Coke Ovens: (
AtlasObscura;
Satellite, the depression under the bridge used to be a canal)
Blast Furnace: (Satellite?)
This plant had 200 ovens.
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ohio
"The Leetonia Beehive Coke Ovens were constructed in 1866 as part of the Leetonia Iron and Coal Company, for which the town of Leetonia is named. The coke ovens, blast furnaces, and rolling mill formed the major economic backbone of the Village of Leetonia and was one of the largest employers for the Leetonia area until it closed in 1930. The ovens were used to purify coal that was mined from the hills of Leetonia and Washingtonville, this purified coal was then used to make iron." |
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Lost in Time posted
The Leetonia Beehive Coke Ovens Park is a hidden gem most people don’t even know exists.
Pic by Brittany Kramer
Keith McConville shared |
Kelly M McKinney
shared three photos with the comment: "
If you want to learn about something really neat - history wise, you need to go visit the Leetonia (Ohio) Beehive Coke Ovens (a.k.a. Cherry Valley Coke Ovens)."
[Youngstown was second only to Pittsburgh in steel production back when Pittsburgh was #1 in the world.]
Michael Hrysko
I’ve seen beehive ovens online before... crazy history for sure.... still can’t really comprehend how they work.
Michael Hrysko
ours are fairly easy.. recycled cleaned CO gas comes back to us from bi-products, this gas is fed through the basement piping in between the walls of each oven for the heating... the freshly charged coal creates gasses which go through the collector main, back to no-products, in which they scrub, clean and collect the bi-products of CO gas... we sell these bi-products and again... the clean gas comes back to us for heating the ovens.
Chris Linfoot
The ovens are brick domes about 12 feet in diameter and from 6 to 7 feet high with a door added on the side. There is a loading hole on top through which 2 or 3 tons of coal are added after the front door is bricked up. The pile of coal is allowed to catch on fire. The outer layer burns, but the inner core of the pile is deprived of air so it turns into coke during a 72 hour cycle. The brick door is torn out and water sprayed in to stop the burn. Then the coke is pulled out of the door. The byproducts become part of the fire. That is why they were replaced by today's design around the beginning of the 20th Century. Because they were obsolete, they did not survive the depression of the 1930s.
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Joshua Grant added three photos in the comments concerning beehive ovens in West Blocton, AL.
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One of several photos in ArchitecturalAfterlife, some of the photos show water in the canal.
What had eventually become Leetonia was first discovered by Irish Businessman William Lee. Lee found numerous rich deposits of coal, ore and lime under the soil in the area, which had led to his decision to establish the town, and begin mining the land. Lee bought up sections of land throughout the entire area, and had established a company under the name of “The Leetonia Coal & Iron Company.” The company consisted of a coal mine, coke ovens, and a blast furnace. With heavy industry growing rapidly, and the iron and coal industry booming, the company was entering into it all at the perfect time. The Leetonia Coal & Iron Company would soon help grow the area into a thriving company town. The area housed only three families in 1864, and would come to grow to a population of over 1,800 by 1869, when the town was incorporated....Ovens are about 12 feet in diameter, and range from 6 to 7 feet in height. Each oven can hold two to three tons of coal. The Leetonia Coal & Iron Company would process 250 tons of coal into coke per day. [250 was when it still had just 100 ovens.] |
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One of several photos in AbandonedOnline
The advent of byproduct coke ovens in the early 20th century, which captured and recycled the chemical byproducts that were expelled during the coking process, such as ammonia, light oil, and tar, led to the demise of beehive coke ovens. 2 The byproducts laid the foundations of modern chemical and plastic industries. The byproduct coke ovens also yielded 75% more coke per ton of coal. |
Coal was poured into the loading hole at the top of the oven and the front opening was bricked up. This created a pile of coal inside the oven. The pile caught on fire from the heat of adjacent ovens. Since only the outer layer was exposed to air, that was the only part of the pile that burned. That fire slowly "cooked" the inner core of the pile for 72 hours. [
iup] But the byproducts given off became part of the outer layer fire and were lost. That is why modern coke ovens consist of skinny rectangular chambers surrounded by other skinny chambers. The coal to convert to coke was in the middle chamber. The fires to heat it was in the surrounding chambers. Since there was a boundary between the fire and the product, they could capture the gases coming out of the middle chamber.
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| One of four photos posted by Rob Lucas |
Bill Bittner
posted three photos with the comment:
Leetonia, Ohio.....5-21-1933
Blast furnace coke ovens. (Cherry Valley) These beehive coke ovens (behind the shed in the foreground) are adjacent to the blast furnaces of the Hanna Furnace Company, Leetonia
A blast furnace is where iron ore is heated to high temperatures (coke was preferred over coal to make high temperatures) in the presence of oxygen, with the carbon content controlled to produce types of steel (an alloy of iron and carbon).
Other photos: Hanna Furnace Company blast furnace.
Jonathan Wallace: I knew about that coke ovens, but I didn't know there was a blast furnace there. I just assumed the coke was sent up to Youngstown.
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David Holoweiko posted
Leetonia Ohio Columbiana county Ohio Hanna Blast Furnace In 1924 the Hanna Furnace Company, the Cherry Valley Furnace had a capacity of 140,000 tons annually. |
Bill Bittner
posted two photos with the comment: "More views of Hanna blast furnace and Cherry Valley Coke Ovens"
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Naturaclaimed posted, the post also includes nine contemporary photos
Fall 2020
Leetonia Beehive Coke Ovens Park
999 Cherry Valley Rd, Leetonia, OH 44431
Around 1866 The Cherry Valley Coke Ovens were built by the Leetonia Iron and Coal Company. Around 200 of these"beehive" coke ovens were built to purify coal and turn it into coke. From this point the "coke" could be moved and burned in furnaces to produce steel.The ovens were closed forever during the great depression and many years later was donated to the village of Leetonia for a park in 1982. Today there is walking paths around the ovens,picnic tables and just all around a nice view on how nature is reclaiming the area.
Roy Schmutz shared |
Lenny Hilson
posted several videos and photos.
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