Johnstown had several steel mills. As I come across details of what was where, I'm writing notes for each mill.
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| Jackson-Township historical preservation posted Aerial view of the Cambria Steel Company located along the Conemaugh River in Johnstown in 1938. Patrick J. Quinn: I thought it was around 1900 but that’s just something I’ve heard. Tim Olshewsky: Definitely before 1938. Late '20's at the latest. Great picture. |
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| HAER PA,11-JOTO,135E- 2. VIEW LOOKING NORTH FROM MACHINE SHOP, IRON FOUNDRY IN FOREGROUND WITH ADDITION (WITH ROOF MONITOR) TO RIGHT. - Cambria Iron Company, Foundry, Lower Works, Johnstown, Cambria County, PA Photos from Survey HAER PA-109-E |
Significance: The Cambria Ironworks is a part of a National Historic Landmark district recognized for its association with such renowned figures as John Fritz, Captain Bill Jones, Daniel J. Morrell, and William Kelly. It was one of the nation's leading producers of iron and steel rail through the nineteenth century; John Fritz refined his innovative three-high rolling mill at Cambria's rail mill. The works was also the site of of William Kelly's unsuccessful attempts to develop a pneumatic convertor for making steel from pig iron. A number of bitter strikes, most notably in 1873, 1919, and 1937, are associated with the works. [HAER-data]
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| HAER PA,11-JOTO,135-, cropped |
This plan was a half-century later.
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| Photo via JAHA-page-3 Made in 1983, this plan labels the use of mills buildings. Library of Congress copy |
"Republic Steel and Standard Forging, which produced railcar axles in the rolling mill during the 1870s, bought properties at the far end of the Lower Works downriver from the city. At the upper end of the works, Johnstown Welding and Fabricating now operates in the cavernous, corrugated metal, hangar-sized buildings known as the eleven-inch mill and the manganese shop. Fortunately for the city of Johnstown, the most historic part of the works containing the blacksmith shop (c. 1864), rolling mill office (c. 1874), pattern shop (c. 1870), and machine shop (1906) remain." [sah-archipedia] The blacksmith shop has been preserved as the Cambria Iron & Steel National Historic Landmark.
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| Frank Cintula Jr. commented on a post |
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| CoalCampUSA These buildings in Johnstown, a blacksmith shop and machine shop, were part of the Cambria Iron Company. The company, which dates back to the 1850s, was a predecessor to Bethlehem Steel's Johnstown mills. (Nov. 2006 image by author [Chris DellaMea]) |
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| CoalCampUSA Doug also submitted this picture. He describes it: "I've been going through my old photo albums and found this one of the Old Lower Cambria Works. The pictures was taken in 1989 from the Johnstown Amtrak Station. I remember it well because we were in town for the 100th anniversary of the Great Johnstown Flood. I think the blast furnace in the photo is now gone." (1989 image courtesy of Doug Foreback) [That blast furnace would be older than 1880. It is interesting that it made it to 1989, but then it was torn down.] |
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| Jackson-Township historical preservation posted Ruins of the Cambria Iron Works along the Conemaugh River in Johnstown after the Johnstown Flood of 1889. This photo is from the Rev. David J. Beale Collection. (Photo from https://historicpittsburgh.org/) Chris Davidson shared |
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| Don Cassata posted A 1960's photo of Lower Cambria. Johnstown Plant. Bethlehem Steel. Kevin M. Aurandt: Mr Cassata may I use this one on a Cambria County page with credit? Don Cassata: Kevin M. Aurandt U have my blessing, but photo credit goes 2 JAHA [Johnstown Area Historical Assoc.]. [It is a shame that Don doesn't include a credit in his comments.] Don Cassata posted Some of the buildings in this prior pix of Lower Cambria Johnstown Plant Bethlehem Steel remain. But, some don't. Those r the Foundry, labor office, Bricklayer Shandy, Tractor Shandy, Tin Shop, Labor Gang Tool building, Pattern Storage, Welding Shop, Paint Shop, Boiler Shop Stockyard, Lumberyard, #124 C&BL RR Switchbox, the Coaling Station & most of the rails. |
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| Don Cassata posted Dan Neville & Pat Quinn with one of the giant steam hammers in the 1864 Blacksmith Shop. It's good some people are saving our history & heritage. They deserve much credit. Too much of our legacy has been torn down. |
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| Don Cassata posted Another look back at the good times 4 Johnstown Plant Bethlehem Steel. The Axle Plant in Lower Cambria. 1951. Ron Kadar: Very cool design on the lifting devices for axles. It appears Bethlehem Steel did just about anything you could imagine!!! |
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| Dan Rayner posted Here is a photo of #3 Steam hammer in the Axle Plant in Lower Cambria Johnstown Plant. Paul A. Ream: That’s really old. This was replaced by automatic hydraulic hammers in late 60’s. Dan Rayner also posted #3 steam hammer in Johnstown PA Bethlehem Steel. We made 80% of the railroad axle in the world here back in the day. |
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| Don Cassata posted This a pix of the Cambria Iron Co. Axle Plant workers dated August 9, 1898. Cambria Iron Co. was founded in Johnstown in 1852 & was responsible 4 many innovations in early steelmaking. The best & brightest came to Johnstown to learn how 2 make better Iron & steel. It later became Cambria Steel. The plant became under the ownership of Bethlehem Steel in 1923. |
Tony Jr Bogovich: I was there for one summer. Very dense and extremely heavy material. If the buckets weren’t coated correctly you would have to sledge hammer the material out and then shovel it up to a conveyor!!!
