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Guide to the United States Steel Corporation, Duquesne Works Records, 1889-1984

Arrangement

Repository
Heinz History Center
Title
United States Steel Corporation, Duquesne Works Records
Creator
United States Steel Corporation, Duquesne Works
Collection Number
MSS 42
Extent
69 linear feet (71 boxes, 40 shelf volumes)
Date
1889-1984
Abstract
Duquesne Steel Works operated from 1886 through 1984 and was demolished in 1988. It was managed by the Carnegie-Illinois Steel Company, a subsidiary of United States Steel. At its height, Duquesne Works was one of U.S. Steel's main Monongahela ("Mon") Valley steel operations, alongside Homestead Works and Edgar Thomson Works. The Duquesne Works Records are comprised records from the Accounting, Engineering, General Superintendent, Industrial Relations, Metallurgical, and Open Hearth departments at Duquesne Works. It includes appropriations requests, financial reports, meeting minutes, memoranda, payroll and wage information, research reports, subject files, technical reports, and union grievances.
Language
The material in this collection is in English.
Author
The guide to this collection was originally written by Stephen Doell in July 1993. Revisions to finding aid incorporated by Nick Hartley and Kate Madison in 2016.
Sponsor
Funding for this project was made available by a National Historical Publications and Records Commission grant.
Publisher
Heinz History Center
Address
1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org

History

The Duquesne Steel Company began operations in 1886 as a steel rail manufacturer for railroads. In 1888, investors sold the plant to the Allegheny Bessemer Steel Company, which sold it to Carnegie Steel Corporation in 1890. By 1896 the Duquesne Steel Works, as it would later be called, became a fully integrated facility with the addition of two blast furnaces for the production of pig iron. In previous years, the raw iron material had to be purchased from competitors, shipped to Duquesne and processed into the finished steel product.

In 1901, Andrew Carnegie sold his steel corporation to J. Pierpont Morgan and other prominent investors who then created the United States Steel Corporation (USS). U.S. Steel was comprised of subsidiary companies, and Duquesne Works continued to be managed as a part of the USS subsidiary, Carnegie Steel Company. In 1936, the subsidiary's name was changed to the Carnegie-Illinois Steel Company. Duquesne Steel Works experienced a slow but steady expansion and addition period until 1941. The most significant change at this time was the construction of modern electric furnaces for the production of ferromanganese. With the entrance of the United States into World War II, Duquesne Works became a Defense Plant Corporation site and endured a rapid expansion for the production of war material. The 1940s marked Duquesne's peak employment and production period, with nearly 9,000 workers sweating over thirty-two open hearth furnaces. The next major addition to the facility was the large blooming-slopping mills, one-half mile in length, in 1958.

In 1963 U.S. Steel built a basic oxygen process (BOP) steel making furnace at Duquesne Works. While the BOP furnace was considered "modern" technology by American standards, the Japanese and German steel manufacturers had instituted this steel making process by the early 1950s. The BOP furnace performed profitably for USS throughout the 1970s, but its usefulness waned by the early 1980s. U.S. Steel announced the closure of Duquesne Works in 1984. A coalition of United Steelworkers, community leaders, and politicians calling themselves the Tri-State Conference on Steel attempted to block the closing of the Duquesne Works' Dorothy Six furnace. "Save Dorothy" became the rallying cry of protesters in the Pittsburgh area. The closure went through and the Duquesne Works facilities were demolished in 1988.

Scope and Content Note

The Duquesne Steel Works Records are housed in seventy-one archival boxes, containing appropriations requests, financial reports, meeting minutes, memoranda, payroll and wage information, research reports, technical reports, union grievances, and additional subject files. The collection is arranged alphabetically into seven series – I. Accession 1990.0002 (1898-1984), II. Accounting Department (1954-1974), III. Engineering Department (c.1920-1971), IV. General Superintendent's Office (1933-1971), V. Industrial Relations Department (1910-1971), VI. Metallurgical Department (1944-1982), and VII. Open Hearth Department (1944-1953).

Arrangement

The Duquesne Steel Works Records are arranged by department (alphabetically) and record type. The first accession of materials, processed and described in 1993, makes up the first series of the collection.

  1. Series I. Accession 1990.0002
  2. Series II. Accounting Department
  3. Series III. Engineering Department
  4. Subseries I. Reports
  5. Subseries II. Subject Files
  6. Series IV. General Superintendent's Office
  7. Subseries I. Appropriation Requests
  8. Subseries II. Subject Files
  9. Series V. Industrial Relations Department
  10. Subseries I. Employee Payroll Material
  11. Subseries II. Grievance Reports
  12. Subseries III. Position Descriptions
  13. Subseries IV. Subject Files
  14. Subseries V. Work Diaries
  15. Series VI. Metallurgical Department
  16. Subseries I. Subject Files
  17. Subseries II. Technical Reports
  18. Series VII. Open Hearth Department

Conditions Governing Access

No restrictions

Immediate Source of Acquisition

1990.0002 Gift of the Regional Industrial Development Corporation (The Corporation is the owner of the property that was the site of the Duquesne Works) in 1990 (1990.0002) and 1995(1995.0395).

1995.x Field gathered c.1995

Preferred Citation

United States Steel Corporation, Duquesne Works Records, 1889-1984, MSS 42, Thomas and Katherine Detre Library and Archives, Senator John Heinz History Center This collection has been previously cited as: United States Steel, Duquesne Steel Works Records, 1895-1984, MSS 42, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania Archives

General

This collection has been previously cited as: United States Steel, Duquesne Steel Works Records, 1895-1984, MSS 42, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania Archives

Processing Information

This collection was first processed by Stephen Doell in 1993.. Bulk of materials (second accession) arranged by Nick Hartley and Kate Madison as part of a National Historical Publications and Records Commission grant project in 2016.

Conditions Governing Use

Property rights reside with the Senator John Heinz History Center. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the Thomas and Katherine Detre Library and Archives of the Senator John Heinz History Center.

Related Materials

United States Steel Corporation, Homestead Works Records, c.1890-1986, MSS 418, Thomas and Katherine Detre Library and Archives, Senator John Heinz History Center

United States Steel Corporation Duquesne Works, Industrial Relations Department Records, 1904-1980, AIS.1987.03, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh

United States Steel Corporation National-Duquesne Works Records, 1890-1985, AIS.1991.06, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh

Separated Materials

To the Photographic Collection, two boxes of photographs have been separately arranged and described as MSP# 42.

To the Oversized Collection, one oversized folder has been separately arranged as MSO# 42. These oversized materials include twelve safety posters that were used at the Duquesne Works from the 1960s to the early 1980s.

Subjects

    Corporate Names

    • Carnegie-Illinois Steel (Homestead, Pa.)

    Geographic Names

    • Duquesne (Pa.) -- Commerce
    • Duquesne (Pa.) -- Industry
    • Homestead (Pa.) -- Commerce
    • Homestead (Pa.) -- Industry

    Other Subjects

    • Industrial safety -- Laws and legislation
    • Steel foundries -- Construction -- Pennsylvania
    • Steel industry and trade -- Pennsylvania -- Duquesne
    • Steel industry and trade -- Pennsylvania -- Homestead
    • Steel workers -- Collective bargaining -- Pennsylvania
    • Steel workers -- Wages -- Pennsylvania
    • Women iron and steel workers -- Pennsylvania

Container List