The October program meeting for the Bridgeville Area Historical Society was an interesting presentation by Ron Baraff on the Carrie Furnace National Historic Site. Mr. Baraff is Director of Historic Resources and Facilities for Rivers of Steel Heritage Corporation, a nonprofit organization that works in partnership with the National Park Service and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to manage the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area.
Following the closing of US Steel’s Homestead Works in 1988, the Steel Industry Task Force was established to study the possibility of preserving the history of steel-making in the region. It spawned the Steel Industry Heritage Corporation in 1990, with the mission of bolstering the economy of southwestern Pennsylvania by promoting tourism and economic development based on the region’s historical industrial saga. They purchased the Bost Building, headquarters for the Union in the infamous 1892 Homestead Lockout and Strike, for $42,000.
In 1996 the Federal Government established the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area to “encourage historic preservation of the area and an appreciation of the history and heritage of the site”. This designation made the area eligible for more than $1 million a year in federal and state grants to be funneled into river communities that played a role in the steel industry. The Steel Industry Heritage Corp. was the conduit through which the money flowed.
The National Heritage Area includes the eight counties in southwestern Pennsylvania and is managed by the Rivers of Steel Heritage Corporation, the descendant of the Steel Industry Heritage Corporation. Their primary assets are the Bost Building; the Carnegie Steel Pump-house, location of the Pinkerton Battle in the Homestead Strike; the Explorer, a riverboat providing tours focused on local industrial history and river ecology; the W. A. Young and Sons Foundry and Machine Shop, in Rice’s Landing; and Carrie Furnace.
Carrie Furnace was the Blast Furnace Division of the US Steel Homestead Works. The first Carrie Furnaces, built in 1884, operated as independent iron furnaces selling pig iron to other companies. Andrew Carnegie purchased them in 1898; they became part of the Homestead Works when US Steel was organized in 1901. At its peak Homestead was the largest steel operation in the world, producing nearly one-third of the nation’s steel.
It operated until 1988 when US Steel closed it down and sold the property to the Park Corporation. They proceeded to demolish all of the facilities on the south shore of the Monongahela River, except for ten slender smokestacks and the Pump-house, and to construct a modern commercial complex called the Waterfront. Demolition of the facilities on the north shore proceeded less rapidly
In 2005 Allegheny County purchased the 135 acres on the north shore from the Park Corporation for $5.75 million. By then demolition had removed all of the existing traces of Carrie Furnace, with the exception of blast furnaces #6 and #7, the stock bins servicing them, a blower engine house, and an ore bridge. In 2006 the two blast furnaces were designated as National Historic Landmarks.
The National Historic Landmarks designation applies only to components constructed before 1936. Consequently the ore bridge, built by Dravo in 1948, is not included. My documentation of its historic significance will be the subject of a future column.At this time, the Regional Industrial Development Corporation has an agreement with the Allegheny County Redevelopment Authority to develop the portion of the site not occupied by the surviving furnaces for flexible technology space, research and development, workforce education, light manufacturing and assembly, and film production. Rivers of Steel will continue to manage the Carrie Furnace National Heritage Area.During the interim between closing down the Homestead Works and acquisition of the Carrie Furnace site by Allegheny County, it was frequently visited by a varied collection of people – graffiti and metal sculpture artists, paintball competitors, vandals, scavengers, and thrill seekers. To some people the product of their visits is as interesting as its industrial heritage is to history buffs.Today the site is indeed a beehive of activity. From late Spring to early Autumn morning and afternoon Industrial Tours focus on iron-making and the technologies that were perfected at Carrie Furnace. Alloy Pittsburgh Tours deal with the post-production activities at the site – the renowned Carrie deer sculpture, the ore yard graffiti artworks, and assorted metal arts, as well as the natural ecology of the area.
Another popular summer activity during the social distancing era has been the Carrie Carpool Cinema, drive-in movies with the furnaces as a backdrop. Also popular is a series of metal-related workshops spanning the range between practical iron working and cast aluminum artwork. The annual Festival of Combustion showcases the creativity and innovation of our region’s artists, makers, and builders.
To a history buff and preservationist, the attention paid to the post-production activities at Carrie Furnace seems counter-productive, perhaps even sacrilegious. However, the speaker made an excellent point while defending this approach. The number of people interested in visiting historical sites is limited to a small percentage of the population. If we can bring people to the sites for other reasons, we stand a chance of interesting some of them in their history.
We are grateful to Mr. Baraff for an interesting presentation. It certainly appears that Rivers of Steel is making a significant contribution to preserving the iron and steel making heritage of our region. The rest of us can learn a lot from them as we attempt to do the same with our specific pet projects.
The next program meeting for the Bridgeville Area Historical Society will be at 7:30 pm, Tuesday, November 30, in the Chartiers Room of the Bridgeville
Volunteer Fire Department. It is my understanding that the subject will be “Queen Elizabeth I”. Please check with the Society website for confirmation.