(c. 1907) Pic courtesy of Library of Congress
In 1952, the Chicago Tribune reported that the city of Chicago produced more steel than the entire country of Great Britain. This remarkable feat was achieved through the combined efforts of the city’s numerous steel mills.
The long and colorful history of Chicago’s steel mills begins in 1857 with the opening of the city’s first steel mill, North Chicago Rolling Mill Company. Within three years, the mill became one of the biggest companies in the area, with its primary focus on making rails for the railroad.
Slowly but surely, more steel mills opened for business. A majority of them opened their doors on the South Side, including:
- Wisconsin Steel. Originally known as the Joseph H. Brown Iron & Steel Company, the mill went through several names before settling on Wisconsin Steel. It ultimately shut down in 1980 after more than 100 years in operation.
- Republic Steel. Business for Republic Steel grew steadily after the Second World War, but the mill is best known because of the Memorial Day Massacre in 1937. Ten people were killed and 105 injured when a peaceful protest in response to the company’s refusal to recognize the steel workers union turned deadly.
- Acme Steel. Acme Steel was in operation until 2001, when it closed after several years in bankruptcy. It was home to Chicago’s last blast furnace, which was torn down a few years later.
- Youngstown Sheet & Tube. Originally known as Iroquois Steel, Youngstown was one of four companies that went on strike—resulting in the Memorial Day Massacre.
- South Works. This South Side plant was an expansion of the North Chicago Rolling Mill. It was once the largest mill in the area, employing nearly 20,000 people.
Over time, all of these mills became part of U.S. Steel, the world’s largest business enterprise at the time and founded by none other than J. P. Morgan, the steadfast financier who dominated the corporate landscape throughout The Gilded Age.
As the demand for steel grew, so too did the demand for labor. To fill the vacant jobs in the steel mills, immigrants began to flock to the area, resulting in significant overcrowding in parts of the city and surrounding towns.
Chicago’s Immigrants Begin to Arrive
For several decades, the high wages offered by the steel mills attracted immigrants from around the world. In the 1870s and 1880s, people came from Ireland, Scotland, and Germany to find work in the blossoming steel industry. From the late 1800s until World War I, Polish and Serbian immigrants began to arrive. After the war, they came from the southern United States and Mexico.
The growth of Chicago’s steel industry can be largely attributed to the city’s close proximity to the Great Lakes and the Calumet River. This location provided access to both an immigrant workforce from the surrounding neighborhoods and easy transportation for raw materials and finished goods.
As the number of steel workers in the area grew, they began to recognize the need for safe working conditions and fair pay and attempted to organize to make their demands. When some of the smaller steel companies, known as “Little Steel” (in opposition to U.S. Steel— “Big Steel”), refused to sign a union contract, the Steel Workers Organizing Committee (SWOC) staged a strike which was more than unsuccessful: it was tragic. Police fired on the unarmed crowd of protesters, resulting in 10 deaths and more than 100 injuries, an event known as the Memorial Day Massacre.
The Steel Mills Begin to Close
As modern American industry began to change over the decades, one by one, the steel mills began to close.
Wisconsin Steel shut down in 1980 without warning its employees, leaving more than 3,000 people suddenly without a means of supporting themselves and their families. South Works closed its doors in 1992 after two decades of downsizing. After enduring several bankruptcies throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Republic Steel ended all of its operations in the early 2000s.
Although shutting down these massive companies had an overwhelming impact on the community and the people who relied on the mills to make a living, even as they went away, the immigrants remained. They had made their homes in the The Windy City.
Manor Tool & Manufacturing + Chicago
Chicago’s sprawling steel industry called for additional services to support steel production. With that in mind, Manor Tool opened in 1959 as a tool and die shop.
Since then, we have expanded our service offerings to include metal stamping, specializing in punching, bending, forming, and deep drawn stamping for prototype to high volume production runs. We work with a wide range of metals, including stainless steel, carbon steel, and much more. Our metal stamping capabilities include:
We also offer metal fabrication capabilities, such as:
At Manor Tool, we’re proud to be a part of the long tradition of steel production and metal stamping in Chicago, and we look forward to helping shape the industry for years to come. We serve the greater Chicago area and beyond, so we invite you to contact us and request a quote to learn more.
