The Illinois Steel Company was an American

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

producer with five plants in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

and

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. Founded through a consolidation in 1889, Illinois Steel grew to become the largest steel producer in the United States. In 1898, several other steel and transportation companies were

merged Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of a company, business organization, or one of their operating units is transferred to or consolidated with another entity. They may happen through direct absorpt ...

into it to form the Federal Steel Company, itself merged into

U.S. Steel The United States Steel Corporation is an American steel company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It maintains production facilities at several additional locations in the U.S. and Central Europe. The company produces and sells steel products, ...

in 1901.

History

The first mill associated with the Illinois Steel Company was the North Chicago Rolling Mill, founded in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

by Eber Brock Ward in 1857 as a mill to re-roll iron rails. In 1865, this mill was converted into a steel mill, shortly after the

Bessemer process The Bessemer process was the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass production of steel from molten pig iron before the development of the open hearth furnace. The key principle is steelmaking, removal of impurities and undesired eleme ...

was introduced. The Illinois Steel Company was founded in 1889 following the consolidation of three companies; The North Chicago Rolling Mill Company had plants in Chicago,

South Chicago, Chicago South Chicago, formerly known as Ainsworth, is one of the 77 community areas of Chicago, Illinois. This chevron-shaped community is one of Chicago's 16 lakefront neighborhoods near the southern rim of Lake Michigan 10 miles south of downtow ...

(1880), and

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

(1868), The Union Iron Company (1863) of Chicago and the Joliet Steel Company (1870) were also involved in the merge. The company was based in the

Rookery Building The Rookery Building is a historic office building located at 209 South LaSalle Street in the Chicago Loop. Completed by architects Daniel Burnham and John Wellborn Root of Burnham and Root in 1888, it is considered one of their masterpie ...

in downtown Chicago. Branch offices operated in the Empire Building in

New York, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

; the Pioneer Press Building in

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

; the Cuyahoga Building in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

; the Security Building in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

; and an office in

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

. The Illinois Steel Company became the largest steel company in the state. The company also owned a controlling interest in the Chicago, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway, coal mines in

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, iron mines in

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

and

, and limestone mines in

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. Illinois Steel grew to become one of the largest steel and iron producers in the country by the late 1880s, producing over 1.1 million tons of

pig iron Pig iron, also known as crude iron, is an intermediate good used by the iron industry in the production of steel. It is developed by smelting iron ore in a blast furnace. Pig iron has a high carbon content, typically 3.8–4.7%, along with si ...

and about one million tons of steel. The company specialized in

rail track Railway track ( and UIC terminology) or railroad track (), also known as permanent way () or "P way" ( and Indian English), is the structure on a railway or railroad consisting of the rails, fasteners, sleepers (railroad ties in American E ...

(including rail, fastenings, and steel plates),

mineral wool Mineral wool is any fibrous material formed by spinning or drawing molten mineral or rock materials such as slag and ceramics. Applications of mineral wool include thermal insulation (as both structural insulation and pipe insulation), fi ...

, wire, pig iron, and

hydraulic Hydraulics () is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is the liquid counterpart of pneumatics, which concer ...

Portland cement Portland cement is the most common type of cement in general use around the world as a basic ingredient of concrete, mortar (masonry), mortar, stucco, and non-specialty grout. It was developed from other types of hydraulic lime in England in th ...

. Railroads using Illinois Steel products included the

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996. The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport; at variou ...

, Wabash,

Chicago & Alton The Alton Railroad was the final name of a railroad linking Chicago to Alton, Illinois; St. Louis, Missouri; and Kansas City, Missouri. Its predecessor, the Chicago and Alton Railroad , was purchased by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1931 an ...

, and

Baltimore & Ohio The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the oldest railroad in the United States and the first steam-operated common carrier. Construction of the line began in 1828, and it operated as B&O from 1830 until 1987, when it was merged into the Chessie ...

. Pig iron operations were handled in conjunction with Pickands, Brown & Company. The success of Illinois Steel did not go unchecked. The

Carnegie Steel Company Carnegie Steel Company was a steel-producing company primarily created by Andrew Carnegie and several close associates to manage businesses at steel mills in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area in the late 19th century. The company was formed in ...

had a more efficient operation in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

and sought to force Illinois Steel into receivership. Carnegie sold steel near Chicago at only eighteen cents a ton, forcing Illinois Steel to sell their products below production cost. The ploy worked and by 1896, Illinois Steel had drawn papers to place the company into receivership. Before these papers could be filed, however, Illinois Steel decided to focus on expanding their market to the west of Chicago, where Carnegie lacked sufficient supply lines. This strategy proved successful. In 1898, the Illinois Steel Company acquired the Minnesota Iron Company, Lorain Steel Company of Ohio, the Johnson Company of Pennsylvania, and the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway, forming the Federal Steel Company. Upon completion of the merge, general counsel

