Harbison and Walker Refractories Company was founded as the Star Fire Brick Company of Pittsburgh in 1864, by a group of eleven Allegheny County residents. The original works was located at 22nd and Railroad Street in the heart of the Strip District. By September 1865, using the clay from the mines at Bolivar, Pennsylvania, Westmoreland County, the first bricks were produced. The increased demand for bricks prompted the company to enlarge their operations in 1874. The company later bought property across the railroad from the site of the original Star Fire Brick Works. In January 1875, Hay Walker purchased interest in the company and renamed the company Harbison and Walker. Mr. Samuel P. Harbison, who played an active role in the company activities from its foundation was not satisfied with the clay mined at the Bolivar mines and found a better supply at Benezet, Elk County, Pennsylvania, where the Company bought 350 acres of land. The increasing network of railroads made it feasible to transport the clay directly to Pittsburgh from other parts of Western Pennsylvania.
The company was enlarged significantly between 1882-1902 following the demand for brick products. In 1882, the works purchased the Escanaba Furnace Company and Cascade Iron Company as well as twelve other firebrick companies. The Woodland Works purchased in May 1884, (previously the Woodland Firebrick Company of Woodland, Pennsylvania) was the first works of Harbison and Walker to manufacture brick outside of the Pittsburgh works. Woodland had its own clay supply which alleviated the cost of shipping in clay by freight from Benezet (Elk County), Clarion (Clarion County), and elsewhere in Pennsylvania. The Woodland Works became the model for practice and final authority in brick making at Harbison and Walker and produced its own brand of brick. In March of 1894, The Cambria Works in Blandsburg (also known as the Figart Station on Bell's Gap Railroad) became another major works acquired from the Cambria Fire Brick Company. By September 1896, The Widmere Works was built near the town of Curwensville, Pennsylvania, in Clearfield County, and began operation in early 1897.
In the Twentieth Century, Harbison and Walker continued to buy refractories throughout Pennsylvania. The Mt. Union Silica Works property and stock was transferred to Harbison and Walker in 1900. In the same year, they acquired No 1 Works at Clearfield. As a result of expanding the Clearfield Works the Engineering Department developed, headed by Mr. Reif, who later became President of Harbison and Walker. In addition to there plant acquisitions, the Hay Station Works at 22nd Street in Pittsburgh was constructed to replace their old plants with a new building on the banks of the Allegheny at the old Hay Station. In July 1902, Harbison and Walker bought all the stock of nine more refractories companies. With these mergers and purchases, Harbison and Walker expanded their capacity significantly and by September 1903, the Company owned over 30,000 acres of fire clay, coal, and ganister lands in Pennsylvania.
In 1903, labor trouble developed at Harbison and Walker which lasted about two years. The labor unrest began with a strike at the Clearfield Works in mid-1903, and then spread to several other refractories. On November 2, 1903, Mr. J.A. Boyd of the Cambria Works, Blandsburg, Pennsylvania, Cambria County, received word about the strike situation and wasadvised by Mr. Reif to hire Captain Clark and some of his men. Captain Clark had gone through strikes in the Houtzdale area during the Molly McGuire Days and came highly recommended. The applications for commission were sent out to the Governor of Pennsylvania on November 7th to initiate Clark and his men as Coal & Iron Police. This gave Captain Clark and his men the protection of the State of Pennsylvania to carry out the wishes of the Company against striking workers.
During World War I, a shortage of labor prevented Harbison and Walker to run at full capacity. Harbison and Walker employees gained by having seven advances in wages between 1916-18, doubling their wages. In the Summer of 1919, Mr. Croft retired as the president of Harbison and Walker.
Harbison and Walker Refractories Company has been an innovative leader in both research and manufacturing of refractory materials throughout the history of the Company. They were the first refractory company to use and develop the continuous tunnel kiln in the United States for the burning of silica. In 1909, the company began operating its own chemical and testing laboratory at the Hays Works, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and provided numerous publications of refractory practices and technology. With the need for better products and production methods to compete in the refractories market, Harbison and Walker built the two million dollar Harbison and Walker Company Garber Research Center in 1959. This research center contained the most advanced equipment at that time for the development and testing of refractory products. Many of their smaller refractories have closed in the past decade, such as the Clearfield Works, but almost all of the larger Works are still producing bricks. The Company continues in the 1990's as a world leader in refractory products with branches operating in the United States, Canada, and South America.
The Harbison and Walker Refractories Company records are housed in four archival boxes and are arranged in three series. These records primarily include daily correspondence between refractory sites, financial statements, production cost ledgers, shareholders reports and meeting notices as well as publications which focus on silica and firebrick making, specifications, price listings, and other technical literature. Later pamphlets, catalogs, and reports relating to their extensive research findings as well as the notes and manuscript copy of The History of Harbison and Walker Refractories Company are available. While these records are not comprehensive for the span of the dates contained, they provide a number of significant groups of records. These include: correspondence 1894-1903; financial and business records, 1953-1969; and catalogs, 1894-1911. The greatest concentration of material from the records appear to provide a great deal of information on the formation of the original Harbison and Walker Refractories and its relationship with its subsidiary companies. Also included are the audio cassettes of an oral history interview with Edward T. Hile, former Vice President of Harbison and Walker.
Series have been designated for working correspondence, financial & business records and for publications.
The Harbison and Walker Refractories Company records are housed in four archival boxes and are arranged in three series.
This collection is open for research.
Acc#1987.0073
These materials were received in one accession.
Gift of Edward T. Hile (Records, former Vice President of Harbison and Walker Refractories Company) in 1987.
Records of the Harbison and Walker Refractories Company, MSS#7, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania.
This collection was processed byMicahel D. SherboninFebruary 1988.
Records rearranged and inventory rewritten by Julia A. Pretti on January 9, 1993.
Revision and rearrangement for the encoded version of the finding aid provided byClay Redding in February 1999.
Property rights reside with the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or publish, please contact the curator of the Archives.
1 box
The Financial and Business records are arranged alphabetically by folder title and contain financial statements, brick production statistics, and materials relating to the Company's shareholders and board of trustees. These records are primarily printed records for the use of Harbison and Walker staff and shareholders and the bulk of these materials date from 1953-1969. The wide variety of these records provide only a snapshot of greater Company operations at various periods in the post-World War II period. Lacking are any substantial financial records prior to World War II and any comprehensive runs of financial records. Financial information for the early history of the Company may be found in the working correspondence (series I).
2 boxes
The Publications are arranged in two sub-series (company catalogs and historical/information publications) and are arranged within each sub-series alphabetically by folder title. These publications provide not only a closer examination of the Harbison and Walker Company, but of the whole refractory business in Western Pennsylvania.
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The company catalogs include publications dealing with clay & silica brick sizes, shapes, prices, quality standards and designs for various coke ovens offered for sale by Harbison and Walker. Most of the Catalogs in the records are from 1894-1911.
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The historical and informational publications include numerous published and manuscript works which examine both the history and operations of the Company. Included are the manuscript and notes for the book, The History of the Harbison & Walker Refractories Company, by James E. MacCloskey, Jr. Material designated as informational includes a wide range of publications intended for shareholders and staff: staff directories, published annual shareholders reports, promotional materials and newsletters to staff from the company ("Let's Find Out More About It").