
..Tail oaks trom little aeoras grow,
newer had more marvellous confirmation
than in it's application 70 the gigantic
iron interests Of the city Of Wheeling, e
compared with the tiny "p'ans" the
ipTop Mil" Of fifty.two years ago, from
which all the present prosperity has
gown, It could scarcely be disnihed BY
The name Of mill, hardly 9 forge; simply
. a very small and insignificant nais aanl
establishment, with its single heau1g
iurnace, one pair Of rolls and running
force OF thirty.tiye employees.
Tie founder OF the mill was John
shoenberser, Of Pittsburgh, by whom y
was built and put into operation some
Mr. David Agnew had charge Of the
voTks. and I believe eventually leased
them from the Pittsburgh prop1etors:
The fitst corps OF workmen consisted Of
Beniamin Ford, engineer, John fenni'
mnrs heater. John Hartman, roller,
Thomas Lewis. millwright, David Myers,
blacksmith and Joseph Fretwell. brick,
aver; these, with their assistants and
helpers were all the men employed IN
the establishment Mr.. Ford, native
Of England, was in the employ OF the
shoenberpess In Pittsburgh, and was sent
nv Az arm to run tho engine Of the new
mini in Wheeling. He is q thorough
mechanic, and has operated mill engines
for fifty years, always keeping ABREAST
Of tho times In the way OF I'm,
proyements. For more thaa . score o.
yeaIshe was in the employ otthe Jefferson
| ilrm at steubenville, and only recently re-
signed his position, leaving the engines N
| ne hands Of lis Sons, Frank and
Samuel. William an older son mas
charge OF the engine at the L9ush!in
minis in Martins Ferry. II was always .
familiar expression about any mill where
he was employed, "fhat no one need ever
he afraid Of an accident when Ben lorF
was al the engine" John Fennimore,
heater. better known latterly IS Father
Fennimore," liyediu Martins Ferry Tor
many years, and rsosFily died there,
honorsd and loved by all who knew him.
de was life long member Of the
Methodist Episcopal church, ano ms
house was the home OF the minister:
Prayer and class meetings were regularly
held under his roof titty Year, ago excel
lent and profitable services they ~efe, %
even the children Of that day can testify.
John Hartman returned at an early day
to Pittsbufgh and became a successful
"Iron Master" 40 manufacturers were
then called. Thomas Lewis, another
skilled workman, died years ago In Gin:
cinnati. his sons Thomas, William and
John arc well known in Wheeling and
Vicinity as master mechanics and sub
stantial citizens.
A large frame house was erected near
and above the mill; 1t was occupied BY
Air. Myers as a boarding house for the
hands. A brick row OF four small houses
was also built, north OF the frame, and
was occupied respectively by Hartman,
Ford Fennimore and Lewis. A three
story brick tavern, Fept by Patrick camp.
bell stood near the Ferry landing. Nes q
yestige Of any Of these houses remains 70,
day. An opening was made In the NIL
for coal. A coal car broke loose one night,
and running into the mill, killed boy
named Shirly, the only son OF Q widow.
House rent and coal were the leading per-
auisites OF leading workmen.
Mr.. Agnew'g venture was q failure, and
somewhere in the neighborhood OF 1910,
the mill passed by lease into the bands of
Blake, Giesimer & Co., With n. L.
Dorsey as clerk. Important improve.
ments, embracing refinery, knobbling
fires, pudding furnaces, nail rolls and
nail machines, were introduced from time
to time. Previously the blooms were
brought from Banging Rock. AS many OF
the old people have passed away, 0 bret
notice OF former methods OF making mar
ketabie iron, cannot fail to interest those
who never saw, and perhaps never heard
Of refinery, or kno6hling fire, and above
all Of q TIT hammer, whose ponderouss
movements sent showers Of sparks, and
sometimes OF hot iron, in all direoEons,
Pig metal was brought by boat from the
Ellison furnaces at Hanging Rock.
The refinery was . large, square, open
furnace, in which pig iron was literallyre.
lined from its impurities, for the use OF
the puddlefs. The fuel used was coke,
the heat intensified by cold blast. When
melted the iron was run into molds, and
afterwards broken up for the furnaces.
The knobbling fires were dainty little
open affair, heated by charcoal and blast,
one huge ball constituting q heat. This
was hammered into o large bloom, cut in
two, reheated, rolled and was then ready for
the market. This was the well. known
charcoal iron whose first production made
the Juniata and other Eastern forges 80
famous. II was used in the manufacture
OF boiler plate, horse shoes and horseshoe
nails, wheel tires, &c. The introduction
OF boiling soon banished the refinery,
eventually the knobbling fires followed
and charcoal iron ceased TO be q speciality.
Nail plate was made very differently from
the methods OF to-day.
The boiled iron was rolled cut up re-
heated and re-rolled into hoopiron, whose
width and thickness corresponded with
the various sized nails required.
The glory Of the old mill was the gigan-
tic tilt hammer, weighing many tons, the
manipulation OF which was known In mill
parlance as the 'shinglet." There the
'sboss" puddler brought his balls, drag
ging each with pair OF huge tongs; the
helper followed with an iron stair heat
ed at one end. II was the puddler's duty
TO place the ball on the anvil, give It a
turn or two, then the shingler placed the
hot staff on the quivering mass, when q
blow or two Of the hammer welded 1t se-
cureiy, making an excellent lever by
which the ball was turned over and over
until 1t was dragged out a symmetrical,
well.shaped bloom. The stat was then
twisted OF while hot, Sometimes the staff
would break, and before another could be
brought the ball was shattered TO pieces.
The hammer was worked by alternately
striking the ball and the cogs, and when
not in operation was held above the cog
wheel by an immense iron gag. A hot
spark from q ball caused an injury to .
distinguished Union officer Of the late
war that won for him, from the enemy,
the epithet Of "0ne-eyed Powell" Gen.