"Kama ilivyoelezwa katika gazeti la Chicago Tribune, ""mwaka wa 1952 mji wa Chicago ulitengeneza chuma zaidi kuliko nchi nzima ya Uingereza.""" Jambo hilo la ajabu lilitimizwa kwa jitihada za pamoja za viwanda vingi vya chuma vya jiji hilo. Historia ya muda mrefu na ya rangi ya viwanda vya chuma vya Chicago huanza mnamo 1857 na ufunguzi wa kiwanda cha chuma cha kwanza cha jiji, North Chicago Rolling Mill Company. Baada ya miaka mitatu, kiwanda hicho kilikuwa mojawapo ya makampuni makubwa zaidi katika eneo hilo, na kilikuwa kikijitahidi hasa kutengeneza reli za reli. Polepole lakini kwa uhakika, viwanda zaidi vya chuma vilianza kufanya kazi. Wengi wao kufunguliwa milango yao juu ya South Side, ikiwa ni pamoja na: - Wisconsin Steel. Awali inajulikana kama Joseph H. Brown Iron & Steel Company, kinu hicho kilipitia majina kadhaa kabla ya kuhamia Wisconsin Steel. Hatimaye ilifungwa mwaka 1980 baada ya miaka zaidi ya 100 ya uendeshaji. - Jamhuri ya Chuma. Kampuni ya Republic Steel ilizidi kukua baada ya Vita Kuu ya Pili ya Dunia, lakini kiwanda hicho kinajulikana zaidi kwa sababu ya mauaji ya Siku ya Ukumbusho mnamo 1937. Watu 10 waliuawa na 105 kujeruhiwa wakati maandamano ya amani ya kukataa kwa kampuni hiyo kutambua chama cha wafanyakazi wa chuma yalipoanza. - Acme Steel. Acme Steel iliendelea kufanya kazi hadi 2001, wakati ilifungwa baada ya miaka kadhaa ya kufilisika. Lilikuwa makao ya tanuru ya mwisho ya Chicago, ambayo ilibomolewa miaka michache baadaye. - Youngstown Sheet na Tube. Awali inajulikana kama Iroquois Steel, Youngstown ilikuwa moja ya makampuni manne ambayo akaenda kwenye mgomo - na kusababisha Memorial Day Massacre. - Kazi za Kusini. Kiwanda hiki cha South Side kilikuwa upanuzi wa North Chicago Rolling Mill. Wakati mmoja, kiwanda hicho kilikuwa kikubwa zaidi katika eneo hilo, na kilikuwa na wafanyakazi karibu 20,000. Baada ya muda, viwanda vyote hivyo vikawa sehemu ya kampuni ya U.S. Steel, kampuni kubwa zaidi ya biashara duniani wakati huo, na ilianzishwa na J.P. Morgan, mfadhili thabiti ambaye alitawala mazingira ya ushirika katika Enzi ya Dhahabu. Kadiri mahitaji ya chuma yalivyoongezeka, ndivyo na mahitaji ya wafanyakazi yalivyoongezeka. Ili kujaza nafasi za kazi katika viwanda vya chuma, wahamiaji walianza kuja katika eneo hilo, na kusababisha msongamano mkubwa katika sehemu za jiji na miji ya jirani. Wahamiaji wa Chicago Wanaanza Kuwasili Kwa miongo kadhaa, mishahara mikubwa iliyotolewa na viwanda vya chuma ilivutia wahamiaji kutoka sehemu zote za ulimwengu. Katika miaka ya 1870 na 1880, watu kutoka Ireland, Scotland, na Ujerumani walikuja kutafuta kazi katika viwanda vya chuma vilivyokuwa vikikua. Kuanzia mwishoni mwa karne ya 19 hadi Vita Kuu ya Kwanza ya Ulimwengu, wahamiaji wa Kipolishi na Waserbia walianza kufika. Baada ya vita, walikuja kutoka kusini mwa Marekani na Mexico. Ukuaji wa sekta ya chuma ya Chicago inaweza kwa kiasi kikubwa kuhusishwa na mji wa ukaribu wa Great Lakes na Mto Calumet. Eneo hilo lilitoa fursa kwa wafanyakazi wahamiaji kutoka maeneo ya karibu na usafirishaji rahisi wa malighafi na bidhaa zilizokamilika. Kadiri idadi ya wafanyakazi wa chuma ilivyokua, walianza kutambua uhitaji wa hali salama za kazi na mshahara wa haki na wakajaribu kuandaa ili kufanya madai yao. Wakati baadhi ya makampuni madogo ya chuma, inayojulikana kama "Little Steel" (kinyume na US Steel) alikataa kusaini mkataba wa chama, wafanyakazi wa chuma Kamati ya Kuandaa (SWOC) staged mgomo ambayo ilikuwa zaidi ya kushindwa: ilikuwa msiba. Polisi walifyatua risasi dhidi ya waandamanaji wasio na silaha, na kusababisha vifo vya watu 10 na kujeruhiwa zaidi ya 100, tukio linalojulikana kama Mauaji ya Siku ya Ukumbusho. Mimea ya chuma ilianza kufungwa, na kwa miaka mingi, viwanda vya chuma vilikuwa vimeanza kufungwa. Wisconsin Steel ilifungwa mnamo 1980 bila kuwaonya wafanyakazi wake, na kuacha watu zaidi ya 3,000 ghafla bila njia ya kujitegemeza na familia zao. Kampuni ya South Works ilifungwa mwaka 1992 baada ya miaka 20 ya kupunguzwa kwa idadi ya wafanyakazi. Baada ya kukabiliwa na kufilisika mara kadhaa katika miaka ya 1980 na 1990, Republic Steel ilimaliza shughuli zake zote mapema miaka ya 2000. Ingawa kufungwa kwa makampuni haya makubwa kulikuwa na athari kubwa kwa jamii na watu ambao walitegemea viwanda ili kupata riziki, hata walipoondoka, wahamiaji walibaki. Walikuwa wamejenga nyumba zao katika Jiji la Upepo. Manor Tool & Manufacturing + Chicago Sekta ya chuma ya Chicago ilihitaji huduma za ziada kusaidia uzalishaji wa chuma. Manor Tool ilifunguliwa mnamo 1959 kama duka la zana na kufa. Tangu wakati huo, tumeongeza huduma zetu kwa kujumuisha stamping chuma, maalumu katika punching, bending, kuunda, na deep drawn stamping kwa prototype kwa high kiasi cha uzalishaji anaendesha. Sisi kazi na mbalimbali ya metali, ikiwa ni pamoja na chuma cha pua, chuma cha kaboni, na mengi zaidi. "Manufacturing ni moja ya viwanda vya chuma vya zamani zaidi nchini Marekani, na ""Manor Tool"" inajivunia kuwa sehemu ya utamaduni wa muda mrefu wa uzalishaji wa chuma na chuma stamping katika Chicago, na tunatarajia kusaidia kuunda sekta kwa miaka ijayo." Sisi ni msaidizi wa eneo la Chicago na zaidi, kwa hiyo tunakualika uwasiliane nasi na kuomba nukuu ili kujifunza zaidi.