Tube History in Ellwood City (Revised)
Ellwood Shafting & Tubing Company was the first manufacturing institution to establish itself in Ellwood City in 1891 and the first to manufacture seamless tubing in the United States. Just three years later in October of 1894, the Ellwood Shafting & Tube Company was sold to H.A. Lozier the “Bicycle King of America” and the name of the company was changed to Ellwood Weldless Tube Company. The founder of Ellwood City, Henry W. Hartman was appointed vice president of the new company. The Ellwood plant was only the second seamless tube plant in America. Also in 1894, Ralph C. Stiefel came to the Ellwood City from England for the company. Along with becoming a stockholder in the company, Stiefel accepted the position of general manager and introduced his own patented process for making seamless tubing. Ellwood Weldless became the first company in the United States to make tubing by the Stiefel method making it one of the leaders in the tubing industry.
In the early part of 1897, The Weldless Tubing Co. built a new plant located between Sixth and Eighth Street stretching from Beaver to Factory Streets. By the fall of the same year, the new plant was absorbed by the Shelby Steel Tube Company and would become known as Mill “B”. Ellwood Weldless Tube Co.’s name was also changed to the Shelby Steel Tube Company. The newly formed Shelby Steel Tube Co. was actually a merger of plants in Shelby Ohio, Greenville PA, and the Ellwood Weldless Tube Company. Mr. Emsworth of Ellwood City was named the first Superintendent and R.C. Stiefel was appointed manager.
From the time Ralph C. Stiefel accepted the position of Superintendent at Ellwood Seamless Tube Co. straight from England, he was connected with the Shelby Seamless Tube Company until 1899. At that time along with J.H. Nicholson, he left the Shelby Company and erected the Standard Seamless Tube Company with some friends in Ellwood City and was in direct competition with Shelby Seamless. The National Steel Tube Co. bought the Standard Company in 1901.
Soon after National purchased Standard, the United States Steel Corporation absorbed National Tube and at the end of June 1901, it also absorbed the Shelby Steel Tube Company and Mr. Stiefel was made General Superintendent of all the plants in the country. Now all the seamless tube works were now conducted under the name of the Shelby Steel Tube Company.
In 1905, the U.S. Steel Ellwood plant consolidated Shelby Steel Tube Company (Mill A) and National Steel Tube Company (Mill B) and became National Tube Company (a subsidiary of United States Steel Corporation). After a fire destroyed the Shelby Ohio Works plant in 1908, all the seamless tube works was produced in Ellwood City. Due to the growth, the Ellwood City Works of the National Tube Company expanded to 127 total acres with 23 acres under a roof. The plants were served by direct connection with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and by the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad. The Ellwood Works had an annual capacity of 350,000 gross tons of tubular goods in 1942. Employment during World War II reached 4,000 employees.
August 1,1946 an announcement was made that operations at the Ellwood Works would be phased out over a three year period. The closing was avoided and 1959 saw major expansion adding two new structures for stainless steel adding 40,000 more square feet. In 1974, U.S. Steel closed its doors in Ellwood City and the last seamless tube was produced at the National Tube Company. When the plant closed employment had dipped down to a little over one thousand people.
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My father, like many other men in the area,was employed by the tube mill.He was well respected and quite knowledgeable about the production of seamless pipe.so much so that he was taken to Gary ind.to assist in the setup of production of seamless there.but my mother got lonely and begged him to come home and he did.but he was so important to the project there that the project supt. showed up at our house to encourage him to go back. and he did. O what memories! I also remember during WWii, guards stationed around the mill ( they were making rocket casings there)
To clear up some former info. regarding tube mill guards during wwii. due to the fact that the ellwood plant,at that time was very critical to the war effort. The govt. had a military detachment of guards stationed at the main gate and at the burnstown gate.The perimeter fence was lit and a road along the fence which was regularly patrolled.the tube mill at that time had 4200 employees and ellwood city had the highest per capita income in the state.there probably aren’t too many pictures because taking pictures around a defense plant during the war was prohibited.
With regards to the effect that the tube mill had on the lives of Ellwood city and environ residents. It operated on three shifts.7-3,3-11 and 11-7 .the shifts were ended by the blowing of a largesteam whistle which could be heard for miles around.payday was every other friday. I lived in Frisco, so you could see the three armored cars ,coming from Pittsburgh with the payroll. The town was geared to the tube mill. The two theaters. the Manos and the Majestic,started running films at 10:30 a.m.to accomodate those men working the 3-11 shift. there were a large number of stores,clothing, hardware,furniture,dairy stores,and who can forget ISALY,s. It was a wonderful time
Thank you for your comments. My great-grandfather Newton Nuttall listed in the 1900 census that he worked in a tube mill in Ellwood City. He died there in 1913. He emigrated from England in 1873. Originally he was from Salford and then Manchester (Newton Heath, where his oldest chilren were born). Everyone said he was from Newton Heath, but after looking at the census, I think that was said simply because his surviving daughters had been born there. I would like to learn where he might have worked and also if any distant relatives might still be in the area. My grandfather Clifford James Nuttall, the product of Newton’s second marriage, (1899-1974), went through Ellwood City and Beaver Falls, his father’s original home after emigrating to the US in 1873, in 1955.
Grandpa did a census and after always being told we were the “lonely
Nuttalls”, I suddenly realized we were related to half of Beaver Falls. That’s a bit of an exaggeration.
I always have fond memories of Pee Wee’s Hot Dog shop and the lady,Mena? with hot dogs lined up to her armpit..and how GOOD those dogs were. Going to the Majestic for movies. The Oasis was another wonderful place to sit and relax in the restaurant part, and buzz for the waitress from the booth! No place on Earth like HOME! My Father, Uncle, and both my Grandfathers worked at the “Tube Mill” until they retired. Great benefits! I remember the parties the mill would sponser for grade school kids at Christmas at the Shelby. Going to Murpheys 5&10. So many places that are not there anymore.