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Poor-quality scan of a historic photograph of the Josephine Furnace in 1936, shortly before its demolition.

The Josephine Furnace was a blast furnace located in the company town of Josephine, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It was founded by Corrigan, McKinney & Co., a Cleveland, Ohio-based iron mining and shipping firm, as part of its push into the manufacture coke and pig iron. Planned as a coking facility, the owner decided to construct a blast furnace to take advantage of economic efficiencies by engaging in smelting where coke and coal were located. The furnace's construction led to the founding of the town of Josephine.

The Josephine Furnace remained in operation until 1927, when economic factors caused its shutdown. Ownership transferred to Republic Steel when that company purchased Corrigan, McKinney in 1934. The site was demolished for scrap in 1936.

Background

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Layout of the Josephine Furnace in 1909.

Corrigan, McKinney & Co. was organized on March 17, 1894.[1]

It moved into the manufacture of pig iron in June of that year, leasing the River Furnace[a] of the Cleveland Iron Company,[2] located in Cleveland, Ohio.[3] Corrigan, McKinney & Co. obtained the Charlotte Furnace in Scottdale, Pennsylvania,[4] in May 1895,[5] the Douglas Furnace of Sharpsville, Pennsylvania,[6] in May 1896,[7] and the Genesee Furnace in Charlotte, New York,[8] in June 1902.[9]

Difficulties in obtaining a reliable supply of coke for its furnaces led Corrigan, McKinney to set up its own coking facility. In mid December 1902, it purchased the Jeffries farm on Tom's Run in Burrell Township in Indiana County, Pennsylvania.[b] The company planned to erect 400 beehive coking ovens there, and build a "coal town" of 200 homes for the workers it would require.[10] The H.L. Taylor farm adjacent to the Jeffries farm was purchased in February 1903. This provided space for an additional 200 homes, and the company intended to call the new town "Corrigan" after founder James Corrigan.[11][c] Although no work was done at the site by June 1903,[12] by the end of the year there were a small number of coking ovens in operation and a coal washer under construction.[13]

In February 1903, Corrigan, McKinney began purchasing large tracts of coal lands in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, to feed its new coke ovens. Some sources say the company purchased 4,000 acres (1,600 ha),[14] others at 5,000 acres (2,000 ha)[15] or 6,000 acres (2,400 ha),[16][17][18] but press reports put the number at 10,141 acres (4,104 ha).[19]

Erecting the blast furnace

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Anticipated coking facility

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Work on the Jeffries farm location apparently stopped, as word spread that Corrigan, McKinney was making a major move into coking. The city of Sandusky, Ohio, offered the company $90,000 ($3,100,000 in 2024 dollars) to move the facility there, and the city of East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, offered $50,000 ($1,700,000 in 2024 dollars).[15][18]

Arthur Gould Yates was president of the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railway (BR&P), and an early coal trading pioneer in Pennsylvania.[20] With a coal mining boom under way in southwestern Pennsylvania, he sought to make his railroad one of the main transporters of coal and coke. Yates had already considered assisting a company in establishing a major new coking plant in Falls Creek, Pennsylvania.[15][18] However, the railroad already owned a large tract of land near the village of Bell's Mills in Burrell Township, adjacent to its Indiana Branch.[16] Next to the rail line was Blacklick Creek, which provided ample water for coking ovens.[15] A blast furnace on the Indiana Line would revive that section of track,[15][18] as well as lead to the development of nearby coal lands owned by the Iselin family[18] (which happened to control the BR&P).[21]

Yates contacted Corrigan, McKinney, and an agreement was soon reached:[18] The railroad sold its undeveloped land to Corrigan, McKinney for a token amount of money, agreed to build a system of tracks and trestles to serve the new facility and the surrounding coal fields,[16] and agreed to facilitate the sale of the village of Bell's Mills and surrounding land.[17] On September 30, 1905,[15][18] Corrigan, McKinney & Co. purchased a large piece of property owned by Anna M. Guthrie, the 100-acre (40 ha) adjacent "Dalzell tract", the village of Bell's Mills,[16][15][d] and another 50 to 60 acres (20 to 24 ha) of contiguous land for $40,000.[18][16][17][22] Included in the deal was the grain mill which gave the village its name.[18] The mill and village were razed.[18][16][17]

The day the properties were purchased, Corrigan, McKinney announced it would construct a blast furnace at the place.[15] The company had purchased the land for a coking operation, but realized efficiencies could be achieved by smelting ore in Pennsylvania where the coal and coke was, rather than in Cleveland.[16] It also began construction[15] on 165 new houses for its workers and managers.[16]

Building the Josephine Furnace

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Residential housing in 1993 erected by Corrigan, McKinney & Co. in Josephine, Pennsylvania. Nicknamed "Millionaires Row" because only the families of supervisors and foremen of the Josephine Furnace Co. could live in them.

