The Big Stone Gap post. [volume] (Big Stone Gap, Wise County, Va.) 1892-1928, 1899-12-07

mixture WI rked for Foundry Iron, Puddle
Bar and changed somewhat for Iron Rails
The next furnace built was for the Mill
yankee Iron Company at Milwaukee.
This furnace was put into blast one month
later than No. ! Furnace in Chicago, or
Nav 1870. This furnace used the same
mixture as the Chicago Furnace and made
pig iron to make Muck Bar and Iron Rails
In 1871, | designed and built the second
furnace for the North Chicago Rolling
Mill Co. This furnace used Connelsviile
Coke, Anthracite coal, Lake Superior Ores
with a mixture of Mill Cinder, which pro-
duced a very fine Foundry Iron for the
Chicago market The same furnace, when
not working for foundry, was put on to
Bessemer Iron with all Lake Ore and made
the first Bessemer Pig Iron that was ever
worked successfully into steel rails in the
! L. S. or this country There had been
steel rails made in New York before this
time. but they were made from English
Pig Iron. and as ! said before, the first
Pig Iron that was successfully made into
steel rails, was manufactured at the No.
! Furnace at the North Chicago Rolling
| Co.
In 1872, designed and built the No. 2
Furnace at the Milwaukee Iron Works
and it was the same size as the other fur
naces built for the North Chicago Co. and
| for this company. This furnace was run
for the best quality Of Foundry Iron, for
the Milwaukee and Northwestern market,
and worked equally we'll when not on
! Foundry Iron, on Bessemer for the North
Chicago Rolling Mills. The mixture OF
e. Il la
cite, with Bessemer Ores from Lake
| Superior.
During the time operated the Chicago
and Milwaukee Furnaces, designed and
built and put into operation, the Minerva
Furnace at Kinnick- kinnick, Milwaukee,
for Pierce Hillman and Co.
had full charge of the Blast Furnace
department for about seven years, and
during nv management, every kind OF pig
iron that was ordered was made Tor every
state in the Union. In the first place
Cold Short Iron for the heads Of rails,
neutral iron to make hanges and the web
of the rail. All iron rails are made from
this quality of iron. The head of the rail
is hard graduated Cold Short Iron. The
web and hange is made of strong fibrous
iron.
The different grades of iron required in
the market, necessitated the changing of
the burden on the furnace about every
week. Cold Short Iron for rail heads,
neutral iron for iron rails and Bessemer
Iron for Bessemer Rails, Stove Iron for
Stove Plate, Cold Short Iron for ST. Louis,
Pig Iron for the Hamilton Mills in Canada,
and in fact every kind of iron ordered,
was properly and promptly filled at any
and all of these furnaces.
The ores used were the Cold Short Ores !
of Wisconsin aud the general run of the
ores from Lake Superior. One OF these |
neutralized the other for any kind of iron |
required. Lake Ores being extremely |
Red Short and the Wisconsin Ores being |
Cold Short, made any kind of iron, Cold
Short, Red Short, Neutral, Bessemer and |
Bar Iron.
From the starting of these furnaces, !
made all the burdens and took all the re-
sUonsbility of making the iron to fill all
the orders and this required my constant
attention and attendance at all the fur
naces, and as they were about ninety-five
miles apart, had to arrange to travel
between the places at night and managed
to see them every day. o. W. Potter was
general superintendent at Chicago and j.
J. Hagcrman at Milwaukee.
After about -, years Of this constant
travelling and managing of the different
furnaces for these companies, | resigned
the management of Chicago and devoted
nv attention to the Milwaukee furnaces
and to designing and building furnaces for
other companies. At this time, | built
Lucy No. for Andrew Carnegie at Pitts
burg, Pa. designed this furnace, furn-
ished the plans, engaged the Engineer on
and put the furnace into
operation, equipped it and manned it.
This was in 1872.
The next furnace | designed, built
Soho at Pittsburg. | also built, equipped
and manned two furnaces at Wheeling,
W. Va,
also designed, built and equipped the
furnace at Ogden Junction, near Salt
Lake City, Utsh. | remodeled one at
Mich, and put il into opera
ton. At all these furnaces the produc-
ton was under my direction, and | made
the mixes of the ores and made any quail
ty of iron desired IN the market for
various purposes; the management was
also under my direction.
Aft n this time | came to the Ohio VAL
ley and took charge of the Big Etna
furnace at lronton, as Manager and Sup
for nearly five years. During
this time | was consulting manager for
the Sarah furnace, Belfont furnace, Iron
and steel furnace aud the Charcoal furnace
f..t Ia f.,.,, he (,,. |
mace was ten miles from lrOnton. The
above furnaces were under four different
In this district we used bituminous coal,
some Connelsyille Coke, New River Coke, =
Ores, Native Ores, Cnder aud
Missouri Ores and any ores that could lie
procured easily aud cheaply in this section
,f the country. The iron produced was
Cold Blast Carwheel iron, and ali kinds of
ron for nails and purposes ordered IN this
section.
then went to Saxton, Pa, to complete
he partially erected furnace for Robert {
Hare Powell, of Philadelphia, which put
ntO operation and superintendent the .
building of No. 2 furnace for the same
irm. These furnaces used mixture Of
native ores, we made our coke from native
,oal, OF Bedford county. Had contract
% make l25,0D0 tons Of iron from native
,res, build the second furnace. finished
he contract and left in az years.
My next contract was at Big Stone Gap,
Va. We bought two furnaces IN Illinois,
tear ST. Louis, took them down and NOV
ID them to Big Stone Gap and re-erected
hem. Operated one about ~ years.
"a L.. A 4
res, Pocahontas Coke ard native lime