Industrial
Past
Brown, Bonnell & Company team photo, 1883
Picture Source: Courtesy of the Mahoning Valley Historical Society
Puddlers
Picture Source: Getty Images
Puddling Furnace
Picture Sources: Getty Images
The puddling furnace contained two sections: the firebox (A) which would be lit with coal, and the hearth (B) where the pig iron was charged.
Clayton J. Ruminski, Iron Valley: The Transformation of the Iron Industry in Ohio's Mahoning Valley, 1802-1913, 2017, p. 29.
Brown, Bonnell and Company
(1846 - 1899)
229 E. Front Street, Youngstown, OH
Originally known as the Youngstown Iron Company, Brown, Bonnell and Company was founded by Joseph H. Brown, William Bonnell, Richard Brown, and Thomas Brown. Soon after, the Phoenix and Falcon Furnaces were purchased for the production of pig iron.
The Phoenix Furnace was built in 1854 and owned by Lemuel Crawford of Cleveland. The Falcon Furnace, built in 1856, was managed by Charles Howard. The furnaces, which were dismantled in 1899, initially produced 14 tons of pig iron in 24 hours.
By the 1880s, the company consisted of 3 blast furnaces, 54 puddling furnaces, 11 heating furnaces, and 40 nail machines. The company was acquired by the Republic Iron and Steel Company in 1899.
Puddling Method
A method used at Brown, Bonnell and Company to produce iron was called puddling. The furnace used was referred to as a puddling furnace, or a reverberatory furnace, where hot air was separated from the molten product.
After being lit, the furnace was prepared by "fettling," painting the grate and walls with iron oxides. Iron was placed on top of the grate with the oxides to melt. The molten mixture was then stirred with a long iron rod. The stirring allowed oxygen from the oxides to react with the impurities in the iron and form gases, which were then removed. The temperature of the furnace was then raised to burn off the carbon. While the carbon was burned off, the melting temperature of the molten mixture would rise, so the furnace was continuously fed with coal. Once the carbon was burned, the molten mixture would form a spongy material, indicating that the process was complete.
"Puddle balls" were removed from the furnace by long-handled tongs (as seen in the picture to the left), and then taken to a hammer to rid of slag and remaining impurities. The iron was reheated and rolled out by a grooved roller to produce flat bars or round rods. The puddling process was replaced by Bessemer furnaces.
Joseph G. Butler, The History of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley, Vol. 1, 1921, 182, 671-672, 724.
"Puddling (Metallurgy)," Chem Europe.
The puddling process at Lockhart Iron and Steel Co.
Video source: YHCIL archives
Production Through the Years
A general comparison of the production of pig iron from blast furnaces and steel products such as nails, washers, beams.
*Some information has been omitted for easier comparison. Additional information can be found in the Iron and Steel Works Directory of the United States and Canada for the given years.*
A general comparison of the number of furnaces and machinery.
*Some information has been omitted for easier comparison. Additional information can be found in the Iron and Steel Works Directory of the United States and Canada for the given years.*
Republic Iron and Steel Company (1899 - 1930)
1290 Poland Avenue, Youngstown, OH
Following the acquisition in 1899, Republic produced over 525,000 tons of bar iron and steel, foundry and mill pig iron, and smaller materials like nuts and bolts. Republic also began to expand the company throughout the early 1900s: in 1900, Bessemer converters were added, between 1901 and 1903, three mills were added; in 1905 and 1906, two blast furnaces were added (followed by more in 1911 and 1917); between 1909 and 1910, two skelp mills were added; in 1913, three hand mills were built; in 1916, a ten-inch bar mill was added; in 1909 a tube mill was added to the company; in 1911, an open hearth steel plant was completed, which contained an 80 ton furnace, four-inch blooming mill, billet and sheer bar mills; and in 1914, a Koppers by-product coke oven was put into service.
By the end of the 1920s, Republic Iron and Steel Company acquired various other mills: Bessemer Coal and Coke Company in Alabama, DeForest Sheet and Tinplate Company in Niles, Trumbull Steel in Warren, the Trumbull-Cliffs Furnace Co. Steel and Tubes Inc. in Cleveland, Toledo, Detroit, and New York, and Union Drawl Steel Co. in Beaver Falls.
In 1930, Republic Iron and Steel Company merged with Central Alloy Steel Corporation, Bourne-Fuller Company, and Donner Steel Company to form Republic Steel Corporation.
Joseph G. Butler, The History of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley, Vol. 1, 1921, 707-710.
“Republic Iron and Steel Company Youngstown Works, Ohio,” Historic Structures.
Republic Iron and Steel Company
Picture source: Library of Congress
Workers at Republic Iron and Steel, c. 1900
From left to right: Charley Beam, Chris Fox, Billy Bowstead, and Chris Vogel
Picture courtesy: Ohio History Connection
Production Through the Years
A general comparison of the production of various materials.
*Some information has been omitted for easier comparison. Additional information can be found in the Iron and Steel Works Directory of the United States and Canada for the given years.*
A general comparison of the number of furnaces and machinery.
*Some information has been omitted for easier comparison. Additional information can be found in the Iron and Steel Works Directory of the United States and Canada for the given years.*
Republic Steel Corporation
Picture courtesy: Ohio History Connection
Bessemer Converter at Republic Steel Corporation. Youngstown, 1941. Molten iron is blown in the converter to change it to steel.
Picture Source: Library of Congress
Republic Steel Corporation (1930 - 1989)
1290 Poland Avenue, Youngstown, OH
Republic Steel company began with a steelmaking capacity of five million tons. In 1934, it acquired Corigan, McKinney Steel Company, and Truscon Steel Company. Then, in 1945, it obtained the Stevens Metal Products Company in Niles. In 1952, Republic Steel began to produce titanium steel and titanium alloys, and by 1969, it was the third largest steel producer in the United States.
In 1984, Republic Steel merged with Jones and Laughlin to create LTV Steel. LTV Steel went bankrupt in 1989.
Bessemer Process
Both Republic Iron and Steel and Republic Steel Corporation used the Bessemer process to mass produce steel. In this process, iron is placed in the Bessemer converter through the top opening and is heated by either coal or coke to melt the iron. Next, air is blown into the converter through an opening in the bottom to remove impurities such as silicon and manganese from the iron. The introduction of various elements in the molten product produces certain types of steel. When oxidization is complete, the finished product is emptied into ladles, and the molten steel is finally teemed into molds.
Learn more about the Bessemer converter jobs by clicking here.
“Republic Steel Company,” Ohio History Central.
"Bessemer Process," ScienceDirect.
Production Through the Years
A general comparison of the production of various materials.
*Some information has been omitted for easier comparison. Additional information can be found in the Iron and Steel Works Directory of the United States and Canada for the given years.*
A general comparison of the number of furnaces and machinery.
*Some information has been omitted for easier comparison. Additional information can be found in the Iron and Steel Works Directory of the United States and Canada for the given years.*
Hear from the experts!
Watch Dorothy Butler and Wayne Pachuta further break down the history of the Brown Bonnell District
Present
The Brown Bonnell site has been occupied by the Covelli Center, established in 2005, which continues to provide entertainment to the Youngstown community.
Today, the Brown Bonnell district contains the Youngstown Tube Company, founded in 1991 and a manufacturer of steel sprinkler pipes, Youngstown Flea, and Penguin City Beer.
Drone Footage of the Brown Bonnell District by Jacob Harver