The Phoenix Steel Company traces its beginnings to 1790 when Benjamin Longstreth established the first American nail factory near the mouth of French Creek in Chester County, Pennsylvania. In 1809, its property was acquired by Thomas Coffin and Lewis Waters, who built a large factory called the French Creek Works. They hired Thomas Odiorne to install twenty new nail-cutting machines that Jesse Reed of Massachusetts had invented.

Early Developments

The works' ownership changed in 1813 when Lewis Wernwag, a renowned builder of covered bridges, became the manager. His masterpiece was the famous "Colossus" bridge over the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia. On the south side of the creek, a new two-story stone nail factory, housing for workers, and a schoolhouse were constructed. The factory was renamed Phoenix Iron Works.

In 1821, Wernwag and his partners sold the works to George and Jonah Thompson from Philadelphia, who expanded it further. By 1825, it was the largest nail factory in the United States, with 40 tons per week capacity. The Thompsons hired Mark Stackhouse to design and build a 100-horsepower anthracite-fueled steam engine. In 1827, they claimed to be the first to successfully and regularly use anthracite in the puddling furnace.

Reeves & Whitaker

After Jonah Thompson's death, the property was sold in 1827 to the firm of Reeves & Whitaker for $65,000. Benjamin and David Reeves established the Cumberland Nail & Iron Works in Bridgeton, New Jersey, in 1815, making it Phoenix's chief competitor. In 1826, they were joined by Joseph Whitaker, who was then operating Delaware Iron Works near Wilmington. Joseph and James Whitaker came to manage the Phoenix Works. Francis Learning was the fifth partner in Reeves & Whitaker.

The new partners significantly expanded the Phoenix Iron Works by constructing a new rolling mill and puddling furnaces. In 1837, they started constructing a charcoal blast furnace, but economic depression delayed its progress. Significant advancements were made in anthracite smelting techniques, and the furnace was "blown in" as an anthracite furnace in June 1840. The puddling mill was expanded in 1840 with six new puddling furnaces and a Burden rotary squeezer along with a roll train. Phoenix was the first ironworks in the Schuylkill Valley to produce wrought iron on a large scale, achieving annual production levels of 3,000 tons. Furnaces 2, 3, and 4 were added in 1845-1846.

In 1844, David Reeves and John Farr built the Spring Mill Furnace in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania.

The death of Benjamin Reeves in 1844 led to a reorganization of the partnership. Three years later, Joseph Witaker sold his interest to his son Samuel A., Robert C. Nichols, and Robert S. Buck. Buck moved to Phoenixville to serve as resident manager. Joseph then purchased the Durham Iron Works in Northampton County, Pa.

Reeves, Buck & Company

The reorganized firm of Reeves, Buck & Company operated both Cumberland Nail and Phoenix Irons Works. The company expanded into railroad nail production in 1846, and as railroad construction grew rapidly in the late 1840s, rails accounted for a significant portion of the firm's earnings. After the nail factory burned down in 1848, the firm discontinued nail production altogether. David Reeves and Chief Engineer George Waters invented a gag press straitener for rails.

The company's experience with rail production guided it into manufacturing rolled iron structural shapes. The first structural shape mill in the United States was built in 1851. Two years later, an experimental furnace was created to produce wrought iron directly from ore. Additionally, the "East Mill" was constructed, covering an entire acre of land. The first nine-inch structural wrought iron beams began production in 1855.

Reeves, Abbott & Company

In 1846, David Reeves partnered with his son, Samuel J. (1818-1878), Dr. Joseph Pancoast, and Charles and George Abbott to further capitalize on the rail boom. Over the next two years, the firm built a $200,000 rail rolling mill complex on the Conestoga Creek, just above its confluence with the Susquehanna River in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The company's main product was T-rail, which was used by the Pennsylvania Railroad. The mill had a weekly capacity of 280 tons. Together, Phoenix and Safe Harbor represented about one-eighth of the rolled iron produced in the state.

John Griffen (1812-1884) was the first superintendent at Safe Harbor, who later had an illustrious career at Phoenix. John Fritz arrived in May 1849 to help install new rail-making equipment, which ultimately led to his invention of the three-high rolling mill.

Reorganization

During the recession of 1855, each of the Reeves' iron enterprises was incorporated separately. On April 27 of that year, David Reeves became president, and Samuel J. Reeves served as vice president of the Phoenix Iron Company. Saf Harbor Iron Works incorporated soon after on May 5.

