Today in Wheeling History: June 11--The Wheeling-based Riverside Iron Works, with offices on Main Street, put into operation West Virginia's first Bessemer converter at its steel plant in Benwood, marking the birth of the state's steel industry (1884).
The Riverside Iron Works was a major industrial operation headquartered in Wheeling, West Virginia, that played a significant role in the city's development as a manufacturing hub in the late 19th century. Founded in 1852 as the Eagle Wire Mill by E.C. Dewey, it underwent several expansions and partnerships over the next few decades, evolving into the extensive Riverside Iron Works complex.
Under the leadership of prominent industrialists like James Nelson Vance, who served as company president for 25 years, Riverside Iron Works became Wheeling's leading iron and steel producer. On June 11, 1884, the company made history when West Virginia's first Bessemer converter went into operation at its steel plant in Benwood, adjacent to its blast furnace, marking the beginning of the state's steel industry. By 1886, Riverside boasted an impressive array of facilities, including blast furnaces, a steel plant, nail factories, a bar mill, a plate mill, and coal mines. The company's diverse products, ranging from nails and pipes to rails, were used nationwide and exported globally. The company's offices were located on Main Street in Wheeling.
At its height in the late 1880s, Riverside Iron Works employed around 1,300 workers with a monthly payroll equivalent to over $1.25 million in today's dollars. The company was praised as the "leading manufactory of Wheeling and vicinity" and a driving force behind the region's industrial growth. In 1898, Riverside was acquired by National Tube Company and later absorbed into U.S. Steel. Although no longer in operation, the legacy of Riverside Iron Works endures through its lasting impact on Wheeling and as a symbol of the Ohio Valley's rich manufacturing heritage.
To learn more: (https://shorturl.at/beZtq) (https://shorturl.at/rHRcE) (https://shorturl.at/Uik6i) (https://shorturl.at/G3p6E) (https://shorturl.at/D0NFy) (https://shorturl.at/MPAvt) (https://shorturl.at/6IONM)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; West Virginia Public Radio, The Historical Marker Database, The West Virginia Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Commons
The Riverside Iron Works was a major industrial operation headquartered in Wheeling, West Virginia, that played a significant role in the city's development as a manufacturing hub in the late 19th century. Founded in 1852 as the Eagle Wire Mill by E.C. Dewey, it underwent several expansions and partnerships over the next few decades, evolving into the extensive Riverside Iron Works complex.
Under the leadership of prominent industrialists like James Nelson Vance, who served as company president for 25 years, Riverside Iron Works became Wheeling's leading iron and steel producer. On June 11, 1884, the company made history when West Virginia's first Bessemer converter went into operation at its steel plant in Benwood, adjacent to its blast furnace, marking the beginning of the state's steel industry. By 1886, Riverside boasted an impressive array of facilities, including blast furnaces, a steel plant, nail factories, a bar mill, a plate mill, and coal mines. The company's diverse products, ranging from nails and pipes to rails, were used nationwide and exported globally. The company's offices were located on Main Street in Wheeling.
At its height in the late 1880s, Riverside Iron Works employed around 1,300 workers with a monthly payroll equivalent to over $1.25 million in today's dollars. The company was praised as the "leading manufactory of Wheeling and vicinity" and a driving force behind the region's industrial growth. In 1898, Riverside was acquired by National Tube Company and later absorbed into U.S. Steel. Although no longer in operation, the legacy of Riverside Iron Works endures through its lasting impact on Wheeling and as a symbol of the Ohio Valley's rich manufacturing heritage.
To learn more: (https://shorturl.at/beZtq) (https://shorturl.at/rHRcE) (https://shorturl.at/Uik6i) (https://shorturl.at/G3p6E) (https://shorturl.at/D0NFy) (https://shorturl.at/MPAvt) (https://shorturl.at/6IONM)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; West Virginia Public Radio, The Historical Marker Database, The West Virginia Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Commons
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