On October 14, ten days after announcing Corrigan, McKinney announced its land purchases, the Josephine Furnace Co. was incorporated by James Corrigan, Price McKinney, F.S. Burke Jr., J.E. Ferris, John A. Scott Jr., J. Wood Clark, and R.M. Mullen.[23] It was capitalized at $800,000 ($28,000,000 in 2024 dollars).[24]

The Josephine Furnace Co. began construction of a blast furnace on Blacklick Creek in March 1906 after some additional land acquisitions were made.[25][e] This included the lease of more than 1,000 acres (400 ha) between the Devinney farm on Tom's Run and Blacklick Creek to connect the coke ovens to the furnace.[18][16][22]

The location picked for the furnace consisted of 20 to 25 acres (8.1 to 10.1 ha) of land[18] located on a U-shaped bend in the stream,[27] just under 1 mile (1.6 km) southeast of where Blacklick Creek and Two Lick Creek met.[27] Construction consisted of a blast furnace, several service buildings, a railroad siding, and four steel trestles to permit the unloading of iron ore, coke, coal, limestone, and other materials.[18] On the west side of Two Lick and Black Lick creeks were the Indiana Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Indiana Branch of the BR&P. Between the blast furnace and Blacklick Creek on the south and east was the Cambria & Clearfield Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad.[27][f]

In 1905, as part of the construction of the Josephine Furnace, Corrigan, McKinney & Co. constructed an 8-foot (2.4 m) reinforced concrete dam on Blacklick Creek. Its small reservoir provided water for furnace operations.[39] At some point, the company also purchased a limestone quarry on Piney Creek to provide limestone for smelting operations.[40]

Excavations for the 300 coke ovens were partially finished by November 1906.[41][42]

Construction on the new town on the Guthrie land[15] also began in March 1906.[43] It was named Josephine, after the wife of Corrigan, McKinney stockholder Edward Burke.[42] Initially, the town had 140 houses,[42] but 300 were eventually built.[27] Nineteen of the homes were larger and more expensive, each costing $3,000 ($100,000 in 2024 dollars) to build. These were for plant managers and superintendents.[44] The company also built a bank, a clothing and furnishings store, private offices for the company, a post office, and warehouse.[42][27] Every home and commercial building had electricity, sewer, and running water.[42][27]

The Josephine Furnace was blown in on January 14, 1907.[16][27] The furnace had four stacks[42] and a capacity of 100 short tons (91 t) a day.[27] Steam was generated by nine Stirling boilers, with energy transferred to machinery in the mill via three compound vertical beam engines. Electricity was generated by small boilers made by the Ball Engine Company.[42] It was idled in November 1911, and new blowing engines, boilers, and steam pipes installed. Extra electrical generators and pumps were also added.[45]

It was the first modern, coke-fired blast furnace in Western Pennsylvania.[46]

Second blast furnace

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A second blast furnace, with a daily capacity of 400 short tons (360 t) and an estimated construction cost of $1 million ($33,700,000 in 2024 dollars),[47] began construction in April 1907.[48] The Panic of 1907 paused construction for about nine months, but it resumed in July 1908 for two months.[49] The Panic of 1910–11 caused construction to cease again, and was restarted only in April 1910.[50] The furnace was finished in June 1910, but it was not placed in operation.[51] It was rushed to completion in March 1911,[52] and blown in that summer.[16][53]

Operation

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In 1913, the Pennsylvania Railroad sued the Josephine Furnace for failing to unload ore cars fast enough and return them to service.[54] A jury agreed, and awarded the railroad $10,961.34.[55]

A major flood in March 1914 damaged the Josephine Furnace dam severely, as well as left the rail yard at the mill under 3 to 4 feet (0.91 to 1.22 m) of water.[56] What remained of the dam was washed away during another flood in 1977.[39]

1914 also saw the Bollinger-Andrews Construction Company of Pittsburgh move its plant to Josephine. It purchased 18 acres (7.3 ha) of land adjacent to the blast furnace in June,[57] and construction was well under way by December.[58] The new plant opened on March 1, 1915.[59]

The No. 1 Furnace at Josephine closed in August 1914 for two months for regular relining.[60] The No. 2 Furnace then unexpectedly shut down two weeks later after an undisclosed mechanical failure.[61] The No. 2 Furnace had to be rebuilt in large part, and did not reopen until June 1915.[62]