The Safe Harbor works suffered significant damage from a flood on Conestoga Creek in 1857, and the business did not recover until the Civil War, when it switched to producing the so-called "soda bottle" cannon, or Dahlgren guns. Before it could retool, a second flood on March 18, 1865, damaged the mill and destroyed the Conestoga slackwater navigation system used to bring ore to the works. The plant remained abandoned until the Columbia & Port Deposit Railroad was built near the site in 1877. The puddling furnaces were reopened and operated intermittently until 1894 when the Reeves family sold the mill to Adolph Segal of Philadelphia, who then converted it into a match factory. The building was razed in 1907.

The Bridgeton operation was established as the Columbia Nail & Iron Company in 1856. Robert S. Buck returned to Bridgeton from Phoenixville to manage the works. In 1865, Buck acquired controlling interest in the company, which no longer had ties to the Phoenixville branch of the Reeves family. It operated until 1900.

David Reeves collaborated with several other Philadelphia ironmasters and financiers to rescue the Cambria Iron Company in Johnstown, Pennsylvania and served as its president from 1854 until he died in 1871. Reeves operated the Spring Mill Furnace in Conshohocken under a lease until 1866.

The Phoenixville Iron Company

Phoenixville became the central hub for the Reeves family's operations. John Griffen was appointed superintendent in 1856, and he continued to conduct experiments on the strength of beams. In January 1861, Phoenix began producing fifteen-inch beams, the largest ever rolled in the United States.

In 1861, Griffen developed the Griffen gun, producing 1,400 units during the Civil War. This cannon was made of wrought iron and had rifled barrels, constructed from laminated iron bands that were rolled and forged using Griffen's patented machinery. The first shot at the Battle of Gettysburg was fired from a Griffen gun.

In 1862, Samuel J. Reeves invented and patented the Phoenix Column, which became world-renowned as a prefabricated structural element. These hollow columns were constructed from four, six, or eight flanged rolled sections riveted together to create a tube. Phoenix Columns were not only used to support buildings but also served as the compression members in Phoenix Bridges. A separate firm called Kellogg, Clarke & Company was established in 1864 to build bridges and buildings using Phoenix iron.

In 1865, the company invented the first machine for straightening angles and tees by rolling, capable of rolling eight-inch square sections up to twenty-five feet long, which was an American record. In the following year, Chief Engineer George Waters began manufacturing eye bars using hydraulic pressure, and in 1870, the company introduced the first cold saw in the country.

Following David Reeves's death in 1871, Samuel J. Reeves succeeded him as president and initiated the construction of the world's largest rolling mill in Phoenixville. The building utilized Phoenix Columns and other components, covering 6.25 acres under a single roof, and served as a model for the larger structures at the Centennial Exposition. Unfortunately, the mill remained unfinished when the depression of 1873-1879 hit, making it a white elephant for many years.

Samuel J. Reeves died in 1878, and his son David succeeded him, with his brother William Handy serving as general manager. David Reeves restored the company by securing the structural contract for the entire Second Avenue Elevated project in New York a year later. The transition to steel began in the mid-1880s. In 1884, the company started producing rolled steel shapes for naval cruisers as a subcontractor for Cramps' Shipyard. Construction of two ten-ton open hearths at Phoenixville began in 1886, and the first steel was poured in April 1889. By the following year, two additional hearths were in production.

Phoenix was particularly hard hit by the depression from 1893 to 1898. Unlike many other steel firms, it did not participate in the merger movement of 1898-1905. With the exception of its bridge-building subsidiary, it did not engage in forward or backward integration. The introduction of rolled steel I-beams rendered the Phoenix Column obsolete. The company struggled to compete with larger rivals, and while it made efforts to modernize, the pace of innovation began to slow. In 1901, the company installed the first electrically operated rolling mill tilting table, and in 1911, it constructed a 150-ton open hearth furnace. However, the bridge company was now the tail that wagged the dog.

When Samuel J. Reeves, Jr. (1880-1944) succeeded his father, David, in 1923, the bridge-building business remained strong. The Phoenix plant was completely electrified in 1928. Samuel's death in 1944 ended 117 years of Reeves family ownership. Afterward, Phoenix experienced the fate of many small steel companies as it transitioned from one merger to another. In September 1947, the facility was sold to the Phoenix-Apollo Steel Company, which had been incorporated in Delaware on December 2, 1946, following a merger with the Apollo Steel Company based in western Pennsylvania. The Phoenixville plant was closed on June 3, 1949.

