Phoenix Iron Works (Phoenixville, Pennsylvania)#Phoenix Bridge Company

{{Other uses of|Phoenix Iron Works|Phoenix Iron Works (disambiguation){{!}}Phoenix Iron Works}}

File:PhoenixvilleIronWorks.jpgThe Phoenix Iron Works (1855: Phoenix Iron Company; 1949: Phoenix Iron & Steel Company; 1955: Phoenix Steel Corporation),{{cite web |url= http://invention.smithsonian.org/resources/MIND_Repository_Details.aspx?rep_id=1343 |title= Phoenix Steel Corporation Records, 1827-1963 (bulk 1856-1949) |access-date= 2008-06-28}} located in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, was a manufacturer of iron and related products during the 19th century and early 20th century. Phoenix Iron Company was a major producer of cannon for the Union Army during the American Civil War. The company also produced the Phoenix column, an advance in construction material.{{Cite report|url=https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/pnp/habshaer/or/or0200/or0289/data/or0289data.pdf|title=Hayden Bridge|last=Link|first=Gary|date=1992|publisher=Historic American Engineering Record|location=Washington, DC 20013-7127|id=Survey number: {{HAER |survey=OR-19 |id=or0289 |short=yes }}|editor-last=Bennett|editor-first=Lola}} Company facilities are a core component of the Phoenixville Historic District, a National Register of Historic Places site that was in 2006 recognized as a historic landmark by ASM International.

History

Founded in 1790 to produce nails and purchased in 1812 by New Jersey industrialist Robert Waln, the Phoenix Iron Company (later renamed the Phoenix Iron Works) produced pig iron, wrought iron, and other iron-related materials and end products. As the complex grew, it featured a huge blast furnace and puddling furnace, an adjacent iron foundry, warehouses, ancillary buildings, and associated equipment. In 1825, the company was the first to generate steam by burning anthracite coal. Other innovations followed. Engineers at the foundry invented a power-driven rolling method to weld and forge wrought iron, a process that enabled the iron company to begin producing cannon for the United States Army.Hazlett, page 94.

In the late 20th century, the company declined along with the steel and iron industry of Pennsylvania. By 1984, production in Phoenixville had ceased. In 1986, the new management of the renamed Phoenix Steel Corporation announced plans to close its remaining production plants in Claymont, Delaware. The following year, the rolling mill closed, all production of steel ceased, Phoenix made its last shipment of steel, and its remaining production and maintenance employees were laid off. Throughout 1987, a number of investors approached Phoenix about acquiring the Claymont mill, and in 1988, Phoenix sold it to CITIC, a state-owned investment company of the People's Republic of China for $13 million. A new corporation, CitiSteel, was formed to operate the facility. CitiSteel refurbished and modernized the plant, spending $25 million to convert Claymont from a "specialty mill" that produced various low-volume, high-cost steels for specific uses to a "minimill" using technologically advanced equipment to mass-produce a few types of steel at high volume and low cost.{{cite web |url=http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/federal/judicial/dc/opinions/93opinions/93-1702a.html|date=December 12, 1994|title= Georgetown Law School Phoenix Steel sale to CITIC}}

In 1998, the Phoenixville Area Economic Development Corporation (PAEDCO) took ownership of the building.{{which|date=September 2024}} Under the guidance of the National Park Service, PAEDCO undertook exterior renovations and constructed the Schuylkill River Heritage Center which occupies 1,600 sq.ft. of the historic Foundry Building. The museum tells the story of the Phoenix Iron & Steel Company and also provides information about the industrial legacy of the Schuylkill River.(www.phoenixvillefoundry.org) The Hankin Group acquired the Phoenix Foundry property from PAEDCO in 2006 to create an {{convert|18000|sqft|m2}} event space.{{cite web|url=http://www.phoenixvillefoundry.com/about.php|title=About the Phoenixville Foundry|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080918101426/http://www.phoenixvillefoundry.com/about.php|archive-date=2008-09-18}}

{{As of |2012}}, the Phoenix Steel site is empty. Most of its buildings were dismantled. Only the old foundry and company office buildings remain from the once-sprawling complex; both have been restored and put to other uses.{{citation needed|date = December 2013}}

Products

File:CW Arty 3in Ordnance rear.jpg

Besides the Griffen Gun and the Phoenix Column, the company produced iron for rails for the Pennsylvania Railroad and other eastern railroad lines, wrought iron for fencing and home decorative usage, and similar applications, as well as steel products. The Eiffel Tower in Paris used puddled iron from Phoenixville.{{Cite web|url=http://phoenixvillerickgro11.spaces.live.com/|title=Phoenixville.net}}

= Griffen Gun =

In 1855 John Griffen Jr. (1812-1884) developed the famous Griffen Gun while he was at the Safe Harbor Iron Works, a large rolling mill, located in Safe Harbor, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania) and was operated by the firm Reeves, Abbott & Co. of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1855, the Phoenix Iron Works (Phoenixville, Pennsylvania) foundry began producing six-pounder smoothbore artillery pieces known as Griffen Guns, after inventor John Griffen Jr. (1812-1884). Hundreds were turned out before production shifted in 1861 to other Griffen designs.Hazlett, page 46. Company owner Daniel Reeves spent much money on equipment and processes to modernize the factory and make it one of America's leading producers of iron and steel.{{citation needed|date = December 2013}}

