Homestead Steel Works
Homestead Steel Works was a steel mill in Homestead near Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania . The operation on the Monongahela River produced steel for 125 years and became famous for the "Battle of Homestead" of 1892. 10 to 15 people were killed at the height of the strike . The 108- acre site is now called The Waterfront, a shopping center and nightlife destination.
history
Construction on the mill began in 1879 and production began in 1881. Two years later, Andrew Carnegie acquired the facilities and added them to the Carnegie Steel Company in 1892 . Carnegie introduced the Siemens-Martin furnace in Homestead in 1886 . The high-quality steel was suitable for armor plates and the US Navy was one of the most important customers until the 1950s. The pig iron was of the seven blast furnaces of Carrie Furnaces , which were purchased in 1898, with ladle car on the " Hot Metal Bridge delivered".
After Carnegie's business partner Henry Clay Frick cut wages in 1892, the workers of the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers (AA) went on strike on June 30th. This escalated with a lockout and the use of strike breakers and armed Pinkerton agents. When they wanted to land from the river on July 6, a battle broke out with the strikers. 10 to 15 people were killed (seven workers and three to eight agents) and around 20 to 50 injured. Disarmed, 324 surrendered agents were forced to run the gauntlet by women and children . On July 12th, the governor appointed 6,000 state militia men and six days later the place was placed under military justice. On July 23, the anarchist Alexander Berkman attempted to murder Frick. The militia withdrew on October 13th and the union had to declare the strike a failure and end it on November 20th, 1892. - Carnegie sold its steel companies to US Steel in 1901 .
The steel mill was closed in 1986. The Waterfront shopping center with department stores and smaller shops was built from the brownfields' industrial wasteland . Restaurants, bars and a cinema oriented towards the river complete the offer. Twelve tall chimneys are the landmark of the former steel mill in Homestead. The subsequent marshalling yard with an area of 27 hectares was converted into the Sandcastle water park in 1988/1989 .
National Heritage Area Rivers of Steel
The Bost Building, headquarters of the strikers from 1892, the Carrie Furnaces and the Hot Metal Bridge with the water tower of the Homestead Steel Works belong to the National Heritage Area Rivers of Steel .
For hikers and cyclists, the south bank of the Monongahela River is connected to the Eliza Furnace Trail via the Great Allegheny Passage Trail .
literature
- Paul Krause: The Battle for Homestead, 1880-1892. Politics, Culture, and Steel. Pittsburgh 1992.
- National Brownfield Association: Waterfront. In: Brownfield Boat Tour - Pittsburgh. 2007. p. 13.
Web links
Coordinates: 40 ° 24 ′ 40 ″ N , 79 ° 54 ′ 40 ″ W.