Chronicle - Winter 2007

Butler County Heritage Project

In 2006, Butler County officials began working with the Steel Industry Heritage Corporation (SIHC) to develop a plan for incorporating Butler County into the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area.  As part of the plan's development, SIHC is coordinating a field survey to document the County's industrial history and cultural traditions.  A group of fieldworkers will also conduct oral history interview with residents, visit ethnic churches and clubs, photograph historic sites, and attend cultural events.

In September, Butler County Commissioner Scott K. Lowe announced a public meeting to introduce Butler County residents to the concept of heritage planning and the goal of incorporating Butler County into the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area.  Goals for heritage development in Butler County include:  increasing heritage tourism, preserving or reusing historic properties where possible, and assisting cultural groups who wish to maintain and share with others their traditional arts and skills.

"The public meeting encourages Butler County residents to participate in the process of preserving their heritage while planning for future economic opportunities," said August R. Carlino, President and CEO of SIHC.  "We are hopeful the public will attend to share information on the County's history and cultural traditions."

National Historic Landmark Designation for Carrie Furnaces

On November 4, 2006, U.S. Representative Mike Doyle (PA-14) announced that the Carrie Furnaces site in Swissvale and Rankin had recently been designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL) by the National Park Service.   This distinction is shared by fewer than 3,000 sites in the entire country.  

"This announcement of the Carrie Furnaces as a National Historic Landmark is a designation that has taken many years to achieve and is the result of a lot of hard work by so many people," said August R. Carlino, President and CEO of SIHC.  "To attain this designation as an NHL means that the Carrie Furnaces are supremely significant in not only our industrial history but our nation's heritage."

Representing the National Park Service (NPS) at the ceremony was Dr. Janet Matthews, Associate Director for Cultural Resources at the NPS.

"The Carrie Blast Furnaces represent Pittsburgh when it led the world in iron and steel production," said Matthews.   "This National Historic Landmark designation honors a property that produced the construction materials that built the nation."

Southwestern Pennsylvania was the steel-making capital of the world in the 19th and 20th centuries.  The region's steel mills made the United States the economic and military superpower it is today.   Consequently, the region contains a great number of nationally significant historic, industrial and cultural resources.  Carrie Furnaces 6 and 7 are rare examples of important early 20th Century industrial technology. 

Congressman Doyle and SIHC have been working to establish a National Historic Site that would include Carrie Furnaces 6 and 7, the Hot Metal Bridge and the Battle of Homestead site.

 "I believe this announcement today will help us move legislation through Congress to make these sites part of the National Park Service," Congressman Doyle observed.  "I want to make sure that this nation always remembers how much it owes to the workers who labored in the steel mills of southwestern Pennsylvania."

Carrie Furnace Hard Hat Tours

Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area operated the first-ever public tours of the Carrie Furnaces on four Saturdays in September and October.  The Hard Hat Tours gave an eager public their first opportunity to experience the scale and majesty of the historic furnaces.

The Hard Hat Tours were co-led by ROS staff and by retired steelworkers Ron Gault and Jim Kapusta who both worked in the cast house at the Carrie Furnaces in the 1970s and 80s; Walter Patton, who worked at the Duquesne Works for more than 40 years; and Mike Boytim, a foreman at the Pump House before the Homestead Works closed in 1986.  Gault, Kapusta, Patton and Boytim told stories about their years smelting iron and working steel, adding humor and reality to the sold-out tours that drew visitors from as far away as California.

"The popularity of the Hard Hat Tours demonstrates that interest in the region's steel heritage remains strong," said August R. Carlino, President and CEO of SIHC.

Hard Hat Tours will resume in Spring 2007.  For more information on the Carrie Furnace Hard Hat Tours and photos of Carrie Furnaces visit our website at www.riversofsteel.com.