I'm surprised to see coking done this far down stream. There were a lot of coke ovens in middle Pennsylvania because that was were the coal was.
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| Little Beaver Historical Society posted Postcard view my collection bee hive coke ovens Crucible Steel Midland . Coke is used as a fuel and a reducing agent in melting iron ore. It is produced by baking coal until it becomes carbon by burning off impurities without burning up the coal itself. When coke is consumed it generates intense heat but little smoke, making it ideal for smelting iron and steel. Andrew Radomski shared Don Whitacre: There is a reasonably good example of early beehive coke ovens at Cherry Valley, Leetonia Ohio. |
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| TimesOnline, 1920, Beaver County times "The Midland area was a typical farming community throughout the 1800s. A riverman named J.A. Neel arrived in 1859, purchasing 396 total acres of farmland over six years. His farm was a local spark to the economy, employing men and producing tons of fine produce....The modern story of Midland begins in 1905. In an earlier column, we outlined the history of Aliquippa and the first steel men who arrived to begin the transformation from farmland to industrial company town. In Midland, that man would be T.K. Miller, a Pittsburgh agent for a group of industrialists who were searching for a nice-sized chunk of Ohio riverfront property. Miller started out by approaching the biggest landowners, including Neel, and purchasing their land. After buying up the four biggest farms in the area, the industrialists formed Midland Steel Co....In 1911, Midland Steel Co. sold its coke ovens and blast furnace to Pittsburgh Crucible Steel Co., which was a major turning point for Midland. Pittsburgh Crucible was a division of the massive Crucible Steel Co. of America, which at the time was the largest producer of specialty steel in the country. Almost immediately, Pittsburgh Crucible set out to expand the former Midland Steel Co. facilities and create a premier American steel mill and steel town. Crucible built eight 60-ton open-hearth furnaces and a 40-inch blooming mill, which both opened in 1913. That was followed by the construction of a 24-inch bar mill and maintenance shops in 1914, two more open-hearth furnaces in 1915, a 28-inch billet mill in 1916 and finally the last two open-hearth furnaces in 1917, which gave the company 12 in Midland....Business boomed in Midland. By the end of WWI, Crucible was employing 2,700 men. It expanded many more times over the years and by 1950 was employing nearly 7,500." |
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| David Holoweiko posted Crucible Steel Midland PA Thanksgiving Blizzard 1950. Robbie Stein: This picture was stolen give credit to the guys dad who took the pic lol, this was taken on Virginia ave in midland I forget the guys name on the original post James Robert Dinsmore: Robbie Stein I wouldn't call it stolen. He's one of our historical society guys. I think he gets a free pass. Bradshaw took the photo. Kenneth Treharn: 12 Open Hearth Furnace Melt Shop upper left. |
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| David Holoweiko posted Crucible Steel Midland PA Beaver County 1915 |
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| ValmontCoatings-bridge via ValmontCoatings Mario Cuomo (new Tappan Zee) Bridge Note only were components exposed to the elements and the stay cables galvanized, they galvanized the rebar. |
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| J.E. Gadd posted Below is a picture close to what the reheat furnaces looked like at the Crucible Steel Midland, PA Bar Mill. Does anybody have a picture of the "charging cranes" used to load and unload these furnaces? They looked like Prehistoric Monsters. An overhead crane was fitted with hydraulic operated tongs that reached inside of the furnaces. TIA. Carl Jacobson: I worked on a lot of cranes in lot of mills, but those in Midland were some of the most unusual that I ever saw! I also would enjoy seeing a photo of them! Frank Leopardi: We called them batch furnaces and the door's had cable not chain. At carpenter they were called billet grabbers. Allen Simon: At Carpenter Steel we had special Hyster Forklifts with a long hydraulic Arm approximately ten feet long to reach in and grab the billet you didn’t stay in front of the furnace too long or fun things would happen !!!! Temp Approx 1800 degrees F. Sam Klein: Ours that charged and discharged billets were called peels. Basically a set of water cooled hydraulic flippers on an outside carriage that moved in and out |
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| David Holoweko posted Tapping first heat "D" furnace Crucible Steel Midland Pa. |
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| David Holoweiko posted #2 Hi Mill 1956. Crucible Steel Company Midland Pa. Norbert Mong: I remember that roughing mill and the tandem mill. Chuck Karcher: Worked at Crucible from 1974 till lay off December 18th, 1981. One week before Christmas. Was fortunate enough to be recalled to in 1986 for J&L Specialty Steel. Continued to work after the sell off to ATI and was thrown out again in 2016. Still survived all the layoffs and heartaches and doing well! Seamus Donahue: Chuck Karcher u we’re a great boss👍 |
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| David Holoweko posted Slitting operation Crucible Steel Midland PA Justin Miller: Love it no hard hat n probably a 6 pack in his cooler. |
Christy Baker posted seven photos with the comment: "I would like to say how much I enjoy all the stories and pictures on this site:-). My dad worked at Crucible Steel in Midland, PA. He ‘retired’ in 1982 when the Mill closed. Here are the pictures that he had from there."
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