IndustryinHistoricNewCastle??1926View(andnow??)--it’ssomehowinvisible

THEREarefewcommuniFesto-daywhichhaveretainedtheirearlyAmericanflavorascompletelyashasNewCastle,Delaware…

Whiletherearesomefactorieswiththeirresultantnondescripthousing,theyareallgroupednearthebranch-linerailroadwhichcomesintothewestofthetownproper.ThecompactolderporFonissFllcompleteandremovedfromtoomuch“progress.”

NEWCASTLE,DELAWAREanEIGHTEENTH-CENTURYTownWm.D.FOSTERWhitePineSeriesofArchitecturalMonographs

IndustryinHistoricNewCastle??

Theybroughtpeopleandjobs.AswithWilmington(thinkBancro^MillsandDuPontdepartments),whentheyle^,sodidmanyofthepeople.NewCastlehadfactoriesformaking:railroadengines flourironpipe co`onandwoolenfibersanchors illuminaFnggasgloves,shirts,umbrellas arFlleryshellsrayonfabric vulcanizedfiberhardenedsteelforrailroadswitchesandbrakesbulkpolypropyleneforbo`lesetc

YES.NewCastleindustrieshavecomeandgonesince1833

IndustrialsitesinNewCastlebefore1900Triton/Shawco`onmillTasker/DeemersteelFlourmill

Taskeriron/NaFonalTube

Woolenmill/WilmingtonFibre

Gasplant NewCastleManufacturing/HicksEngineWorks/‘thefoundry’

BaistAtlas,1893Umbrellafactory

Glovefactory

Laterindustrieswerenorthandeastoftown:Bellanca,Baldt&BrylgonSteel

TheFirstHeavyIndustryinNewCastle:NewCastleManufacturingCompany/HicksEngineWorks

Beer’satlas1868

Tank

IniFallynotforengines:foundedin1833forco`on,wool,grain,plasterofParis…

In1837thecompanystartedtomakeenginesoncontracttoRR.

TheonlysurvivingenginebuiltinNewCastleisthe1848'Memnon',#57,nowintheB&OmuseuminBalFmore.ItwasbuilttohaulcoalinWVa,thenusedtohaultroopsfortheNorthinthecivilwar.

TheFoundry

NewCastleGasCo1857-1918.

ThermaldecomposiFonofcoal->methane,hydrogen,carbonmonoxide,tar

•  Apiergaveeasyaccesstotherawmaterial,coal.

•  Byproduct(tar)couldbepumpedintothewell(!).

•  Gascouldbepumpedintoanearby‘gasometer’,astoragedevicewithafloaFnglidwhichprovidedabsolutelyconstantgaspressure(importantfordistribuFonintonearbyhouses).

TritonCo`onMill(laterDeemerSteel)c1861-1900,WashingtonSt.,ShawtownFromSpeculator(1860)toPlantOwnerandDeveloper321Brumfield Mary 14F WPa

321Reynolds AndrewC 48M WDel DenFst

321McClain Edward 32M WPa Clerk

321Evans John 23M WDel CommisionMerchant

321Caussey William 23M WDel Lawyer 1,000

321Cann William 28M WDel Merchant 2,000 4,000

321Shaw JamesG 30M WPa Speculator 10,000 5,000

321Plesants CharlesF 28M WPa Clerk

321HarFs George 40M WEngland Ostler

321HarFs Ann 25F WEngland DomesFc

321Holladay Sarah 18F WIreland DomesFc

321Miller David 18M MDel Servant

In1857hemovedtoNCandboughtlandwestoftown(includingShawtown)–formerKenseyJohnsfarm.In1860hebuiltaco`onyarnfactorytoberunbyaBostonco.Butthecivilwar…

TritonCo`onMill/DeemerSteel

A^erthewar,Shawboughtco`onfibermachineryhimself,joinedwithanexperiencedpartner,JamesKnowlesandstartedTritonMills,whichlastedunFlthe1880’s.AtoneFmehewasthelargestemployerintown.

