| 1852 |
Sewanee Mining Company founded on
Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee |
| 1860 |
Sewanee Mining Company reorganized as
the Tennessee Coal and Railroad Company
Graphic of TCI
Holdings in 1860
|
| 1863 |
John Milner's Red Mountain Iron
Company builds blast furnace at Oxmoor in Shades Valley, Jefferson County,
Alabama |
| 1864 |
W. S. McIllwain builds Cahaba Iron
Works near Irondale, Alabama |
| 1871 |
Elyton Land Company incorporates
new City of Birmingham at railroad junction of John Milner's North and
South Railroad with the Alabama and Chattanooga Railroad |
| 1874 |
Tennessee Coal and Rail, purchases
Sewanee Furnace Company; begins coke and iron manufacture in
Tennessee. Name changed to Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company |
| 1878 |
Pratt Coal and Coke Company founded by
Henry DeBardeleben, Truman Aldrich and James W. Sloss. Pratt Company
begins 6 mile rail line from mines to connection with the Alabama
and Chattanooga and L&N Railroads. This is predecessor of the
Birmingham Southern Railroad |
| 1881 |
Woodward Iron Company founded by
William and Joseph Woodward. Woodward develops industrial railroad,
another forerunner of the Birmingham Southern RR. |
| 1882 |
Tennessee Company acquires Southern
States Coal, Iron and Land Co. of South Pittsburgh, Tennessee
Pratt Coal and Coke Company sold to Col. Enoch
Ensley, from Memphis, TN. Ensley also acquires the Alice Furnace and
Linn Iron Works, located in downtown Birmingham
Sloss Furnace Company blows in City Furnaces,
downtown Birmingham
Graphic of TCI
Holdings in 1880 |
| 1886 |
Tennessee Coal Iron and Railroad
Company, led by T. T. Hillman and John H. Inman purchase Pratt Coal and
Iron Company from Enoch Ensley -- TCI comes to Birmingham District.
Ensley is first president of TCI |
| 1886 |
DeBardeleben Coal and Iron Company and
town of Bessemer founded; Company buys Oxmoor furnace, land and coal mines
and opens furnaces in Bessemer |
| 1886 |
Town of Ensley, Alabama begins
development |
| 1887 |
James W. Sloss reorganizes Sloss
Iron and Steel Co. |
| 1888 |
Henderson Iron and Manufacturing
Co. makes first "basic" steel in Birmingham from locally
produced iron. This and related developments enables steel industry
to grow in Birmingham, and enables new basic furnaces rather than the
Bessemer converter, which would not work with Birmingham iron ore due to
the phosphorus content. |
| 1889 |
Four blast furnaces at Ensley blown in
-- 800 ton per day total capacity |
| 1891 |
National financial depression
underway |
| 1892 |
TCI acquires Cahaba Coal Co, and
DeBardeleben Coal and Iron Company. TCI becomes largest furnace
operator in the South |
| 1895 |
TCI transfers offices to Birmingham
TCI receives order for basic iron from northern
steel company for manufacture of steel from Birmingham iron. This
paves the way for development of Birmingham steel industry.
|
| 1898 |
TCI introduces Semet-Solvay Company
process and plant for coke by-products production |
| 1899 |
TCI acquires Robinson and Smith mining
companies |
| 1891-1899 |
TCI researches and develops steel
production using Birmingham District iron ore, which is high in
phosphorous
10 open hearth furnaces completed at Ensley --
first 100 ton per day steel production achieved December 1, 1899 --
facilities are second largest in US |
| 1900 |
TCI is operating 17 blast furnaces,
second largest in US
TCI is operating 3256 beehive and 120
Semet-Solvay coke ovens, second in US
TCI is operating 15 red ore mines in Birmingham
District
Graphic of TCI
Holdings in 1899 |
| 1901 |
New leadership, under Don Bacon,
starts aggressive capital improvements |
| 1901 |
J. P. Morgan incorporates U.S. Steel
from Carnegie and Federal steel empires |
| 1902 |
Rail mill completed at Ensley -- rail
is competitive in national market |
| 1903 |
Gates group acquires Republic Steel
and Sloss-Sheffield with Birmingham properties. Gates is vying with
Morgan group's U.S. Steel in the marketplace |
| 1903 |
TCI acquires Ketona and Dolcito
quarries |
| 1905 |
New leadership, under John Gates,
associated with Moore and Schley brokerage house. John Topping, from
Republic installed as chairman |
| 1907 |
Financial panic -- Moore and Schley
threatened, Morgan responds with "public service" deal to
acquire stock of TCI for U.S. Steel bonds |
| 1907 |
U.S. Steel era begins with George
Crawford presidency for next 22 years. Capital expansion continues
with growth as well as social reforms for company property and workers |
| 1907 |
New steel facilities planned, Jemison
Company starts planned town of Corey, Alabama for 15,000 planned
