Company history
The Cambria Iron Company was founded in 1852 to provide iron for the construction of railroads. In 1854, the iron works, which had gone out of the blast, were purchased by a group of Philadelphia merchants led by Matthew Newkirk. After a fire destroyed the main rolling mill in 1857, Newkirk persuaded his co-investors to rebuild it on a larger scale.[7]
The company grew rapidly and by the 1870s, was a leading producer of steel and an innovator in the advancement of steelmaking technology. It performed early experiments with the Kelly converter, built the first blooming mill, and was one of the first plants to use hydraulics for the movement of ingots. It built one of the first plants to use the Bessemer process for making steel at a large scale. The company's innovations, methods, and processes were widely influential throughout the steel industry.[6]
The company was at its height in the 1870s, under the long-term leadership of general manager Daniel Johnson Morrell, who had overseen the expansion of the works into one of the largest producers of rails in the United States. He helped to end US dependence on British railroad construction imports.[8] A Republican, Morrell also served as a member of the 40th United States Congress and 41st United States Congresses from Pennsylvania, from 1867-1871.
Morrell became concerned about the South Fork Dam, which formed Lake Conemaugh above Johnstown and Cambria Iron Company's facilities. To monitor the dam, Morrell joined South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, which owned the dam. Morrell campaigned to club officials to improve the dam, which he had inspected by his own engineers and by those of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Morrell offered to effect repairs, partially at his own expense, but was rejected by club president Benjamin F. Ruff. Morell died in 1885, his warnings unheeded.
On May 31, 1889, the dam failed, unleashing the Johnstown Flood. The flood killed more than 2,200 people—then the largest disaster in U.S. history—and badly damaged the Cambria Iron Company's facilities along the rivers. The company reopened one week later, but at reduced capacity, and it was eclipsed by other producers as it rebuilt.[8]
After Morrell's death, his club membership was purchased by Cyrus Elder, who became the club's only Johnstown native; most of the men were from Pittsburgh. Elder was a former news editor who had become chief legal counsel for Cambria Iron Company.[9][10] His wife and daughter died in the flood. He continued to be a notable civic leader. He also wrote books and poetry.[11]
In 1916, Cambria Iron was acquired by Midvale Steel and Ordnance Company. Midvale sold the company to Bethlehem Steel in 1923.,[6] It operated continuously until 1992.[8]
Cambria Steel Company had formed a wholly-owned subsidiary shipping company called Franklin Steamship Company of Cleveland in 1906 and Beaver Steamship Company in 1916. Both companies were sold to Bethlehem Steamship Company in 1924.[12]
