Morning journal and courier., 1892-01-29
THE FIRST STEEL MADE HERE.


 In TIPS Samuel Iigley of Simsbury,
 Conn.,, Made the First Attempt.
 From the Popular Science Monthly.l
 In 172S Samuel Higley of Simsbury and Joseph Dewey of Hebron, in Hartford county, Conn.,, represented to the legisla- ture that the said Higley had, "with great pains and cost found out and obtained curious art by which to convert, change or transmute common iron into good steel suf- ficient for any use, and was the first that ever performed such an operation in Amer ica." Swank gives on the authority of MT. Charles J. Hoadley, librarian of the Con- necticut state library, certificate signed by Timothy Phelps and John Drake, black smiths, which states that in June, 1725, MT. Higley obtained from the subscribers several pieces of iron, so shaped that they could be known again, and that a few days later ''he brought the same pieces which we let him have, and we proved them and found them good steel, which was the first steel that ever was made in this country that we ever saw or heard of."
 A patent was granted Higley and Dewey for ten years, provided "the petitioners improve the art to any good and reason able perfection within two years from the date of this act" They do not appear to have done this, or to have continued the business of making steel.
 In TAO the Connecticut legislature granted to Messrs. Fitch, Walker & Wyl- lys "the sole privilege of making steel for the term of ten years upon this condition, that they should in the space of two years make half ton of steel;" this condition not being compiled with the privilege was extended to 1744, before which time Aaron Eliot and Iohabod Miller certified that more than half ton of steel had been | made at the furnace in Simsbury. Some time before 1750 steel furnace was in operation at Killingworth, in Mid | dlesex county, Conn. This furnace (says it he succeeded, in 1761, in converting in to good steel bar of iron, made in a blomary fire from magnetic sand, by his father, the Rev. Jared Eliot. It appears from returns made by the colonial governors in 1750, in conformity with the act of parliament, that Massachu- setts, Connecticut and New Jersey had l each one steel furnace, and Pennsylvania two; both of these were in Philadelphia, owned by William Bronson and Stephen Paschal, respectively. Bronson stated in | regard to his steel that "the sort he made. which was blistered steel, ten tons would be ten years in selling"
 Paschal's furnace was built in the year 1747 on lot at the northwest corner of Eighth and Walnut streets. This furnace l in 1787 was owned by Naucarrow & Mat | lock, when it was visited in that year by l General Washington and said to have been ''the largest and best in America" :" Whitehead Humphreys, who in ITO was | the owner of steel furnace on Seventh street, Philadelphia, and made steel for the Continental army, was granted in 17S6, by I the legislature of Pennsylvania, loan of f300 for five years, to aid him in making steel from bar iron ''as good as in Eng land"
 l In TIT Rhode leland "gave e60 per gross ton for good German steel made | within the state" The legislature of Massachusetts granted in IT'S to the Rev. | Daniel Little, "9450 to aid in erecting at | Wells in the district of Maniel A building 35x25 feet, to be used in manufacturing | steel"
 | In 1787 the manufacture of steel was commenced in the town of Easton, Mass. | by Eliphalet Leonard, and we are told by Bishop that "the article was made in con siderable am punt and cheaper than import ed steel" About 1797 steel was made at
 
 | iron, by the German process" Peter Townsend, the proprietor of the Sterling iron works in New York, made in 1776 the first steel produced in that province, and his son, Peter Townsend, jr., is said to have made at the same works in 1910 steel ''of as good quality for the manufacture of edged tools as that made from Dannemora iron"
 Alexander Hamilton, in report dated December 5, 1791, says: "Steel is branch which has already made considerable some new enterprises on @ more ex- tensive scale have lately been set on foot" In the same year Tench Coxe, in replying to Lord Shefield's "Observations on the Commerce of the United States" stated that ''about one-half of the steel consumed in the United States is home made, and new furnaces are building at this moment"
 Swank states that "in 1895 there were two steel furnaces in Pennsylvania which produced annually 150 tons of steel. One of these was in Philadelphia county. In 1910 there was produced in the whole country 917 tons of steel, of which Penn sylvania produced 531 tons in five fur naces The remainder was pro- duced in Massachusetts, Rhode Island New Jersey, Virginia and South Carolina: each state having one furnace. In 1913 there was steel furnace at Pittsburg, owned by Tuper & McKowan, which was the first in that city.
 All the steel manufactured in America prior to the year 1910 was produced either by what was called the German method" which was conducted in hearth similar to that used for a"blomary fre." or by the Fermentation process" The German steel" was made directly from the ore or suitable quantity of pig iron was used. Concert at St. PauI,s.
 The Young Mems society of St. Pauls church will give concert at St. .PauTs par ish house next Tuesday evening. It seems assured that the affair will be genuine success.
 STATE CORRESPONDING
 Hamden Plains.
 dan. 28.-Miss Annie McMullen of Park villa r. I ia yisitino iD foup