While the furnace was partially shut down, Corrigan, McKinney & Co. built a new ingot mill at the Josephine site. It was ready for operation at the start of 1915.[63]

After this initial burst of activity at Josephine Furnace, operations entered a more regular pattern. The Josephine Furnace Co. was dissolved in January 1918 when Corrigan, McKinney changed its name to the McKinney Steel Co. The blast furnace was directly owned by McKinney Steel, and no longer owned by an independent entity.[64]

Furnace operations peaked in the 1910s. During this time, Josephine Furnace regularly employed 200 workers and produced 600 short tons (540 t) tons of pig iron a day.[46] In the middle of 1921, however, the plant shut down completely during the post-World War I recession of 1920–1921. It did not resume production again until January 1923.[65]

Limited repair of the furnaces was made in December 1925,[66] but both furnaces were shut down again in 1927 and never restarted.[46]

The Josephine Furnace was sold for scrap in June 1936,[67] and demolished in November 1936.[68]

Historic nature

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The Bollinger-Andrews foundry site[69] and the Josephine Furnace site are both listed as Historic Engineering Sites by the United States Department of the Interior. The Josephine Furnace once consisted of the two furnaces, a blow room (where air is forced through molten iron ore to remove excess carbon), cisterns, a compressor building, dam, engine house, machine shop, pump house, several railroad trestles, supply building, time keeper's building, and a water treatment plant. All that remains as of 1993 are the dam abutments, engine house, pump house, and a coal/coke/ore unloading trestle.[70]

A street of residences at the south end of the town of Josephine was erected to house the families of supervisors and foremen who worked at the Josephine Furnace. Nicknamed "Millionaires Row" by local residents, most of these residences also still exist.[71]

Notes

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  1. ^ "Furnace" is short for blast furnace.
  2. ^ The farm was located about a fifth of a mile east of the intersection of what is now Strangford Road and Chestnut Ridge Road.
  3. ^ The Taylor farm was also located near Strangford.[11]
  4. ^ Bell's Mills only had eight[16] to 12 houses.[15]
  5. ^ Sources usually put the cost of the blast furnace at $1 million[17][26] ($35,000,000 in 2024 dollars), but it seems that that figure includes land purchases as well.[27]
  6. ^ Indiana Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad was completed from Blairsville Junction (the connection with the Pennsy's main line), three miles south of Blairsville,[28] to Blairsville in 1851.[29] The extension from Blairsville to Indiana began construction in 1853,[29] and was completed on June 9, 1856.[30] In January 1893, the Pennsylvania Railroad incorporated a subsidiary, the Ebensburg & Black Lick Railroad.[31] It opened between Ebensburg and Vintondale on October 22, 1894.[32] It was merged, along with several other Pennsy subsidiaries, in 1903 into the Cambria & Clearfield Railway (a.k.a. the Cambria Division).[33] The Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburg Railway, controlled by C. Oliver Iselin of the Iselin coal interests, began construction of its Indiana Branch from Punxsutawney south to Black Lick in April 1903. It paralleled the Indiana Branch of the Pennsy. The BR&P's Indiana Branch ended at Blacklick Junction; BR&P trains had trackage rights on the Pennsy's Indiana Branch south to Blairsville.[34][35] The line to Black Lick Junction opened on July 18, 1904.[36] The BR&P's construction of its Indiana Branch spurred the Pennsylvania Railroad to complete the line between Vintondale and Black Lick.[35] Extension of the line began in October 1902,[37] and it opened on June 1, 1904.[38]

