About this collection

The Midvale Steel Company manufactured steel parts for the railroad and the armaments industries. The company was established in 1867 in the Nicetown area of Germantown, Philadelphia by William Butcher. Upon his death in 1871, the Butcher Steel Works was taken over by the principal stockholders. The renamed Midvale Steel Works became best known for its its early experimentation with alloy steels and for its production of railroad wheels cast from open-hearth steel, one of the earliest uses of this type of steel in the United States.

In 1880, it was renamed the Midvale Steel Company. It began manufacturing ordnance in 1895 and marine engines in 1900. Expansion during World War I led to a new name in 1915; the Midvale Steel and Ordnance Company, and additional plants in Johnstown and Coatesville, PA. In 1923, these new plants were acquired by the Bethlehem Steel Company. In 1955, the Philadelphia works merged with the Heppenstall Steel Company to become Midvale-Heppenstall Company. The Philadelphia plant closed in 1976.

This album contains photographs showing exteriors and interiors of Midvale Steel facilities in Philadelphia. There are also close-ups of machinery, products, and tests of armor plate.

Image: Shaft with cast steel propeller, ca. 1905. Click here to view this image in the collection. Click here to view the finding aid.