Elbert Henry Gary Elbert Henry Gary (October 8, 1846August 15, 1927) was an American lawyer, county judge and business executive. He was a founder of U.S. Steel in 1901 alongside J. P. Morgan, William H. Moore, Henry Clay Frick and Charles M. Schwab. The cit ...

became president of the company. In February 1901, Gary worked with

J. P. Morgan John Pierpont Morgan Sr. (April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913) was an American financier and investment banker who dominated corporate finance on Wall Street throughout the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. As the head of the banking firm that ...

to have him acquire Carnegie Steel. Days after the acquisition was approved, Gary announced his intent to merge Federal Steel into Carnegie to form what would be known as

. The new company began operations on April 1, 1901.

Bridges

Works include (with variations in attribution): * Hawkeye Creek Bridge, Hawkeye Rd. over Hawkeye Cr.,

Mediapolis, Iowa Mediapolis is a city in Des Moines County, Iowa, United States. Its population was 1,688 at the time of the 2020 census. It is part of the Burlington, IA– IL Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Mediapolis was founded in the year ...

(Illinois Steel Co.), NRHP-listed * North Skunk River Bridge, Co. Rd. G13 over North Skunk R.,

New Sharon, Iowa New Sharon is a city in Mahaska County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,262 at the time of the 2020 census. The first building was erected in 1856 by Edward Quaintance. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city ...

(American Bridge Co., Illinois Steel Co.), NRHP-listed * Okoboji Bridge, 180th Ave. over branch of Little Sioux R.,

Milford, Iowa Milford is a city in Dickinson County, Iowa, United States. The population was 3,321 at the time of the 2020 census. The town includes many businesses related to its location in the Iowa Great Lakes region and is often referred to as the sou ...

(Illinois Steel Co.), NRHP-listed * Park Avenue Bridge, Park Ave. over the San Francisco River,

Clifton, Arizona Clifton is a town in and is the county seat of Greenlee County, Arizona, United States, along the San Francisco River. The population of the town was 3,311 at the 2010 census, with a 2018 population estimate of 3,700. It was a place of the A ...

(Illinois Steel Co.), NRHP-listed * Sappa Creek Bridge, Co. Rd. over Sappa Cr., 2 mi. E of Stamford,

Stamford, Nebraska Stamford is a village in Harlan County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 183 at the 2010 census. History Stamford was laid out in 1887 when the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was extended to that point. It was likely named ...

(Illinois Steel Co.), NRHP-listed * Sargent Bridge, Dawson St. over the Middle Loup R., 1 mi. S of Sargent,

Sargent, Nebraska Sargent is a city in Custer County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 525 at the 2010 census. History Sargent was laid out in 1883 by future Governor Ezra P. Savage. Mrs. Ruth Sherman established a post office in 1879. The office w ...

(Illinois Steel Co.), NRHP-listed * State Highway 71 Bridge at the Colorado River, TX 71, .8 mi E of jct. with FM 609,

La Grange, Texas La Grange ( ) is a city and the county seat of Fayette County, Texas, United States, near the Colorado River. La Grange is in the center of the Texas-German belt. The population was 4,391 at the 2010 census, and in 2018 the estimated population ...

(Illinois Steel Bridge Company, et al.), NRHP-listed *

State Highway 78 Bridge at the Red River The Highway 78 Bridge at the Red River is an eight-span through truss bridge over the Red River between Oklahoma and Texas on Oklahoma State Highway 78/Texas State Highway 78. It was built as a federal relief project during the Great Depressi ...

, OK 78, across the Red River at the OK-TX state line,

Ravenna, Texas Ravenna is a city in Fannin County, Texas, United States. The population was 175 at the 2020 census. Geography Ravenna is located in northwestern Fannin County. It is northwest of Bonham, the county seat, northeast of Bells, and southeast ...

and Ravenna, Oklahoma (Illinois Steel Bridge Company, et al.), NRHP-listed * Sweetwater Mill Bridge, Co. Rd. over Mud Cr.,

Sweetwater, Nebraska Sweetwater is an unincorporated community in Beaver Township, Buffalo County, Nebraska, United States. It lies along Nebraska Highway 2, halfway between Ravenna and Hazard. It is a part of the Kearney, Nebraska Micropolitan Statistical Are ...

(Illinois Steel Co.), NRHP-listed

References

{{reflist Steel companies of the United States U.S. Steel Bridge companies Defunct manufacturing companies based in Chicago Manufacturing companies established in 1889 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1898 1889 establishments in Illinois 1898 disestablishments in Illinois Construction and civil engineering companies established in 1889 American companies established in 1889