OCCUPATION(1870) Number

RealValue PersonalValue

(Avg) (Avg)AtHome 736

KeepingHouse 343 9,177 1,955

WithoutoccupaFon 160 16,422 8,136

Laborer 123 1,028 143DomesFc 92 1,000

WorksinCo`onMill 84 125

Carpenter 28 1,625 276Farmer 19 17,214 4,573Blacksmith 12 1,700 335AtSchool 11 Machinist 11 6,750 856HotelKeeper 10 4,200 593ClerkinStore 9 1,000 200

WorksonFarm 8 750 133

Gardener 7 1,133 130Lawyer 7 14,200 23,028Ostler 7 1,500 200Sailor 7 1,000 40

OccupaFonsintheTownofNewCastle(1870)

In1870,workinginaco`onmill(presumablyTritonMill,foundedc1861)wasthethirdmostcommonpaidoccupaFon,a^erlaboreranddomesFc(notcounFng‘athome’and‘withoutoccupaFon’Therewere151occupaFonslisted.Onepersoneachwasagoldbeater,telegraphoperator,sailmaker,watchrepairer,bookgilder,cigarmaker,hedger,disFller

Around1880TritonMillsclosed–putoutofbusinessbycompeFFonwithmillsintheSouthmuchclosertothesourceoftheco`on.

Fourofthe6steelworksinDelawarein1910WereinNewCastle(DirectoryoftheIronandSteelWorksoftheUnitedStates)

By1910,TritonMillhadbeenconvertedtotheDeemerSteelCasFngCompany.

Portraitc1900ofSeldenScrantonDeemer(1861-1934)andKateDeemer.HehadbeensuperintendantofBrylgonSteelCasFngCo,built1903.HelivedintheLesley/Deemermansion.

A^erhisdeath,themillwassoldtoNewlinBooth

TaskerIronWorks(1872)

Dobbinsville

TaskerIronWorks

ThelandwasoriginallygrantedbyPenntocousinWilliamMarkham,andcalled“Markham’sHope”.RecallthathewasfiredbyPennc1701becauseoftheproblemsofpiracyinthecolony.

Lastremaininggaslightfixture:nearDutchHouseonE2nd

Manufacturedirontube,employed283men12boysin1875

In1864ShawsoldlandbetweentheriverandTritonMillstoThomasTaskerwhowasoneoftheownersoftheMorrisTaskerIronWorksinPhiladelphia.In1872TaskermovedmostofhisplanttoDelaware(samename).ItwasreincorporatedasDelawareIronin1876withhissonaspresident.About1899itbecamepartofNaFonalTubeCompany,a“Trust”--acorporatemonopolyorganizedinordertoeliminatecompeFFon.Thecompanyclosedin1900andallassetswereremoved.WorkersinnearbyDobbinsvillele^.ThennewlifewhenBaldt,Brylgon,Deemer&EdgarAllensteelmillsopenednearby.

IndustrySitesSouthofNewCastlein1926aerialview

BethlehemSteel(arFlleryshells),DelawareRayon,Printpack

(DeemersBeach)

Rte9

FuturesiteofAmocopolypropylenefactoryBuiltc1961,explodedOctober22,1980

BethlehemLoadingCompany(1914—1919)Itand14similarplantswereestablishedaroundthecountrybeforetheU.S.entryintothewar(1917).ThefactoriesloadedarFlleryshells.

WecanlearnaboutthelayoutandfuncFonsofthebuildingsfromasimilarplantinNewJersey(1917-1918)

BethlehemLoadingCo,MaysLandingplantwasoneof14builtnaFonwide.Itemployedupto2000people,andhadloaded134,000shellsbeforethewarendedinArmisFceDay,1918.Theplantassembledthepartsof3,6,and8inchshellsandfilledthemwithmoltenTNT.Buildingswereconnectedbytrainswhichcarriedpartsandfinishedshells.

EstellManorStatePark,MaysLandingNJ—SiteofAnotherBethlehemLoadingCo.

WorkersattheBethlehemplantlivedinNewCastle.--recollecFonfromFrancesHaut,age99,interviewedatMethodistCountryHome

•  The"CanaryCo`age"nearWi`'sBakeryonDelawarewasaroominghouseforgirls.

•  Itwasn’tnamedforcolorofthebuildings,butthecoloroftheirskinsfromworkinginexplosiveplant[withnitrocompounds]

BethlehemSteel,DelawareRayon,PrintpackTheGranthamLaneIndustrialSiteSFllAcFveA^er100YearsAfewofthebuildings,likethepowerplantstructurearesFllinuse.

