The Oglebay Norton Corporation was an ore mining company and operated lake freighters on the Great Lakes.At one point their flagship was the SS Edmund Fitzgerald through their Columbia Transportation Division.
History
The company's roots go back to 1851, when Hewitt & Tuttle, an iron ore brokerage, formed a shipping subsidiary.[1] After several mergers over the years, the firm became Oglebay, Norton in 1890, named for Earl Oglebay and David Z. Norton.In the 1890s, Oglebay, Norton and Company acted as the sales and shipping agent for Rockefeller's Lake Superior Consolidated Iron Mines.[2] The company was incorporated in 1924.[1] Oglebay Norton was acquired by Carmeuse Lime & Stone, Inc. in 2008.[3][4]
Chronological Company Timeline
1854: H.B. Tuttle & Co., predecessor to Oglebay Norton, created as a two-partner iron ore agency.
1855: John D. Rockefeller hired at $3.50 a week. Quits later over salary dispute.
1884: New partnership formed when Wheeling, West Virginia, industrialist Earl W. Oglebay joins firm.
1890: Cleveland banker David Z. Norton joins; Oglebay, Norton & Co. formed.
1890: Company starts to manage Rockefeller's ore properties on the Mesabi Range in Minnesota.
1921: Company assembles its first Great Lakes shipping fleet with 11 freighters, which became the Columbia Steamship Company.[5]
1930s: Company began to manage four docks along the Great Lakes.[5]
1931: Columbia Steamship Company. renamed the Columbia Transportation Company[5]
1939: Company initiated a study of low-grade minerals and established the Reserve Mining Company to develop taconite.[5]
1957: Company adopted the name Oglebay Norton Company and began trading publicly.[2]
1960s: Company established taconite mine in Eveleth, Minnesota.[5]
1975: Oglebay-leased ship, the Edmund Fitzgerald, sinks in Lake Superior. Ship owned by Northwestern Mutual Insurance Company.
February 1998: John Lauer takes over as CEO; stock is around $40; company has $52 million in debt. He completes half-dozen acquisitions in first 18 months, pushing company into limestone business.
June 1998: Debt rises to more than $300 million.[2]
April 1998: Stock reaches all-time high, $50.50.
2000: Company buys Michigan Limestone Operations (MLO) and Jebco Abrasives;[2] MLO executive Michael Lundin begins rise at Oglebay.
October 2001: Company stopped paying dividends to shareholders.[2]
