Alabama Blast Furnaces

Bessemer Furnaces: Bessemer, Jefferson County

BESSEMER FURNACES Bessemer, Jefferson County Bessemer Furnaces No. 1-1888 No. 2-1889 Robertstown Furnaces No. 3-1890 No. 4-1890 Little Bell Furnace No. 5-1890 FIVE blast furnaces have been built in the City of Bessemer, Jefferson County, Ala. Three companies began the work but their history is identical after the first year or so. Under these circumstances it will be clearer to treat the five Bessemer furnaces as a unit rather than as separate enterprises. Two furnaces were on the west side of Bessemer and became known as the Robertstown Furnaces; about a quarter mile south of these was the Little Bell Furnace, and about one mile southeast of the Little Bell were located the two Bessemer Furnaces. First two of these furnaces were built by H. F. DeBardeleben and associates who formed the DeBardeleben Coal and Iron Co. in 1886 with an authorized capital of $2,000,000. Bessemer Furnace No. 1 was blown in during June 1888 and in April of the following year the No.2 furnace was put into blast. Both stacks were 75' x 17' and made approximately 100 tons a day each. In 1888 the Bessemer Iron & Steel Co. was formed for the purpose of erecting two more furnaces. On July 23, 1888 a third company, The Little Bell Iron Company was incorporated and the fifth furnace was begun. On Dec. 10, 1889 the three aforementioned companies (The DeBardeleben Coal & Iron Co., the Bessemer Iron & Steel Co., and The Little Bell Iron Co.) were consolidated into the DeBardeleben Coal & Iron Co. The capital stock of the consolidation was authorized at $10,000,000. Stockholders of the original DeBardeleben Co. received approximately 71 % of the new stock; those of the Bessemer Iron & Steel Co. a little more than 23% and the stockholders of the Little Bell Iron Co. only about 5 'h %. It was stipulated that no profits were to be distributed among the stockholders of either the Bessemer Co. or the Little Bell Co. until their plants were completed and in operation. _.o+~ 43 ~o._ Robertstown Furnaces. This picture was taken about 1895. Bessemer Furnace No.2 as it appeared about 1890. Lillie Bell Furnace during progress of construction in 1889. BESSEMER FURNACES The following year, 1890, the two Robertstown and the Little Bell furnaces were put in operation. The Robertstown Furnaces (later known as the Bessemer Furnaces No.3 and No.4) were the same size as Bessemer furnaces Nos. 1 and 2, viz., 75'x17'. The Little Bell (usually called the Little Belle through error) became the Bessemer No.5. This furnace was the smallest of the five stacks, being 60', high and 12/ in the bosh, and was originally designed to use either coke or charcoal; the latter fuel, however, was never used. Most of the ore used by the Bessemer furnaces was red hematite frol? a mine below Jonesboro on Red Mountain; some, however was from Trussville, north of Birmingham. All this raw material was hauled to Bessemer via the L & N RR. Concurrently with the construction of Bessemer Furnaces (No.1 and No.2) 275 beehive ovens were also built. These coked coal from the DeBardeleben Company's Blue Creek mine. On June 1, 1892 the Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Company acquired all the holdings of the DeBardeleben Coal & Iron Company, exchanging its securities for those of the DeBardeleben Company at the rate of 8 to 10. In 1907 the Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Company became a part of the United States Steel Corporation and the Bessemer furnaces changed hands again for the last time. After the Bessemer furnaces were acquired by the Tennessee Company , the red ore was supplied from that company's own mines just east of the plant on Red Mountain. Coal was furnished from the Tennessee Company's Blue Creek mines and coked at the furnaces. By this time 300 beehive ovens had been built at Robertstown and the total number of ovens at Bessemer No.1 and No.2 furnaces had been increased from 275 to 420. In 1906, the Little Bell (Bessemer No.5) was blown out and lay idle almost ten years when it was pressed into service during the World War. The Little Bell operated throughout the war period but was permanently blown out in February 1919, finally being dismantled in 1927. The remaining four furnaces in Bessemer were operated fairly regularly until completion of the two furnaces in Fairfield during 1928...