The Jones And Laughlin Steel Company – J & L Steel
The Jones and Laughlin Steel Corporation, also known as J&L Steel or simply as J&L, was an American manufacturer of steel and iron that operated from 1852 to 1968. It was originally founded as the American Iron Company in 1852 by Bernard Lauth and Benjamin Franklin Jones, located a few miles south of Pittsburgh along the Monongahela River. In 1854, James Laughlin acquired Lauth’s share of the company. The first company to use the name Jones and Laughlin was established in 1861 and was based in downtown Pittsburgh at Third & Ross.
The Early Years of J&L Steel
In its early years, the company only produced iron, but in 1886, it expanded its operation to include the production of steel. Over the next 60 years, the enterprise grew its facilities on both sides of the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh, as well as along the Ohio River in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. To connect their Eliza blast furnaces and open hearth furnaces, the company built the Hot Metal Bridge over the Monongahela River. In 1905, a new factory was built in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. The company also owned coal mines in western Pennsylvania, some of which were accessible via an incline in Pittsburgh’s South Side that connected to the railroad over the Hot Metal Bridge. Other mines in the area, such as those along Becks Run, were also linked to the railroad by the H.B. Hays and Brothers Coal Railroad. Although the incline and some mines were no longer in operation by 1900, coal mining continued in towns like Vestaburg, Pennsylvania.
The former Otis Steel company located next to the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland was acquired in 1942. Later on, in the mid-1960s, a finishing facility was built in Hennepin, Illinois.
The year 1937 marked a significant event for J&L when the Supreme Court made a historic ruling in the case of NLRB v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp. This ruling affirmed the constitutionality of the Wagner Act and the Federal Government’s authority to oversee labor relations through the commerce clause. As a result of this decision, J&L was required to acknowledge the labor rights of its workers and their ability to form unions.
J & L Steel, also known as “J & L” among its employees and sometimes pronounced as “jane ell”, was a strong competitor to the Carnegie Steel Company in the Pittsburgh area. In the late 1940s, J & L also had subsidiary mills in other cities like Los Angeles. Ling-Temco-Vought, Inc. from Texas offered to buy 63% of J & L Steel on May 10, 1968. The purchase was finalized for about $428.5 million ($3.61 billion today) by June 1968, after an agreement was reached on May 14. In 1974, they gained full control of the company. However, due to the Steel Crisis and the 1973 Recession, the J & L mill in Los Angeles was forced to shut down.
In 1978, LTV’s subsidiary J & L Steel purchased Youngstown Sheet and Tube. Three years later, J & L Steel acquired a stainless steel mill from McLouth Steel Products located in Detroit, potentially in an effort to gain a foothold in the automotive industry.
During the 1980s, there was a decline in the LTV Conglomerate’s business. In 1984, the merger of J & L with Republic Steel resulted in the complete disappearance of the name Jones and Laughlin.
J&L Coal Incline
The J &L Coal Incline, stretching 1,300 feet, was one of the many inclines in Pittsburgh. Its purpose was to connect a coal mine to the J&L iron making facility. The incline operated from Josephine Street, positioned between South 29th Street and South 30th Street at its lower end, to Sumner Street at its upper end.The coal used in the incline was sourced from the American Mine, which was established in 1854.
Transitioning from a hot strip to a diversified mixed-use development
The J & L Steel buildings were taken down, leading to an increase in construction on the land where they once stood. By September 2005, several new structures had been erected on both sides of the Monongahela River. On the north side, the Pittsburgh Technology Center now stands where the blast furnaces were, while the south side is home to the commercial and residential development known as SouthSide Works, where milling operations used to take place. The Hot Metal Bridge has been repurposed as a road bridge and a pedestrian/bike bridge, which is part of the Great Allegheny Passage. The Hazelwood Works, previously owned by J & L, has been transformed into a 178-acre mixed-use redevelopment site called Hazelwood Green. Almono LP acquired Hazelwood Green in 2002 and it was officially opened to the public in April 2019, featuring new roads such as Hazelwood Avenue and Blair Street extensions. The last remaining structure from the Hazelwood Plant, Mill 19, is currently being renovated to serve as a mixed-use development that will include a robotics lab operated by Carnegie Mellon University.
Facilities
Aliquippa
In December 1906, the Ritter-Conley Mfg. Co. was awarded a contract to construct four blast furnaces, each with a capacity of 500 tons per day and measuring 22×85 feet. This company was already working on four similar furnaces for the Indiana Steel Co. in Gary. The new furnaces were equipped with modern technology such as skip hoists and sealing arrangements for material charging, and two of them were expected to be completed in July 1907. Additionally, 16 Kennedy-Cooper hot air stoves measuring 22×100 feet were also included in the project. Furnace #3, which had four stoves, was ordered in May 1907.
In April 1907, plans were being made for a bridge connecting Ambridge and Aliquippa.
In April 1907, the Wisconsin Engine Company constructed 2 cross compound engines to power a 600kW generator.
In April 1907, the Jones and Laughlin Steel Company ordered 10 blowing engines from Allis Chalmers, along with 2 250V 94rpm DC generators of 1,000kW each for various plant loads. Additionally, in June 1907, they also ordered 4 1,000kW generators of the Bullock engine type, a 500kW generator set, and 2 Tomlinson barometric tube converters.
The announcement of the construction of 4 new Talbot open hearth furnaces, with a combined capacity of 1000 tons per day, was made in June 1907.
Significant Landmarks
The company, Jones & Laughlin Steel Co., has been listed as the builder of record for multiple bridges and other structures that have been recognized on the National Register of Historic Places.
The portfolio consists of:
The following bridges were all built by the Jones & Laughlin Steel Co. and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places: Big Blue River Bridge, located 1 mile southeast of Surprise, Nebraska; Brewer Bridge, located 14.7 miles east of Valentine, Nebraska; Hill Annex Mine, located in Calumet, Minnesota; Nine Bridges Bridge, located 3.9 miles north of Doniphan, Nebraska; Prairie Dog Creek Bridge, located 8.5 miles south and 1 mile west of Orleans, Nebraska; Southwest Fifth St. Bridge, located in Des Moines, Iowa; and Turkey Creek Bridge, located 2 miles west and 1 mile south of Ragan, Nebraska.