Citations

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  1. ^ "Corrigan, M'Kinney & Co". The Duluth News Tribune. March 18, 1894. p. 5; "The Firm Reorganized". Minneapolis Daily Times. March 18, 1894. p. 1.
  2. ^ "Along the Lakes". The Plain Dealer. June 13, 1894. p. 2.
  3. ^ "The River Furnace Lease". The Plain Dealer. October 30, 1889. p. 8.
  4. ^ American Iron and Steel Association 1890, p. 28.
  5. ^ "Manufacturing". The Iron Age. July 25, 1895. p. 180. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
  6. ^ "Industrial". The Indianapolis News. March 3, 1871. p. 2.
  7. ^ "Must Pay the Rental". The Pittsburgh Post. May 30, 1897. p. 2; "Plaintiffs Get a Verdict". The Pittsburgh Press. May 30, 1897. p. 8; "Strike Imminent". The Pittsburgh Press. May 8, 1898. p. 22.
  8. ^ American Iron and Steel Association 1890, p. 3.
  9. ^ "Leased by Ohio Men". Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. June 5, 1902. p. 10; "Charlotte's Iron Industry Grows". Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. November 20, 1904. p. 18.
  10. ^ "Another Coke Town". The Indiana Times. December 17, 1902. p. 1.
  11. ^ a b "Coal in Wheatfields". The Indiana Times. February 25, 1903. p. 1; "New Coke Town". The Connellsville Weekly Courier. March 6, 1903. p. 11.
  12. ^ "Prosperity Knocks at Our Doors in the Centennial Year". The Indiana Progress. June 17, 1903. p. 1.
  13. ^ "A Shutdown at Graceton". The Indiana Progress. December 9, 1903. p. 9.
  14. ^ Quin 1993, p. 2.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "To Build Blast Furnace". The Indiana Progress. October 4, 1905. p. 11.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Stewart, Joshua Thompson (1913). Indiana County, Pennsylvania: Her People, Past and Present, Embracing a History of the County. Chicago: J.H. Beers & Co. p. 456. OCLC 1457357.
  17. ^ a b c d e "Russians Behind in Machinery". The Iron and Machinery World. October 14, 1905. p. 23. Retrieved April 6, 2025.
  18. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Million Dollar Blast Furnace to Be Built at Bell's Mills". The Indiana Gazette. October 2, 1905. p. 1.
  19. ^ "Another Good Week". The Indiana Times. January 28, 1903. p. 1; "More Coal Deeds". The Indiana Progress. February 4, 1903. p. 9; "Another Block Sold". The Indiana Times. February 11, 1903. p. 2; "Real Estate Transfers". The Indiana Weekly Messenger. February 11, 1903. p. 13; "Many Deeds Filed". The Indiana Weekly Messenger. February 11, 1903. p. 9; "New Field Taken Up". The Indiana Progress. February 11, 1903. p. 9; "Surveyors At Work". The Indiana Weekly Messenger. February 18, 1903. p. 9; "Busy Spring". The Indiana Weekly Messenger. March 4, 1903. p. 9; "A Quiet Week in Coal". The Indiana Times. March 4, 1903. p. 1; "In the Coal Field". The Indiana Weekly Messenger. March 18, 1903. p. 1; "Many Deeds For P.R.R.". The Indiana Weekly Messenger. March 25, 1903. p. 1; "Railroad and Coal Items". The Indiana Democrat. April 8, 1903. p. 9; "Railroad and Coal News". The Indiana Democrat. April 22, 1903. p. 9; "Small Week in Real Estate". The Indiana Times. April 29, 1903. p. 1; "Will Hold Loan Exhibition". The Indiana Weekly Messenger. May 13, 1903. p. 8; "Real Estate Transfers". The Indiana Progress. June 24, 1903. p. 11.
  20. ^ "A.G. Yates Dead From Apoplexy". The New York Times. February 10, 1909. p. 9.
  21. ^ Cooper, Eileen Mountjoy (1982). Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal Company: The First One Hundred Years. Indiana, Pa.: Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal Company. p. 24=25. OCLC 11288818.
  22. ^ a b "Josephine Furnace and Coke Company Is the Largest Industry of Its Kind in the County". The Indiana Progress. June 7, 1916. p. 103rd Anniversary Edition, page 7.
  23. ^ "Application for Charter". The Indiana Democrat. October 18, 1905. p. 16.
  24. ^ "Charter Granted". The Blairsville Courier. November 24, 1905. p. 1.
  25. ^ "Big Coal Sale Reported". The Indiana Progress. March 14, 1906. p. 9.
  26. ^ "Industrial". The Iron and Machinery World. October 21, 1905. p. 24. Retrieved April 7, 2025.
