Danny Hill made mention of a Capt. Rogers in one of his posts. Theres an interesting story about Capt. William Rogers who, along with TJ Burchfield started Leechburgs first iron mill in 1872. Apparently, Rogers was quite a character. He traveled to Russia, where, at the time, the highest quality steel in the world was being manufactured. His goal was to learn as many valuable secrets regarding the manufacture of what was called planished iron (used for locomotive boilers). History suggests that the Russians were not too happy with him, But the plan paid off. Their mill produced 250 tons of finished iron per month that equaled the quality of Russian iron. But Rogers had experimented with natural gas as early as 1869, and since the Kiskiminetas River bubbled with natural gas, he devised a furnace to take advantage of this free, natural resource. The furnace and mill were very successful, and the mill was named the Siberian Iron Works because of Rogers Russian trip. And thats how Siberian Avenue got its name. Unfortunately the effects of the largest and longest global economic disaster, the 1873 Panic, filtered down to Leechburg in 1874. By 1875, Rogers and Burchfields Siberian Iron Works had failed. It was subsequently purchased at auction by Joseph G Beale, John C Kirkpatrick, and John C Wallace. (And thats how Beale Ave., Kirkpatrick Ave., and Wallace Ave. got their names.) The Siberian Iron Works was renamed Kirkpatrick, Beale & Co. Heres a photograph taken on February 18, 1885 of a group of employees who worked on the tin mill crew.
Posted on: Sat, 13 Dec 2014 03:39:18 +0000
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