During the Civil War, the factory manufactured over 1,000 Griffen-designed 3-inch Ordnance rifles, the lion's share of the more than 1,400 similar guns eventually bought by the Army (see Field Artillery in the American Civil War). Produced by the company's unique rolling process, the {{convert|820|lb|abbr=on}} wrought iron barrels were durable and resisted bursting, unlike the cast iron gun tubes of Phoenixville's smaller competitors. At its peak, the factory was producing fifty rifles a week.{{citation needed|date = December 2013}}

Many of these rifled guns are in private collections, municipal parks, and at battlefields across the country, including the Gettysburg Battlefield. They are distinguished by the letters PIC (for Phoenix Iron Company) stamped on the muzzle.Cole, page 25. Phil Cole, a licensed battlefield guide at Gettysburg and artillery author, has located 62 PIC tubes on the battlefield. Unstamped 3-inch rifles were generally produced in smaller facilities in New York and other locations.

= Phoenix column =

File:Phoenix columns.jpgThe Phoenix Column, patented by Samuel Reeves in 1862, was a hollow cylinder composed of four, six, or eight wrought iron segments riveted together. The resulting column was much lighter and stronger than the solid cast iron columns of the day.{{cite web |url= http://www.explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=920 |title= Historical Markers: Phoenix Iron Company |access-date= 2008-06-28}} They allowed the construction of massive structures without brutally heavy load-bearing walls. Taller and taller buildings could now be built on narrow urban plots, helping facilitate the creation of the skyscraper and high-stress-load-bearing bridges.

Phoenix Bridge Company

The success of the Phoenix column led to the formation of a construction subsidiary named Clarke, Reeves & Co. Later renamed the Phoenixville Bridge Works and finally the Phoenix Bridge Company, the firm ultimately built some 4,200 bridges, primarily wrought iron truss railway bridges.{{cite web |url= http://users.etown.edu/w/winpentr/phoenixweb.htm |title= Without Fitting, Filing or Chipping by Tom Winpenny: An illustrated History of the Phoenix Bridge Company |access-date= 2008-06-28}} Phoenix Bridge helped build the Manhattan Bridge, the Walnut Street Bridge in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and the Calhoun Street Bridge, between Trenton, New Jersey, and Morrisville, Pennsylvania, and projects as far away as Chile, Russia and China. In 1900, the Bridge Company was awarded the contract for the Quebec Bridge across the St. Lawrence River, which collapsed while under construction in 1907.{{cite news |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1900/05/01/archives/quebec-bridge-contract-let-awarded-to-the-phoenix-bridge-company-of.html |title= QUEBEC BRIDGE CONTRACT LET.; Awarded to the Phoenix Bridge Company of Pennsylvania. |access-date= 2008-06-28 | work=The New York Times | date=1900-05-01}} Despite the blow to its reputation, Phoenix Bridge lived on for another half-century, ultimately closing in 1962. A number of the company's works are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.{{NRISref|version=2010a}}

Works include:

Boston University Bridge, between Cambridge, Massachusetts and Boston, Massachusetts built in 1927.
Bridge in West Fallowfield Township, Ross Fording Road over Octoraro Creek, near Steelville, West Fallowfield Township, Pennsylvania, NRHP-listed
Bridge in Upper Frederick Township, Fagleysville Rd. over Swamp Creek, Fagleysville, Pennsylvania (Phoenix Bridge Co.), NRHP-listed
Brocton Arch, jct. of Main St. with Lake and Highland Aves., Brocton, New York (Phoenix Bridge Co.), NRHP-listed
County Line Bowstring, over West Creek, Northwest of Hollis, Hollis, Kansas, and Wayne, Kansas (Phoenix Bridge Co.), NRHP-listed
Etters Bridge, Green Lane Dr. and Yellow Breeches Creek, Fairview Township, Pennsylvania, and Lower Allen Township, Pennsylvania (Phoenix Bridge Co.), NRHP-listed
Phoenix Bridge, Northwest of Eagle Rock off Virginia 615 over Craig Creek, Eagle Rock, Virginia (Phoenix Bridge Co.), NRHP-listed
Trenton City/Calhoun Street Bridge, spans Delaware River between Morrisville, Pennsylvania, and Trenton, New Jersey (Phoenix Bridge Co.), NRHP-listed
Mill City Oregon Railroad Bridge, now a pedestrian bridge. A Phoenix Column bridge, manufactured in 1888, moved to San Jose, CA then Lake Oswego Oregon then to Mill City Oregon, Installed 1919. Abandoned by Southern Pacific railroad around 1967 and used as a pedestrian and bike bridge.{{Cite web|url=https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/local/stayton/2015/02/11/preserving-historical-mill-city-icon/23235133/|title=Saving the bridge: Preserving an historical Mill City icon|first=Justin|last=Much|website=Statesman Journal}} Current restoration being undertaken by 'Save our Bridge"
Dingman's Ferry Bridge, in Dingman Township, Pennsylvania and Sandyston Township, New Jersey was built in 1900 using Phoenix columns and other steel from another Phoenix bridge {{Cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/hhh.pa1137.sheet.00001a|title=HAER PA,52-DING,1- (sheet 1 of 3) - Dingmans Ferry Bridge, U.S. Route 209 & State Route 739 vicinity, Dingmans Ferry, Pike County, PA|website=www.loc.gov}}
Raven Rock Road Bridge, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, built in 1878, NRHP-listed{{NRISref|version=2013a|refnum=16000691|name=Raven Rock Road Bridge}}

