|
|
|
Reviews
| The Blast Furnaces of Sparrow Point: One Hundred Years of Ironmaking on Chesapeake Bay. By John B. Lovis. Easton, Penn.: Canal History and Technology Press, 2005. viii+118 pp., illus., maps, diags., notes, appendices, glossary, index. $15.95 pb (ISBN 0-930973-36-4).
|
I have long had an affinity for the former Bethlehem Steel Plant at Sparrows Point, Maryland. As a native of nearby Baltimore, I often viewed the plant while growing up. After graduating from Drexel University, I began my steel industry career at Sparrows Point. It was here that I acquired the vital insights necessary if one is to have a productive career in the U.S. steel industry. Although the majority of my working career was spent at Bethlehem, I was always aware and interested in developments and events at Sparrows Point. When I was given an opportunity to review The Blast Furnaces of Sparrows Point by John B. Lovis, I leapt at the chance to revisit the history of this great industrial site.
|
1
|
The Blast Furnaces of Sparrows Point is foremost a technological history of the development of ironmaking facilities at one of America's largest steel plants. The Sparrows Point plant was founded in 1887 by the Maryland Steel Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Steel Company, which since 1867 had operated the first commercially successful Bessemer Steel plant at Steelton, Pennsylvania. Sparrows Point was built on Chesapeake Bay to take advantage of high-grade iron ores from Cuba. Since the new plant was located in an undeveloped area, it was necessary to build a town to provide housing and services for workers. The Sparrows Point operations also appropriately included a shipyard that became well known for the construction of ore carriers and petroleum tankers.
|
2
|
Almost from its inception, Sparrows Point was a commercial success, eventually becoming the largest and most productive steel plant in the Western Hemisphere. Much of its growth occurred after 1916, when the Pennsylvania and Maryland Steel companies were purchased by the Bethlehem Steel Corporation.
|
3
|
Expansion of the Sparrows Point plant resulted in an almost continual development of what became known as "Blast Furnace Row." By the end of the 1950s, it consisted of 10 blast furnaces, representing the evolution of blast furnace technology in the first half of the 20th century. Significantly, John Lovis specifies in detail the many ways in which these furnaces differed from each other. He explains the process of producing iron from a blast furnace, using nontechnical language, clear illustrations, and photographs. Much of this section is derived from knowledge the author gained from working at the blast furnaces during the 1950s, the same period as my own experiences as a crewmember at the Sparrows Point blast furnaces.
|
4
|
John Lovis devotes much of his text to integrating the story of the Sparrows Point blast furnaces into the overall chronicle of the plant and town. The climax of this volume comes with the building of the great "L" furnace during the 1960s. At the time of its construction, and for many years afterward, it was the largest and most productive blast furnace in the Western Hemisphere. The "L" furnace contained many innovations, all of which are illustrated and described.
|
5
|
The chronicle of the rise, decline, and eventual destruction of the town of Sparrows Point is an important auxiliary theme of the book. Lovis examines the fate of the community against the background of evolving blast furnace technology at the plant. While it soon became clear that the demands of plant expansion would eventually doom the dwellings, stores, and churches of Sparrows Point, the community remained a vital place.
|
6
|
While the town was becoming smaller and pressed by encroaching mills, it was nevertheless still a busy place. The 1950s expansion of the coke ovens, blast furnace, No. 4 Open Hearth Shop, and new primary mills drew construction workers from hundreds of miles around. Sidewalks were crowded with people coming and going, night and day. In spite of the expanding plant, more than 5,000 people still called Sparrows Point home (p. 35).
|
7
|
By the 1970s, the insatiable expansion of the plant sounded the end of the Sparrows Point community. All remaining buildings were demolished, and the site was cleared for the construction of "L" furnace. By 1978, this monstrous iron-making apparatus was placed in full production. More than 300 feet high, with a 45-foot-diameter hearth, "L" furnace consistently broke North American iron-production records, culminating in May 1995 when it averaged more than 9,868 tons of pig iron per day, for a combined monthly total of 305,904 tons. It is a telling commentary on the general decline of the American steel industry that by 2006, the "L" furnace could produce much more pig iron than could be utilized by the plant.
|
8
|
One of the greatest strengths of this book is the great number of fine illustrations, which not only include historic plans and photographs but also photographs that were taken by the author during the 1950s. All of these photos are used to show the evolution and operation of blast furnaces. In addition, the illustrations are supplemented by an abundance of graphic materials in the appendices that contribute to the usefulness of the book.
|
9
|
The Blast Furnaces of Sparrows Point is not only a history of ironmaking at an important steel plant, but it is also an authoritative primer on the evolution of blast furnace technology. Well written and copiously illustrated, this a book that should interest both technology buffs and general readers.
|
10
|
|
|
Content in the History Cooperative database is intended for personal, noncommercial use only. You may not reproduce, publish, distribute, transmit, participate in the transfer or sale of, modify, create derivative works from, display, or in any way exploit the History Cooperative database in whole or in part without the written permission of the copyright holder.
|