employees. Named for steel executive who later commits suicide, name
is quickly changed to Fairfield. (Explore
TCI Fairfield Works) |
| 1909-1912 |
New coke by-products plant begins at
Fairfield -- 280 Koppers type ovens |
| 1909 |
Pittsburgh Tariff levied by US Steel
on all Birmingham District products to remove competitive edge for
Birmingham compared to Pittsburgh |
| 1909 |
Harbison Walker Refractories of
Pittsburgh, completes plant at Fairfield to serve adjacent furnace
industries |
| 1910 |
TCI begins industrial water system;
Edgewater coal mine work begun - opened in 1912 |
| 1910-1914 |
American Steel and Wire Company build
plant at Fairfield |
| 1912 |
Central power plant completed at
Ensley, using by products gases to drive generators |
| 1914 |
TCI begins ongoing facilities and
programs to improve lives of employees with schools, hospitals, training
programs and housing |
| 1914 |
Plant for pulverizing and bagging
mineral rich slag completed and material sold for agricultural purposes |
| 1917 |
Fairfield Steel Works begun and Ensley
facilities expanded. Fairfield rolling mills produce ship materials
for Chickasaw plants at Mobile for WW I |
| 1920 |
Development of Birmingport facilities
begun on Warrior River to provide "port" facilities for
Birmingham; rail link developed between Fairfield and Birmingport |
| 1921 |
Chickasaw Shipyard closed; Hamilton
coal mine opens |
| 1923 |
11-inch mill completed for merchant steel at
Fairfield; mechanical loading equipment installed in red ore mines |
| 1925 |
High
Ore Line Railroad completed for direct rail connection from Red
Mountain to the Fairfield Works. Trains literally roll downhill from
mine to mill |
| 1925 |
Bayview Dam raised 15 feet to increase
water supply |
| 1925 |
4 open hearth furnaces added to
Fairfield; previously Fairfield had been mills only and ingots were
brought from Ensley by rail |
| 1926 |
Mill completed for sheet products at
Fairfield; 21-inch continuous sheet bar and billet mill; 4 additional open
hearth furnaces added |
| 1927 |
Alice Furnace shut down, 10th St.
South, at junction of L&N and Southern RR's |
| 1928 |
2 new
Blast
furnaces, No. 5 and 6 built at Fairfield (note: No. 1 through 4 were
never built); 63 additional coke ovens built; bale tie and barrel hoop mill completed. |
| 1929 |
Oxmoor (2) and Bessemer (No.'s 1 and
2; No.'s 3 and 4 and No. 5) furnaces are
dismantled |
| 1929 |
Sloss City Furnaces rebuilt,
equipment improved and general layout changed |
| 1938 |
Tin plate mill opened at Fairfield;
structural shape production complemented
For information on modern tin plate production,
see the AISI
Learning Center links
|
| 1940 |
Iron ore conditioning and sintering
plant underway at Wenonah; plant expanded before construction completed |
| 1942 |
Blast Furnace No. 7 completed at
Fairfield (3 total in service at Fairfield); 140-inch plate mill
constructed; Short Creek Mine opened; 25 kVA generator plant installed at
Fairfield |
| 1948 |
Concord mine opened for additional
source of coking coal; red ore terminal built at Mobile, facilities
expanded at Wenonah |
| 1951 |
Flintridge offices opened; TCI moves
from Brown Marx Building downtown at the fabled "heaviest corner on
earth".
Galbraith & Company, developer of Flintridge
Building also begins to acquire mining village housing and moves these
into private market
TCI Hospital begins to operate as Lloyd Nolan
Hospital through private foundation |
| 1952 |
TCI ceases to exist as separate
corporation, becomes TCI Division of US Steel |
| 1953 |
2 open
hearth furnaces added at Fairfield - 2 additional open hearth
furnaces added for total of 12; 10 upgraded to match 2 new furnaces
at 220 ton capacity |
| 1960 |
TCI Centennial celebrated with
publishing of Biography of a Business
Graphic of TCI
Holdings in 1960 |
| 1962 |
Red ore mines closed in Birmingham
District as Venezuelan ores begin to be used |
| 1970 |
Woodward's Pyne Mine closed, deep
ore mine and last of local ore mine operations |
| 1972 |
Sloss's City Furnaces blown out;
owned by Jim Walter Corp |
| 1974 |
Expansion begins at Fairfield Works;
first Q-BOP furnaces in operation locally |
| 1980 |
Plate, wire and rail mills closed --
Ensley and Fairfield consolidation is completed -- Ensley blast furnaces
and open hearths are closed |
| 1981 |
Pipe mill begun at Fairfield Works |
| This material was taken
directly from White's The Birmingham District, An Industrial History
and Guide, pp 91 -97. Additional information taken from Mele's, Birmingham
Southern Railroad Company, The First Century, and from TCI's
Biography of a Business. See Bibliography for additional
information on these and other references. |