Guide to the Photographs of Harbison and Walker Refractories Company, 1925-1959 (bulk 1925)
- Repository
- Heinz History Center
- Title
- Photographs of Harbison and Walker Refractories Company
- Creator
- Harbison and Walker Refractories Company
- Collection Number
- MSP#7
- Extent
- .25 cubic feet (1 box)
- Date
- 1925-1959
- Date
- 1925
- Abstract
- Founded as the Star Fire Brick Company in Pittsburgh in 1864, Harbison and Walker Refractories Company grew rapidly at the turn of the century, purchasing several firebrick companies in western and central Pennsylvania. These photographs are primarily of two Harbison and Walker facilities: the Garber Research Center and the Hay Works in Pittsburgh.
- Language
- The material in this collection is in English.
- Sponsor
- This finding aid has been encoded as a part of the Historic Pittsburgh project a joint effort of the University of Pittsburgh and the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Funding for this portion of the project has been donated by the Hillman Foundation.
- Publisher
- Heinz History Center
- Address
- 1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org
History
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.
Scope and Content Notes
The Harbison and Walker Refractories Company Photograph's are housed in one archival box and are arranged alphabetically by folder title. These photographs are primarily of two Harbison and Walker facilities: the Garber Research Center and the Hay Works in Pittsburgh. Photographs of the Garber Research Center in West Mifflin Township were taken shortly after construction was finished on the Center and include shots primarily of employees at various workstations in 1959. Included are supplemental information releases that describe the Garber Research Center. An additional copy of these releases is located with the general records. Photographs of the Hay Works in Pittsburgh primarily include Hay Works employees working in various stages of brick making in 1925. A significant number of employees captured in these photographs are quite young and numerous shots contain groups of interracial employees. Miscellaneous photographs include the Company's 1950 golf tournament at North Park and a visit by company representatives (and those from other companies) at the Carnegie-Illinois Steel Corporation in 1952.
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
These materials came in one accession with the Harbison and Walker Refractories Company Records (MSS 7) in 1987.
Acc. 1987.0073 Gift of Edward T. Hile (Former Vice-President of Harbison and Walker Refractories Company)
Preferred Citation
Photographs of Harbison and Walker Refractories Company, 1925-1959, MSP# 7, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania.
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Michael D. Sherbon in February 1998. Papers rearranged and inventory rewritten by Julia A. Pretti on January 9, 1993.
Revision and rearrangement for the encoded version of the finding aid provided by Doug MacGregor on February 28, 2002.
Conditions Governing Use
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.
Subjects
- Harbison Walker Refractories Company (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
- Labor and laboring class -- photographs -- 1920s
- Brick makers -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh -- photographs