  27. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Blast Furnace Started". The Indiana Times. January 16, 1907. p. 8.
  28. ^ Sipes 1875, p. 214.
  29. ^ a b Wilson 1899, p. 211.
  30. ^ Poor, Henry Varnum (1860). History of the Railroads and Canals of the United States: Exhibiting Their Progress, Cost, Revenues, Expenditures and Present Condition. New York: J.H. Schultz. p. 471. OCLC 40170111.
  31. ^ "A Railway Chartered". Lancaster Intelligencer. January 21, 1893. p. 5; "Corporation Record". National Corporation Reporter. January 28, 1893. p. 509. Retrieved April 10, 2025; "Annual Report of the Pennsylvania Rail Road Company". The Railway Review. March 10, 1894. p. 151.
  32. ^ Schotter 1927, p. 239.
  33. ^ Schotter 1927, p. 286.
  34. ^ "Steel Down for 12 Miles". The Pittsburgh Post. March 17, 1903. p. 16.
  35. ^ a b "Inspecting the B.R. & P.". The Pittsburgh Post. April 29, 1903. p. 16.
  36. ^ "B., R. & P. Branch Extended". The Pittsburgh Post. July 17, 1904. p. 9.
  37. ^ "Many Changes Under Way". The Pittsburgh Press. October 20, 1902. p. 1.
  38. ^ Schotter 1927, p. 287.
  39. ^ a b Quin 1993, p. 96.
  40. ^ "Ganister Rock an Immense Industry". Altoona Tribune. January 15, 1916. p. Section 6, page 3.
  41. ^ "To Build 300 Coke Ovens". The Indiana Progress. January 17, 1906. p. 9.
  42. ^ a b c d e f g "Josephine Is the Coming New Town". The Indiana Democrat. November 21, 1906. p. 1.
  43. ^ "Building New Town". The Plain Dealer. March 17, 1906. p. 7.
  44. ^ "More Houses for Josephine". The Indiana Progress. November 7, 1906. p. 9.
  45. ^ "Josephine Furnace to Be Blown in Saturday". The Indiana Progress. July 5, 1911. p. 9.
  46. ^ a b c Quin 1993, p. 89.
  47. ^ "To Build Great Plant On River". The Plain Dealer. August 1, 1908. p. 1.
  48. ^ "A Boom for Josephine". The Indiana Gazette. April 27, 1907. p. 1.
  49. ^ "Furnace to be Fired". The Indiana Progress. July 1, 1908. p. 9; "Town's Bright Future". The Indiana Progress. August 5, 1908. p. 1.
  50. ^ "New Furnace Will Be Erected At Josephine". The Indiana Progress. April 27, 1910. p. 9.
  51. ^ "Good Progress on New Furnace". The Indiana Gazette. June 30, 1910. p. 1.
  52. ^ "Means Much to Josephine". The Indiana Gazette. March 21, 1911. p. 1.
  53. ^ "Josephine Furnace Blown In". The Punxsutawney Spirit. July 14, 1911. p. 1.
  54. ^ "Pennsy Sues Josephine Co". Altoona Times. July 26, 1913. p. 13.
  55. ^ "News of the Railroads". Altoona Times. July 31, 1913. p. 18.
  56. ^ "Blacklick Creek Causes Trouble By Overflow". The Blairsville Courier. March 27, 1914. p. 1.
  57. ^ "Big Verona Plant Will Be Moved to Josephine". The Indiana Gazette. June 5, 1914. p. 1.
  58. ^ "Future Bright". Blairsville Enterprise. December 17, 1914. p. 1.
  59. ^ "New Plant Will Start March 1". The Indiana Weekly Messenger. February 10, 1915. p. 8.
  60. ^ "Furnace Closed for Repairs". The Indiana Times. August 5, 1914. p. 1.
  61. ^ "Josephine Furnace Shuts Down". The Indiana Democrat. August 19, 1914. p. 1; "Rapid Progress at Josephine". The Punxsutawney Spirit. October 6, 1914. p. 3.
  62. ^ "New Furnace at Josephine". The Indiana Weekly Messenger. June 9, 1915. p. 16.
  63. ^ "Activity at the Josephine Works". The Indiana Gazette. November 13, 1914. p. 1; "Work Being Rushes on New Ingot Mill Near Town of Josephine". The Indiana Gazette. December 14, 1914. p. 1.
  64. ^ "The McKinney Steel Company". Blairsville Enterprise. January 10, 1918. p. 1.; "Changes At Josephine". The Indiana Times. January 16, 1918. p. 1.
  65. ^ "Josephine Developments". The Indiana Gazette. January 19, 1923. p. 1.; "Better Times Coming for Josephine District". The Indiana Progress. January 24, 1923. p. 11.
  66. ^ "Canoe Ridge". The Indiana Weekly Messenger. December 17, 1925. p. 12.
  67. ^ "Old Josephine Steel Furnace to Be Removed". Blairsville Dispatch. June 5, 1936. p. 1.
  68. ^ "Camera Catches Fall of Mighty Hosephine Blower". The Indiana Gazette. November 24, 1936. p. 3.
  69. ^ Quin 1993, p. 91.
  70. ^ Quin 1993, p. 98-100.
  71. ^ Quin 1993, p. 100-101.

Bibliography

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