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Bethlehem Steel Company Documents, 1905-1945

 Collection
Identifier: SC MS 0181

Scope and Contents

This collection contains five documents related to Bethlehem Steel Company’s interest in blast furnaces, coke oven gases and open hearth furnaces.

Dates

  • Creation: 1905-1945

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Biographical / Historical

Andrew J. Farabaugh, the author of three of the documents, was a member of Lehigh’s Class of 1904 graduating as an engineer of mining. His brother Louis Edward Farabaugh, was also a member of the Class of 1904 graduating as a mechanical engineer. Both Farabaugh brothers worked for Bethlehem Steel Company during their engineering careers. The Farabaugh brothers’s hometown was Altoona, Pa. and both seemed to have been familiar with steel factories in western Pennsylvania. Farabaugh was sent by Bethlehem Steel in 1910 to visit European steel manufacturing facilities to observe the European practice of the use of coke oven gas and pig casting machines. Following his trip to Europe, A.J. supervised the refurbishing of blast furnace G for Bethlehem Steel. A. J. Farabaugh was superintendent of Bethlehem Steel Company’s blast furnace G in 1915. This blast furnace was reputed to be one of the finest in the country. Later in his career he returned to his hometown of Altoona, Pa. to work for the Cambria Steel Works. The 1945 report in this collection contains bound blueprints of many Pennsylvania steel plants as they were in 1905 among them the Cambria Steel Works.

Extent

1 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

This collection reflects steel making practice at the turn of the twentieth century particularly the reuse of by-products of steel manufacture. It appears that the European steel manufacture was interested in economical reuse of the by-products. Bethlehem Steel Company recognized the potential of the European manufacturing practice and sent engineers to Europe to observe these practices. Also included in this collection are descriptions of Pennsylvania steel mills at the turn of the twentieth century.

Arrangement

The collection contains four paper manuscripts and one bound book.

Title
Bethlehem Steel Company Documents, 1905-1945
Status
Completed
Date
2012-07-09
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Part of the Lehigh University Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Lehigh University
Linderman Library
30 Library Drive
Bethlehem PA 18045 USA
610-758-4506
610-758-6091 (Fax)