PrintpackInc(~1993

1914-1919 BethlehemLoadingCo1919-1926 Plantclosed1926-1946 DelawareRayon1946-1953 MohawkCarpet–rayoncarpet1953-1959 Plantclosed1959-1967 AmericanViscose–cast/

extrudedfilms1967-1973 Amoco-same1973-1986 CrownZellerbach–same1986-1996 JamesRiver–same1996-presentPrintpackInc–filmsusedin

packaging

DelawareRayon(1928)

TwootheracFveindustrialsites:WoolenMill/WilmingtonFibre,BaltdSteel/Speakmanco.

PowerPlant

PowerPlant

PrintpackInc.GranthamLane&RiverRd.

ProducesextrudedplasFcfilm,printsonit,anddeliversittotheproductmanufacturer.

AttheotherendofGranthamLane,GranthamHouse,NaFonalHistoricRegister,roofoffrontsecFoncollapsing,surroundedbyrefrigeratorsandcars,adjacenttoajunkyardandmarshes.Earlyse`ler(c1700?),sonsfoughtinRev.War

Deemer’sBeach(1925-35)Innerrangelight

BethlehemSteel,Del.Rayon,Printpak

TheUmbrellaFactory425UmbrellaRow(a.k.aGraySt).

betweenthePresbyterianCemetery&formerGambacortacardealerships

Builtc1880byA.V.Lesleyasanumbrellafactory,butlastedonlyashortFme.Convertedtofourhouses(twosincedemolished).Theadjacent“ruralcemetery”wasonceonlyaccessiblebyrail!

Theadjacentstreetwasthesubjectofaprominent1991lawsuitbetweenBrosius-EliasonCo.andJohnDiMondiaboutandwhatconsFtutesastreet.h`p://de.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.19911115_0005.DE.htm/qx

NewCastleCo`onGloveFactory(c1895?)&ShirtFactory

MulFpurpose:glovefactory,newspaper,firehall,RedMen’shall

FromIdealNewCastle,1899,CommercialClub

June2,1903AgreementbetweenTrustees&BaldtSteel“WhereasthesaidTrusteesarewillinganddesirousoffacilitaFngandassisFngintheestablishmentofsaidindustryandcompany,BaldterectanopenhearthsteelplantcosFng$200,000onlandpurchasedfromFrancisJanvier,aTrusteeTheTrusteeswillpay$6,000ininstallments

Whereas,owingtotheabandonmentofmanyofthemanufacturinginterestsoftheCity,theCityofNewCastlehasforsomeyearsbeeninanunfortunatefinancialandindustrialcondiFon,wherebymanyinhabitantsoftheCityhavebeenunabletoobtainemploymentandthewelfareofthewholeCitymateriallyinjured;…

NorthofNewCastle(adjacenttoGlebe&Cemetery)

BaldtSteelBrylgonSteel

A.B.Cooper,1905

Thesecompaniesandothersmergedc1916toformthePennSeabordSteelCo.

Founded1869;recentlymovedfrom30thSt.,WilmingtontotheBaldt/BrylgonsiteinTwinSpansarea.Employs>100workers.ManufacturesplumbingfixturesSomeonsitemanufacturing,mostlyassemblyofmaterialsfromChina.

SpeakmanCo.BaldtSteelBrylgonSteel

SpeakmanCo,

KnowlesWoolenMill-->->WilmingtonFibre1873FoundedbyJamesKnowles,formerpartnerofJamesShaw(TritonMills)1878Destroyedbyfire1884Againdestroyedbyfire1886-1902Flourished,employed200people

WilmingtonFibreSpecialtyCo.AlongwithPrintpack,thelastmanufacturingcompaniesinNewCastle

1904 FoundedinWilmington1920  MovedtoNewCastle,madefibreparts

likegaskets.1970s BeganfabricaFngplasFcproductslike

guitarpicks

‘TheManganese’(AMSCO,AmericanManganeseSteel)

FactorysiteWastedump

1909–TropenasSteel,laterEdgarAllen,AMSCO,ABEX–closed1986Producedwork-hardeningmanganesesteelbyTropenasprocessusedinrailroadswitchesandbrakes.

