Wheeling Steel Corporation Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

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 20^th 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.

April 28, 1924: 119 Miners Die in Benwood Mine Explosion

A little after 7 a.m. on April 28, 1924, miners at Benwood in Marshall County were preparing their work areas for their daily shift. One miner approached a roof fall, thinking incorrectly that it’d been examined by the fire boss.

Memorial ceremony for miners killed after the Benwood Mine Disaster.

His open light ignited firedamp, which is an explosive mixture of methane and air. An explosion ripped through the mine, which was dry and dusty with poor ventilation and sprinkling practices. The explosion spread quickly, and slate and debris blocked portions of the main entry.

The rescue effort was slow, difficult, and dangerous. It began shortly after the initial explosion, but rescuers had little luck due to the risk of additional explosions and roof falls. 119 miners died in the Benwood mine, which was owned by Wheeling Steel Corporation. There were no survivors. Many of the victims were recent European immigrants, particularly Italians and Poles.

Benwood ranks as the third worst coal mine disaster in West Virginia history. Ironically, it occurred 10 years to the day after the state’s second worst disaster. Exactly a decade earlier, an explosion at Eccles in Raleigh County had killed 183.

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.