Tag: Nail City

September 30, 2010: Wheeling-La Belle Nail Company Closes

The Wheeling-La Belle Nail Company closed on September 30, 2010, ending more than 150 years in business. The company was founded in 1852 in South Wheeling as the La Belle Ironworks.

It manufactured cut nails—a key construction material in 19th-century America. By 1875, Wheeling was known as the Nail City, and La Belle was the city’s leading nail producer.

As cut nail use declined in favor of modern wire nails in the late 1800s, La Belle diversified its line by manufacturing tin plate and steel plates, tubes, and sheets. In 1920, La Belle merged with the Wheeling Iron and Steel Company and the Whitaker-Glessner Company to form the Wheeling Steel Corporation, which later became Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel. As part of this massive corporation, La Belle kept producing cut nails and developed a specialized market in hardened nails for masonry work.

D-Mac Industries bought the nail plant in 1997 and operated it as Wheeling-La Belle Nail Company. Amazingly, the company continued to use much of its original technology from the 1850s. Facing an economic downturn and foreign competition, though, Wheeling-La Belle Nail was finally forced to close.

June 21, 1920: Wheeling Steel Created

One June 21, 1920, the LaBelle Iron Works, Whitaker-Glessner, and Wheeling Steel & Iron Works combined to form the Wheeling Steel Corporation.

With some 17,000 workers, Wheeling Steel was the nation’s third-largest steelmaker.By that time, Wheeling was already known worldwide for its iron works, which dated back to the 1830s. Its most famous product was the cut nail, earning Wheeling the nickname “Nail City.” During the 1880s, Wheeling Steel & Iron’s Benwood Works produced the first steel pipe in the United States. Other well-known Wheeling Steel products included tin cans, lard pails, stoves, lunch pails, and steel plates and sheets.

By the 1960s, Wheeling Steel plants stretched for 30 miles along the Ohio River. In 1968, Wheeling Steel merged with Pittsburgh Steel to form the Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corporation. Wheeling-Pitt, headquartered in downtown Wheeling, produced rolled steel products for industry, construction, highway and bridge building, and agriculture. As the U.S. steel industry declined in the late 20th century, Wheeling-Pitt sold off some of its works and filed twice for bankruptcy. In 2012, RG Steel, which had acquired Wheeling-Pitt, announced plans to idle its factories.

Wheeling Steel Created: June 21, 1920

One June 21, 1920, the LaBelle Iron Works, Whitaker-Glessner, and Wheeling Steel & Iron Works combined to form the Wheeling Steel Corporation.

With some 17,000 workers, Wheeling Steel was the nation’s third-largest steelmaker.

By that time, Wheeling was already known worldwide for its iron works, which dated back to the 1830s. Its most famous product was the cut nail, earning Wheeling the nickname “Nail City.” During the 1880s, Wheeling Steel & Iron’s Benwood Works produced the first steel pipe in the United States. Other well-known Wheeling Steel products included tin cans, lard pails, stoves, lunch pails, and steel plates and sheets.

By the 1960s, Wheeling Steel plants stretched for 30 miles along the Ohio River. In 1968, Wheeling Steel merged with Pittsburgh Steel to form the Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corporation. Wheeling-Pitt, headquartered in downtown Wheeling, produced rolled steel products for industry, construction, highway and bridge building, and agriculture. As the U.S. steel industry declined in the late 20th century, Wheeling-Pitt sold off some of its works and filed twice for bankruptcy. In 2012, RG Steel, which had acquired Wheeling-Pitt, announced plans to idle its factories.

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