Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1893-09-15
A Great Sale.

The sale will be the last act in finan-
cial drama, which began on the historic
sBlack Friday" the mills having shut
down twenty years ago.
Auv person who has seen an abandoned
oil town, with rottening derricks, rusted
machinery and deserted and windowless
houses, can imagine the desolate appearance
of Brady's Bend which is located on the
banks of Allegheny River, seventy miles
north of Pittsburg. Long rows of aban-
donsd company houses and monster piles
of furnace Stag, upon which the grass is
growing, give evidence of the existence
long ago OF a monster iron plant, for when
originally constructed it was the largest
west of the Allegheny Mountains
There will be put up for sale at public
auction the Brady's Bend Iron Company
tract of land, consisting of over 5000 acres.
The sale is the result of suit in equity to
forecIose a first mortgage, pursuant to an
order of sale entered on June3 by Judge
S. S. Mehard, of Mercer County, before
whom the matter was argued. All the
lands, mineral rights, leaseholds, works
and buildings of the company will be offer
ed for sale. The real estate lies partly IN
Clarion county and partly in Armstrong.
In the spring of of 1888 Philander Ray
nond a New York civil engineer, reached
the Allegheny River in the vicinity OF
Brady's Bend and began prospecting in the
hills on a tract Of land owned by DR.. Elisha
| Wahl. Samples of the iron ore found
| were sent East and when examined by ex-
perts were pronounced valuable. The
Wahl tract consisted OF 1000 acres and was
purchased iu fee by Raymond.
The following year Mr.. Raymond organ
| lied the Great Western Iron Company .
| The plant consisted of two blast furnaces,
a nail and fat rail mill. These were oper-
ated successfully until 1850, when the fiat
rail mill was transformed into Trail mill,
making it the first Of the kind west OF the
| Allegheny Mountains. Shortly after the
company failed. 1t was tken under the
management Of Isaac G. Perry, az trustee
| of the Great Western Iron Company.
The property consisting of 1900 acres OF
land, furnaces, rolling mills and equip
ments, were put up at Sheriff's sale and
was purchased by a wealthy Bostonian
named Sawyer. The new owner made ex-
tensiye improvements and conducted
prospersus business till his death which
occurred in 1857. Mr.. Sawyer, although
married, had left no children, and his wife's
death having proceeded his, he made Cath
olic charitable institution in Massachus-
setts his legatee.
In the summer OF '62 W. B. Ogden, a
Chicago lumberman purchased the proper
| tv for $50. .O00 The furnaces and mills
| had not been operated for FIVE years. He
| mt it in shape and expended $50, 600 be-
fore a wheel was turned. The repairs hav-
| ing been completed in the Winter OF '62,
| the Spriug of of '63 found it ready to start
again. In the meantime additional tracts
of land had been pur chased aggregating IN
all 5000 acres, located in Armstrong, But
Ter and Clarion counties. On the east side
of the river sixty acres had been laid out
in town lots and on them was built what
now constitutes the town OF East Brady.
Thirty wears ago last June found the
Great Western Iron Works launched for
a second time on the road to prosperity,
and on a greatly enlarged scale. Two fur
naces had been added, with total capacity
of $50 tons of pig iron per week. One OF
the stacks made charcoal forge iron, and
the other three used coke. The rolling
mill had twenty-five pudding furnaces and
i five trains of rolls. 1t required 1000 skilled
and day laborers to operate the plant a
| standard gauge railroad had been bullt
and fully equipped for distance OF hVe
| miles upsSugar Creek. In one OF the years
| of the rolling mills greatest prosperity IT
turned out 5000 tons of iron rails-steel
rails at that time had not been heard Of
| and they sold as high as $85 ton.
| | should be stated, however. that Ogden,
when he took possession Of the property.
stocked the cCicern for 81. .0O0, 900, and sold
\ it out, taking in part payment $500, 600 In
| first mortgage bonds. The new corporation
was then styled the Brady's Bend iron
| Company.
The late Samuel J. Tilden was secured
as counsel for the new corporation, and
many of the original stockholders believe
that through his advice the trustees were
| induced to issue new series of $500, 600
| first mortgage. To the second issue Of
bonds ia attributed the downfall of the
| magnificent industry. Under the weight
| of this mortgage the stock deprecated, and
| the solidity of the firm began to be ques-
| toned, and the remittances from the East
came with less promptness. Promise was
| all the pay the men received for their labor
during the months of July, August and
| September, '73.
On the twenty y-third day of the month
| last named, the memorable "Black Friday"
blew its whitening breath against its al
ready tottering finances, and it went down.
Mr. Tilden visited the works frequently
prior to its suspension, and this fact lead
many to think that his interest in the con-
Germ extended beyond that of attorney.
This opinion, became deeply confirmed in
recent years, when call was made by the
receiver for listing of the outstanding
| OF the first mortgage bonds. Mr.. T1lden
had died previous to the call, and his legal
representatives came forward with first
| mortgage bonds amounting to $1,000. The
first mortgage bonds had been peddled and
| traded around till they were scattered as
| far as Maine and west to the Pacific Coast.
There is still outstanding Of the first issue
| $50, 90 not yet listed