The Corporate Records of the Bethlehem Steel Company mostly consist of fragments of files from Robert McMath, Vice President – Finance and Secretary. These documents include agreements and contracts, papers relating to the acquisition and merger of properties, and an early run of Directors’ and Stockholders’ minutes dating back to the incorporation of the company in 1899. There is also a small file from the President’s Office consisting of correspondence and other material related to a fraud case involving French Senator Charles Humbert and German agent and convicted French traitor Bolo Pasha during the First World War.

Bethlehem Steel Company’s claims filed before the Mixed Claims Commission against Germany following the end of the World War I are documented through correspondence between the company and various law firms and financial organizations. The primary claims filed by Bethlehem Steel Co. include war risk insurance, loss of Scandinavian boat contracts, and loss of Swedish ore contracts. There is also a claim filed on account of the Black Tom Explosion that occurred on July 30, 1916, when German agents destroyed a shipment of American-made munitions destined for the Allies at Black Tom Island in Jersey City, New Jersey. A short incoming and outgoing correspondence file from Union Iron Works Company president John A. McGregor documents various financial issues faced by the San Francisco shipbuilding company shortly before the United States’ entrance into the First World War, including reference to the Black Tom Explosion. Also of significance are letters of reimbursement sent to Charles Schwab for his financial role in the reorganization of the United States Shipbuilding Company into the Bethlehem Steel Corporation in 1904.

A large portion of the records includes files related to numerous agreements and contracts, including those for the fabrication and storage of cast iron tunnel lining used in the construction of the Brooklyn-Battery and Holland Tunnels in New York City. Of particular interest are agreements and correspondence regarding the rights for the manufacture of Harvey armor and for the license to the Krupp process, both traditionally utilized in the production of armor plates for Navy warships throughout the 1890s. Correspondence between the then Carnegie Steel Company, Limited president Charles M. Schwab, Bethlehem Iron Company, and the Harvey Steel Company details the former two companies’ efforts to obtain the license to the Harvey and Krupp processes for use in the production of safe plates for bank vaults. Also included are agreements in regard to royalties paid to the Harvey Steel Co. and its various subsidiaries.

There is also a significant amount of correspondence pertaining to the purchase of plants and properties, most notably the acquisition of the Pennsylvania Steel Company of New Jersey, Pennsylvania Steel Co., and the Maryland Steel Co. in 1916. Papers relating to the purchase of the Lackawanna Steel Company are also included. Bethlehem Steel Co.’s purchase of properties in and around Lebanon, Pennsylvania, are well documented, encompassing ore rights in the Cornwall region and the acquisition of property from the Robesonia Iron Company and the American Iron and Steel Manufacturing Company.