David R. Layman: E blast furnace produced ferromanganese from 1955 until the flood destroyed it in 1977. Ferromanganese was still reclaimed from 2.3 million cubic yards of slag at Riders until 2021.
Thomas Leslie shared
Chairs Lion posted these 6 photos with a copy of Thomas' description.
Erino Leone: my Dad worked at the Car Shop in Franklin....got up at 5am every morning M thru Friday...drove and parked in the lot...had to walk UPHILL close to 100 yards if not more....punch in at 7am and work until 3pm....then shower and walk back down to the car....get home...eat supper at 5 or 5:30....watch Channel 6 news at 6 to 6:30....go to bed at 8pm.....and he did this for 29 years!!!! how many could do this today???
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| 1 Early Lower Cambria Manganese Casting. A critical component needed for Steelmaking. |
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| 2 Rare photo from May 1951 showing both "E"&"F" Furnaces operating. "F" Furnace (left side with heavy smoke) was decommissioned in 1962. "E" Furnace was destroyed in the Flood of 1977. |
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| 3 After "F" Furnace was decommissioned Manganese production could be switched to "L" Furnace (pictured right) in Franklin if "E" went down for repair. |
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| 4 In later years Torpedo Cars were used to transport Molten Manganese to the Mag Shed in Lower Cambria. |
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| 5 Manganese was poured into sand pits and broken as in the early days with the same 2 Man Jack Hammers by workers wearing Wooden Shoes . This building is still in use today by JWF Industries. |
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| 6 Johnstown's expertise with Blast Furnace's frequently had our Engineers and Furnace Crews called to Bethlehem Plants world wide to remedy troubled Furnaces. The saying was "Troubled Blast Furnace - Call Johnstown." Linda Brazill: Dad, mechanical engineer, travelled to Sparrows Point, Lackawanna, Burns Harbor, Bethlehem, etc. for troubleshooting blast furnaces. He would leave on very short notice. Dion Campbell: Linda Brazill my father was a structural engineer with Bethlehem Steel too. He worked on blast furnace rehab projects with Marv Smith at Burns Harbor and Sparrows Point as well. |
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| Dan Cassata posted 1951 photo of "E" & 'F" blast furnaces in Lower Cambria. Johnstown Plant. Bethlehem Steel. 2 of the 7 blast furnaces in Johnstown Plant. These 2 furnaces were manganese furnaces, while the 5 furnaces in Franklin Div. were Iron furnaces. "F" furnace was torn down years ago. "E" survived until the 77 flood. Michael Stilwell: What's a manganese furnace? I don't think Sparrows Point had one. It had 10 furnace, which were made obsolete, with the start up of L furnace. The others were known by letters and numbers. L would have been # 11 (there was no letter I; could be confused by the number 1. Voight Jon posted with the same description. Bob Daykin: How did the flood damage the furnace - beyond repair? John Toigo: Bob Daykin it didn't but the cost of the clean up/repair plus the cost of emission control combined with the low price of steel convinced ownership to shut down the plant. |
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