Homestead Steel Works

File:Homestead Steel Hearth 3.jpg

Steel workers gaze on as molten steel is poured from ladle to casts at Homestead Steel Works.

Homestead Steel Works was a large steel works located on the Monongahela River at Homestead, Pennsylvania in the United States. It was developed in the nineteenth century as an extensive plant served by tributary coal and iron fields, a railway 425 miles (684 km) long, and a line of lake steamships.

History

Andrew Carnegie, (a Scottish emigrant), bought the 2 year old Homestead Steel Works in 1883, and integrated it into his Carnegie Steel Company.

There was a bitter strike at the plant in 1892. In 1896, Carnegie build the Carnegie Library of Homestead in nearby Munhall as part of concessions to the striking workers.

In 1901 Carnegie sold his operations to U.S. Steel. On January 6, 1906 it was announced that the company would undergo upgrades and expansions worth seven million dollars ($184 million today.) The workforce peaked at 15,000 during World War II. William J. Gaughan was a Senior Designer of Operations Planning and Control at the company who developed computer systems to aid in automation of various operations. Throughout his management career Gaughan had developed an interest in the history of Homestead Steel Works and began to collect photos and pamphlets regarding the company. The plant closed in 1986 because of a severe downturn in the domestic steel industry, from which the industry still hasn't recovered.

File:CFJan3rd2007 021.jpg

Carrie Furnace, a blast furnace across the Monongahela River from the main site

File:Bargesin2006.jpg

Shopping center

A few remnants of the steel works were not destroyed. Today the land is home to The Waterfront shopping center and Sandcastle Waterpark.

See also

• Homestead Strike

External links

Media related to at Wikimedia Commons

• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette retrospective
• Travel Channel video 1
• Travel Channel video 2
• Images from Historic Pittsburgh
• New York Times article
• Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. PA-200, "U.S. Steel Homestead Works" — index page + history.
  • HAER No. PA-200-A, "U.S. Steel Homestead Works, Blast Furnace Plant"
  • HAER No. PA-200-B, "U.S. Steel Homestead Works, 45-inch Plate Mill"
  • HAER No. PA-200-C, "U.S. Steel Homestead Works, 48-inch Plate Mill"
  • HAER No. PA-200-D, "U.S. Steel Homestead Works, 100-inch Plate Mill"
  • HAER No. PA-200-E, "U.S. Steel Homestead Works, 140-inch Plate Mill"
  • HAER No. PA-200-F, "U.S. Steel Homestead Works, 160-inch Plate Mill"
  • HAER No. PA-200-G, "U.S. Steel Homestead Works, Main Roll Shop"
  • HAER No. PA-200-H, "U.S. Steel Homestead Works, Structural Mill"
  • HAER No. PA-200-I, "U.S. Steel Homestead Works, Machine Shop No. 1"
  • HAER No. PA-200-J, "U.S. Steel Homestead Works, Machine Shop No. 2"
  • HAER No. PA-200-K, "U.S. Steel Homestead Works, Press Shop No. 1"
  • HAER No. PA-200-L, "U.S. Steel Homestead Works, Press Shop No. 2"
  • HAER No. PA-200-M, "U.S. Steel Homestead Works, Harvey Shop"
  • HAER No. PA-200-N, "U.S. Steel Homestead Works, Open Hearth Steelmaking Plant"
  • HAER No. PA-200-O, "U.S. Steel Homestead Works, Stainless Steel Processing Plant"
  • HAER No. PA-200-P, "U.S. Steel Homestead Works, Auxiliary Buildings & Shops"
  • HAER No. PA-301, "Mesta 160-Inch Plate Mill, Defense Plant Corporation, Homestead Works"