Works in Brazil:

Complexo FEPASA, in Jundiaí, São Paulo, Brazil. The railway workshop shed structure was bought in 1890.{{Cite journal|last=Silva|first=Taina Maria|date=2019-09-26|title=Oficinas ferroviárias em São Paulo: um estudo sobre a formação espacial da oficina da Companhia Paulista em Jundiaí (1892-1896)|url=https://repositorio.unesp.br/handle/11449/190802}}
Recife's Bridge at Capibaribe river, was built in 1884.{{Cite book|last1=Gerodetti|first1=João Emilio|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2tTJ6ijoYSYC&q=GERODETTI+e+CORNEJO+phoenix+bridge|title=Railways of Brazil in Postcards and Souvenir Albums|last2=Cornejo|first2=Carlos|date=2005|publisher=Solaris Editorial|isbn=978-85-89820-03-5|language=en}}

Gallery

Image:Phoenix Iron Works Foundry Building.jpg|Restored Phoenix Iron Works foundry building.
{{Coord|40|08|06|N|75|31|03|W|type:landmark_region:US|display=inline,title|name=Phoenix Iron Company — Foundry}}

Image:Phoenix Iron Co. Office.jpg|Restored company office building.
{{Coord|40|08|04|N|75|30|47|W|type:landmark_region:US|display=inline|name=Phoenix Iron Company - Office}}

Image:Phoenix column bridge.jpg|Bridge on the Works site, crossing French Creek (once carrying a spur from the Pickering Valley Railroad), constructed with Phoenix columns.
{{Coord|40|08|08.4|N|75|31|03|W|type:landmark_region:US|display=inline|name= Phoenix Column Truss Bridge}}

File:County Line Bowstring from SE.jpg|County Line Bowstring near Hollis, Kansas
{{Coord|39|39|14|N|97|34|23|W|type:landmark_region:US|display=inline|name=County Line Bowstring Bridge}}

THE PHOENIX BRIDGE CO Rio Rehue 2.JPG|Disused railway bridge, Rehue river, Angol, Chile

THE PHOENIX BRIDGE CO Rio Rehue 1.JPG|Disused railway bridge, Rehue river, Angol, Chile

Notes

References

[http://invention.smithsonian.org/resources/MIND_Repository_Details.aspx?rep_id=1343 Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention & Innovation, Smithsonian National Museum of American History]
Cole, Philip, The 3" Ordnance Rifle, CHARGE! magazine, Issue 13, 2006.
Hazlett, James C.; Olmstead, Edwin; and Parks, M. Hume; Field Artillery Weapons of the Civil War. University of Illinois Press, 2004. {{ISBN|0-252-07210-3}}.
Martino, Vincent Jr.; Phoenixville. Arcadia Publishing, 2002. {{ISBN|0-7385-1112-9}}.

External links

{{HAER |survey=PA-493 |id=pa3664 |title=Phoenix Iron Works}}
{{HAER |survey=PA-493-A |id=pa3839 |title=Phoenix Iron Company, Foundry Building |photos=19 |dwgs=10 |data=3 |cap=2 |link=no}}
{{HAER |survey=PA-493-B |id=pa3840 |title=Phoenix Iron Company, French Creek Bridge |photos=8 |cap=1 |link=no}}
{{HAER |survey=PA-493-C |id=pa3841 |title=Phoenix Iron Company, Rolling Mill |photos=24 |cap=2 |link=no}}
{{HAER |survey=PA-493-D |id=pa3842 |title=Phoenix Iron Company, Girder Shop No. 6 |photos=8 |cap=1 |link=no}}
{{HAER |survey=PA-493-E |id=pa3843 |title=Phoenix Iron Company, Pump House |photos=2 |cap=1 |link=no}}
{{HAER |survey=PA-493-F |id=pa3844 |title=Phoenix Iron Company, Administration Building |photos=2 |cap=1 |link=no}}
[http://en.structurae.de/firms/data/index.cfm?id=f000663 Phoenix Bridge Company projects on Structurae]
[http://digital.lib.lehigh.edu/cdm4/bridges_viewer.php?ptr=1103 Album of designs of the Phoenixville Bridge-Works / by Clarke, Reeves & Co., 1873 ]
[http://digital.lib.lehigh.edu/cdm4/bridges_viewer.php?ptr=2890 Album of designs of the Phoenix Bridge Company : successors to Clarke, Reeves & Co., Phoenixville Bridge Works., 1885]