The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1891-03-21
THE MCCULLOUGH IRON COMPANY
After Extensive Improvements, their North
East Works Running at their Full
and Increased CanacitV.

their rolling mill at West Amwell nea
this town, and that extensive improve
merts in their plant AT North East wore
E in progress, at which point it is the in
tention of the company to concentrate
their Cecil county business, aud where
: the machinery OF the West Amwell mil
has been removed, little if any of which
however will be of any practical use tt
the company. Pash ard progress we are
happy to know are the pass words OF the
present management of this company.
The reputation established in the market
for the Mccullough Iron Company
being jealousy guarded by the young
men now at the head of this reputable
firm, and the recent expenditure of tif
teen to twenty thousand dollars on tnelT
plant at North East, simply means, that
the progressive spirit of the founders OF
this company has found worthy success
sors in the younger blood to which its
business interests have been transmitted.
The Mccullough Iron Company has been
in days past probably the most important
industrial Interest of cur county. The
personal integrity of the men who
founded it, have built up local industry
which while it enriched them, has no
less contributed to the prosperity of
hundreds of our people. 1t would be an
interesting aggregate to compute how
many hundreds of thousands Of dollars
this company has distributed to our
skilled mechanic and laboring men,
during the forty four years it has existed,
since its establishment in 1917, and dur
ing which time, marked by alternating
periods of prosperity and depression in
the iron interests Of this country, it has
ever maintained its supremacy in the
sheet iron branch of this industry. In
this connection we do know, and that
without access to the books of the COM
pany, that from 1873 to 1882 inclusive, it
paid out for wages and charcoal one mil
lion dollars.
In recognition therefore of its import
ance to our people as Cecil county iu-
dustry, it is no less matter of local
pride to know, that the company has
never heretofore owned as fine a mill, or
one equal in capacity, to its present i'm
proved works at North East, and which
the writer of tins article recently made u
hurried inspection of, under the gnidance
of its efficient manager Mr.. James
Mallen and its courteous book keeper Mr..
| John V. Abrahams.
Before referring however to the i'm
p.ovements recently made AT North E ,st
a little bit of history may not be out of
| place, at least in recalling the memory
of those excellent men Jethro Johnson
Mccullough, and Delapiaiuo Mcdaniel
whose worthy sons have succeeded to the
places once SO ably filled by these re
spected pioneers of the iron industry in
Cecil county.
On the second day of February 1647,
Jethro J. Mccullough purchased indi-
vidually the North L .st forge property
and located with his family in the town
on the 10Th of March in that year. Ia
the interval lie had formed cOpartuer
ship with Deiaplaine Mcdaniel, E. A.
Harvey and others under the name of
Mccullough II Co., and which in 1861
was Incorporated as the Mccullough Iron
Company of Cecil county under the cor
poration laws of the state. Its charter
members were Jethro J. Mccullough of
Cecil county, Delaplaine Mcdaniel Of
New Castle county, Delaware, Enoch
Mccullough and William Scotch of Cecil
county, and William X. McClees and
w. b. Spear of Philadelphia. In
1865 it was incorporated by an Act of the
Legislature as the Mccullough Iron
Company. Soon after the original pur-
chase of the property, the company in
1858, removed the old forge which had
been erected over 100 years, and con.
structed a new mill in its plaza. This
mill had but two furnaces, one pair of
bar, and one pair of sheet rolls, and was
in all respects a small affair compared
with that of to day. This mill had
scarcely been put in successful operation
when it was destroyed by fire in the
winter of 1858. 1t was however immedl-
ately rebuilt, ana had a capacity of about
400 tons of sheet per annum. In the
same year 1858 the company purchased
the West Amwell property, and built the
rolling mill, which was supplied with bar
| iron from North East. Three years later,
in 1856, the Stony Chase tract near North
East was purchased, aud the same year
the Shannon mill erected. With this mill
about double the output of sheet was
secured, or about 500 tons per annum.
A year later, in 1857, the company pur-
chased of Joseph Roman the Rowland
vile mill, and six years after wards-in
1S63-owing to the increased demand for
their iron, erected steam mill at North
East. The mill was erected especially
for the use of the sheet mil at Rowland
of bar iron being discontinued at
those mills, and the whole power there,
| being used in the manufacture of sheet
| iron. About the year 1858 the company
commenced the manufacture OF galvan.
zed iron. being the first to Introduce the
| business in tie United States This
| branch of business was then and still is
| conducted at the c0mpauy's works at
sixteenth and Washington streets, 2 aila-
delphIa. The demand for their iron both
galvanized and sheet became SO great,
that the company was compelled to erect
forge with nine furnaces, and to use
two steam hammers for the production
of charcoal iron, there being now at
| North East eighteen forge fires. Besides
the mills referred to, the company erected
i'll Wilmington in 1874 the Mirquas
mills, and in 1854 the Charbon chem:caI
works at North East, the latter alone at
cost Of 10000, for the production of
charcoal and its by-products.
| The improvements recently completed
at the main works at North East cover
IN the first instance, the very material
item of sufficient and cheap power.
Heretofore the output has been some
what limited in quantity and increased
in cost, By the cost and limited quantity
of steam power furnished 10y three boilers
of about fifteen horse power each, one
set of sheet rolls being run by water
power. These boilers have been sup
planted by three latest improved Babcocis