From“MenofSteel”,byHughRyanJr.,March6,1986ThepresenceoftheAmericanManganeseSteelPlant,asIknewit,hadconsiderableeconomiceffectontheNewCastleareathroughtheyears.Manyofuswereclothed,fedputthroughschoolandlivedonearningsfromthesaleofrailroadfrogs,steamshovelbuckets,dragbuckets,points,lips,linksandthevastvarietyofsteelcasFngsfabricatedhereatNewCastle.ThemoldsweremadebyRoyWhite,EdCline,DickMcGrory,LouSFdhamandothers,allworkingunderthewatchfuleyeofGroverIngle,thefoundryforeman.ThecasFngswouldbeshakenoutandsentovertotheannealingfurnacewhereEdMcDaniel'steamwoulddontheirasbestossuitsandfastenthecranehookstothepileofsixoreighttonsofcherryredsteel.HewouldthenguideDominickChirilli'scraneoverthewaterpoolandsignal"lower".TheresultantsteamexplosionandflyingwaterwasadramaFcsighttowitness.ThePlantwasnotaneasyplacetoworkasindeednosteelfoundryis.Itwasphysicallydemandingonitsworkers.Theairwasalwaysdustfilledandyoubreathedit.ButsomehowyouhadprideinassociaFngyourselfwiththiswork.ItwasaninvaluableexperienceworkingwithmenlikeAlexGarneski,JoeMedora,RalphDivito,JohnGilkey,JoeArmpriester,JoeRossell,HaroldEmery,BillDalby,DominickDiSabaFno,FredRush,EdgarBowen,MopeWhite,BillDenny,GroverIngle,HarryIngle,ChickWhite,BillPayton,CharlieHewle2,JoeMullin,FrankKelly,TonyEsopi,HughieRyan(Sr),EdButler,EdCline,HoraceConover,HarryGallagher,BillPeden,BarneyWilliamson,CliffIvery,FrancisWhite,JohnnyProud,EarlDiSabaFno,JohnnyMcDevi`,MikeIndellini,Emme`Covelli,FrankYaccucci,JohnnyHall,ClaudePhillips,NormanBanks,DonNicholsandmanyothers.

Video:friendso�ellanca.org

1927 Oneweeka^erLindbergh’sflighttoParis,Bellanca’sColumbiaflewtoBerlin

1928BellancamovedhisplanttoNewCastle

July4,1927

IndustrySouthofNewCastle,1926

BethlehemSteel(arFlleryshells),DelawareRayon,Printpack

(DeemersBeach)

Rte9

FuturesiteofAmocopolypropylenefactoryBuiltc1961,explodedOctober22,1980

Marcello(‘Mike’)DiAllesandroworkedatAmocothedayoftheexplosion.Hewasworriedaboutothertanksexploding.

Bornin1943,cametoNewCastleviaCanadain1961andimmediatelywenttoworkatAmoco.TheplanttookoilbyproductsfromSunocotoproducepolypropylenepelletsforpelletsetc.Amonghisjobswasworkinginsidereactorschippingproductoffbeaters.

Youtubevideo

IndustrybecomestheMajorEmploymentinNewCastle

Shipping >1664 EnglishTookOver;ShipsbylawwentfirsttoNY >1682 PennArrived;CommerceontheriverwenttoPHL

Law >1777 BriFshInvasion;GeneralAssembly->Dover

1880 StateCourts,countyoffices->Wilmington

TransportaFon NCwasatransithubsincec1800forBoston->NY->PHL->NC->BalFmore->DC

NC&FTTurnpikeCo.(CompeFFon:C&DCanal1829) NC&FTRR1832 (BypassedbyPHL,Wilm.&BalFmoreRR1839)

Industriescameandwent:manufacturersofrailroadengines,ironpipe,anchors,hardenedsteelforrailroadswitchesandbrakes,co`onandwoolenfibersandcloth,flourmill,illuminaFnggas,gloves,shirts,umbrellas,arFlleryshells,rayonfabric,vulcanizedfiber,bulkpolypropeleneforbo`lesetc.ANINDUSTRIALTOWN!!Theybroughtpeopleandjobs.Whenthejobsdisappeared,sodidthepeople.LimitedlifeFmeofcompaniessameastoday.

Shoppingarea NCstoresservedthetownandsurroundingarea(lessoverFme)andemployedlocals.

TheTrolleycamein1896,atwoedgedsword:peoplecouldcome,buttheycouldgo WorkersandshopperscouldcommutetoWilmington.CarsconFnuedthetrend.