New Castle Refractories Co.

New Castle Refractories - New Castle, PA

I photographed this 105 year old firebrick factory on Industrial Street about a month before they knocked it down. I didn't know it was slated for demo, just how it worked out. There was quite a bit left behind in the office, some interesting reports and employee data. The production floors were gutted, and the kilns were falling in on themselves. The letter they heartlessly tacked to the message board (fig. 4) to let the employees know their livelihood was gone was still there, next to a calendar that stopped in March 09. I have that letter now, it's right next to the one I liberated from Copperweld Steel, where my grandpa worked. 

Coincidentally, the company that shuttered and abandoned this plant also bought the refractories arm of Shenango China, which I photographed the same day. I guess there isn't much of a market for firebrick in a valley that no longer makes steel. These are the ripple effects of Black Monday. Trickle down deindustrialization I guess.

http://www.ncnewsonline.com/news/industrial-street-venture-rail-crossings-planned/article_402df67c-e642-11e5-a268-e3365e7eb5ad.html

Sunday Creek Coal Company

Millfield, O.  - I found this place completely by accident. My buddy had to go somewhere in southern Ohio, and it was a beautiful day, so I grabbed my camera and called it a road trip. We were somewhere down near Athens and we see a sign that just says “Mine Disaster ->”. We turn and follow the signs through these back roads and see a smokestack peeking up over the trees. There was a historical marker right near the stack so I hop out and tell my buddy ill call him in a while.

Turns out this is a place where 82 men died. Four executives that made big news, four of their guests, and 73 miners. In the group of 73 working men there were lots of fathers and sons, I read the obituaries. There was a huge rescue attempt, including self contained breathing apparatuses, but I suspect they wouldn't have pulled out all of the stops if the owner of the company wasn't down in that hole. The coal companies historically didn't give a fuck about the miners; it is said that if you killed a man you kept your job, if you killed a mule you were fired. Mules were expensive, men were expendable.

It was kind of disturbing being down there by myself, knowing I was standing on top of the mine that took all those lives. I've been in some haunting places, but this one made me feel uneasy the entire time. After I photographed what was left of the mine, I walked through the town of Millfield. You could tell it died when they closed the mine. The homes that still stood were original coal camp houses the company built long before they mined out the area. People live there still; it reminded me of walking down Steel Street, just more poverty.

Here is a very detailed account of the disaster, along with a full list of the men killed. The amount of people with the same last name kind of makes me want to throw up.

Republic Steel Warren Works

Warren, O. - I spent Labor Day in a freshly shuttered steel mill where 1,400 people labored until a month ago.

Republic Steel Niles Works

Niles, O.

That basement is flooded with like four feet of water. You can only go down there when its frozen. 

Weirton Steel

Weirton, West Virginia - Dead 15 and 50 town overhead cranes in the rolling mill engine shop.

I shot this shortly before this building came down; was there to document the Tod Engine that ran this mill. As far as I know then engine still sits in the yard rusting away where the rolling mill shed was. 

Iron City Brewing Co.

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Pittsburgh, PA. A can of "Steel Valley Beer" I found in the original Lawrenceville plant, which dated back to the 1860s. They were tearing down parts of the brewery, as Iron City was bought out and being brewed in Latrobe. Even thought we all know where the real Steel Valley is (cough YOUNGSTOWN cough), I like the bust of Joe Magarac on the can. You know, the steelworker's Paul Bunyon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Magarac

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“Steel Valley Beer” Iron City Beer Brewery. Pittsburgh, PA. 

Mackenzie Muffler/Austintown Tool and Die

Austintown, O. - *Update 12/1/2016* When I originally posted this in 2011, all I knew about this place was that my cousin applied for a job here, but was never hired.  There is far more history here than I knew years ago when I saw they were tearing it down, threw on my hard hat on a Sunday and set out to document it.

A recent post about wartime production at a neighboring plant  http://www.therustjungle.com/rustjungle/2016/11/29/youngstown-steel-door , initialed a discussion on this plant, which was located right across Hendricks Rd. Mackenzie Muffler was a division of Buffalo Pressed Steel, who manufactured mufflers for International Harvester tractors and automobiles for the Big 3. During WWII, Mackenzie also produced fuel tanks, much like their neighbors at Steel Door. Perhaps they worked in conjunction, hopefully someone can shed some light on that. According to the article below they went from 150 employees in 1938 to 3,000 during the war, many of them women.  A family friend of ours' mother worked here during the war as a press operator. 

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Below are the images from my original post, taken during the demolition of this plant. There was a decent amount of equipment left here that they were cutting apart. Presses, shears, cranes etc. Stickers on one of the employee lockers reference Youngstown Steel Door day, and USWA local 2310 which represented Steel Door and possibly Austintown Tool and Die, not sure about that.

US Steel Ohio Works

Youngstown, O. - “The Hell Hole” deep in the sinter plant at USS. This photo was taken a few years before they knocked down what was left of the mill.