When Samuel J. Reeves, Jr. (1880-1944) succeeded his father, David, in 1923, the bridge-building business remained strong. The Phoenix plant was wholly electrified in 1928. Samuel's death in 1944 ended 117 years of Reeves family ownership. Afterward, Phoenix experienced the fate of many small steel companies as it transitioned from one merger to another. In September 1947, the facility was sold to the Phoenix-Apollo Steel Company, which had been incorporated in Delaware on December 2, 1946, following a merger with the Apollo Steel Company based in western Pennsylvania. The Phoenixville plant was closed on June 3, 1949.

The Barium Steel Corporation

On August 19, 1949, the Barium Steel Company acquired both the Phoenix Iron Company and the Phoenix Bridge Company from the Kaiser-Fraser Corporation. Phoenix Iron Company was reincorporated as the Phoenix Iron & Steel Company on September 6, 1949, and the facilities were modernized and reopened on January 14, 1950.

The Barium Steel Corporation was incorporated in Ohio on August 3, 1933, and manufactured forgings for locomotive rods. Three years later, on August 15, 1936, the Barium Stainless Steel Company was incorporated in Delaware as a holding company and purchased the Ohio company in April 1944. The Delaware corporation removed "stainless" from its name and, under the leadership of J.A. Siston, initiated an aggressive expansion program by acquiring steel companies in Syracuse, Erie, Duluth, and Detroit.

In May 1946, Barium Steel Corporation acquired the assets of the steel-plate-producing Central Iron & Steel Company, based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Central Iron & Steel was incorporated on April 19, 1897, succeeding the Central Iron Company of 1866 and the Central Iron Works of 1852. On May 13, 1946, the assets were transferred to a newly formed company, also named the Central Iron & Steel Company, which was a subsidiary of Barium Steel. The Phoenix Iron & Steel Company and the Phoenix Bridge Company became subsidiaries of the Central Iron & Steel Company.

On December 30, 1949, Barium purchased the Chester Blast Furnaces, Inc. of Chester, Pa., which became a third subsidiary of Central Iron & Steel. In 1955, Central was renamed the "Plate Division," Chester became the "Blast Furnace Division," and Phoenix was designated the "Structural and Bridge Division."

In 1956, Barium installed a heavy-walled rotary forging seamless pipe and tube mill at the old Phoenixville rolling mill to explore a profitable new product line. The machinery, imported from Europe, was the only installation of its kind in the country. Consequently, the company occupied a specialized niche by supplying high-pressure pipes for pipelines and other industrial applications. Barium Steel diversified its operations by purchasing shares in natural gas deposits located in Louisiana and Texas.

Barium Steel encountered difficulties in the mid-1950s and dissolved. On May 3, 1957, it spun off Republic Industrial Corporation, which took over all facilities except those in Harrisburg, Phoenixville, and Chester. The Barium Steel Corporation remained a holding company, with the Phoenix Iron & Steel Company and the Phoenix Bridge Company operating as subsidiaries. The Phoenix Iron & Steel Company changed its name to the Phoenix Steel Company in January 1959.

In 1959, J.A. Sisto sold Barium Steel to Stanley Kirk, who renamed the company Phoenix Steel Corporation. Prior to the sale, Barium Steel had acquired a large site on the Delaware River in Burlington, New Jersey, with plans to construct an integrated steel plant. However, this plan was abandoned, and instead, the company purchased a rolling mill and fabricating shop in Claymont, Delaware, from the Colorado Fuel & Iron Company on September 30, 1960. The Claymont facility, known for special shapes, plates, and dished tank heads, joined the Plate Division. Phoenix Steel Corporation moved its headquarters to Claymont.

The plate works in Harrisburg and the Chester blast furnace were abandoned soon after. The Phoenix Bridge Company closed down in 1962. Phoenix Steel Company merged into the Phoenix Steel Corporation on December 31, 1965. The company was particularly vulnerable during the decline of the American steel industry in the 1970s. On January 21, 1976, the company signed an agreement that granted majority interest to the French steelmaker Creusot-Loire. The Structural Division at Phoenixville closed in November 1976, marking the end of 121 years of production. Parts of the mill were sold for scrap, and the plant was permanently shut down in 1987.

The Creusot-Loire soon sold the Claymont Plant to a Chinese company. In 1988, Robert Serlin purchased the property in Phoenixville and established the Phoenix Pipe & Tube Company to run a seamless pipe mill catering to a niche market. Although the company ultimately failed in the 1990s, starting in 1988, much of the site was cleared for redevelopment, while some historic structures were preserved.