Today in Wheeling History: February 14--Wheeling's Riverside Iron Works' blast furnaces at Benwood made their first cast of iron (1872).
The Riverside Iron Works, established in 1852 by E.C. Dewey, grew to become Wheeling's most important manufacturing corporation. Originally starting as the Eagle Wire mill at the head of Twenty-fifth Street in Wheeling for manufacturing wire gauges and iron axles, the company evolved through several iterations before being officially incorporated as Riverside Iron Works Company on January 1, 1875. Under the leadership of William L. Hearne and later his son Frank J. Hearne, the company pioneered numerous innovations in nail manufacturing and steel production from its various facilities. The company's two large nail factories were located at the foot of Twenty-fourth Street in Wheeling, facing the river and along the Baltimore & Ohio, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati & St. Louis, and Ohio River railroads. A significant milestone occurred on February 14, 1872, when their Benwood blast furnaces, standing 75 feet high with four Player iron pipe stoves, made their first cast of iron. The company made further history on June 11, 1884, when it became the second facility in the Wheeling area to produce steel using the Bessemer process at its Benwood plant. In 1887, under Frank Hearne's visionary leadership, Riverside became the first successful manufacturer of steel pipe in the Wheeling area. The company built its iconic headquarters, the Riverside Iron Works Office Building, at 1507-1509 Main Street in downtown Wheeling in 1896. At its peak, Riverside employed nearly 1,300 workers across its facilities in Wheeling, Benwood, and Steubenville before being acquired by National Tube Company in 1899 for six million dollars.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling, WV (https://tinyurl.com/bpan9kkb) (https://tinyurl.com/y3mdv7kt); Wikipedia (https://tinyurl.com/4xe44c6h), West Virginia Public Broadcasting (https://tinyurl.com/bx85wv4x), National Park Service (https://tinyurl.com/h6ebf5kf), The Historical Marker Database (https://tinyurl.com/566rzuxe)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; The Historical Marker Database, West Virginia Public Broadcasting, National Park Service, Nyttend via Wikimedia Commons
The Riverside Iron Works, established in 1852 by E.C. Dewey, grew to become Wheeling's most important manufacturing corporation. Originally starting as the Eagle Wire mill at the head of Twenty-fifth Street in Wheeling for manufacturing wire gauges and iron axles, the company evolved through several iterations before being officially incorporated as Riverside Iron Works Company on January 1, 1875. Under the leadership of William L. Hearne and later his son Frank J. Hearne, the company pioneered numerous innovations in nail manufacturing and steel production from its various facilities. The company's two large nail factories were located at the foot of Twenty-fourth Street in Wheeling, facing the river and along the Baltimore & Ohio, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati & St. Louis, and Ohio River railroads. A significant milestone occurred on February 14, 1872, when their Benwood blast furnaces, standing 75 feet high with four Player iron pipe stoves, made their first cast of iron. The company made further history on June 11, 1884, when it became the second facility in the Wheeling area to produce steel using the Bessemer process at its Benwood plant. In 1887, under Frank Hearne's visionary leadership, Riverside became the first successful manufacturer of steel pipe in the Wheeling area. The company built its iconic headquarters, the Riverside Iron Works Office Building, at 1507-1509 Main Street in downtown Wheeling in 1896. At its peak, Riverside employed nearly 1,300 workers across its facilities in Wheeling, Benwood, and Steubenville before being acquired by National Tube Company in 1899 for six million dollars.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling, WV (https://tinyurl.com/bpan9kkb) (https://tinyurl.com/y3mdv7kt); Wikipedia (https://tinyurl.com/4xe44c6h), West Virginia Public Broadcasting (https://tinyurl.com/bx85wv4x), National Park Service (https://tinyurl.com/h6ebf5kf), The Historical Marker Database (https://tinyurl.com/566rzuxe)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; The Historical Marker Database, West Virginia Public Broadcasting, National Park Service, Nyttend via Wikimedia Commons
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