Industry in Historic New Castle??nc-chap.org › osher › 2018lectures › 11 NCHS industry.pdf ·...
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Industry in Historic New Castle?? 1926 View (and now??) -- it’s somehow invisible THERE are few communiFes to-day which have retained their early American flavor as completely as has New Castle, Delaware… While there are some factories with their resultant nondescript housing, they are all grouped near the branch-line railroad which comes in to the west of the town proper. The compact older porFon is sFll complete and removed from too much “progress.” NEW CASTLE, DELAWARE an EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY Town Wm. D. FOSTER White Pine Series of Architectural Monographs
Transcript of Industry in Historic New Castle??nc-chap.org › osher › 2018lectures › 11 NCHS industry.pdf ·...
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.
