INDUSTRIAL KANAWHA VALLEY PHOTOS
Perhaps West Virginia's quintessential Rust Belt town is Weirton. One of the main products of Weirton Steel has been tin plated steel. Empty parking
lots in this photo are indicative of a workforce that has shrunk from about 12,000 employees to 1,200.
Weirton Steel was part of National Steel until 1983. In the middle of the collapse of the American steel industry National Steel
offered to sell the company to its employees, and the employees accepted the offer. The company soldiered on through good and bad years for the next two decades until it was purchased
in 2003 by I.S.G., who in turn was absorbed into Mittall Steel. Sadly, Mittall shut down the hot end of the mill, and now the blast furnaces have gone cold, as shown in this picture. In the fall
of 2007 demolition of these furnaces by Arcelor-Mittal had begun.
The mill continues on toward the downtown section of Weirton. Pictured here is the building containing the unused Basic Oygen Furnace.
A "thickener" type of tank at Weirton Steel.
This coke plant at Follansbee, WV was originally owned by Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Co. and now operates as
Mountain State Carbon, which is a joint venture between the steel company and a Dearborn, MI firm.
Another view of the coke plant at Follansbee
All of this plumbing is required to capture the by-products of coke. The old industrial fixture Koppers
Company is involved in this aspect of the Follansbee coke plant.
Hot coke sits smoking in gondola cars before being shipped across the river to Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Company's blast furnace.
W-P actually has recently built an electric furnace as well.
View of the Follansbee coke plant from the southern end of the operation
Despite the aroma from the coke ovens, Follansbee is a pleasant town with a large Italian-American population and well kept
homes such as these.
The old Blawnox plant in Warwood, WV.
The LaBelle Nail plant in South Wheeling, WV bills itself as the largest cut nail plant in the world. It was built in 1852, but its future
is in question.
Detail of the LaBelle Nail plant.
The back side of the LaBelle Nail plant. The plant was recently upgraded, and maintains a website.
On this day, however, there was no discernable activity.
The cathedral of the Wheeling-Charleston diocese in Wheeling, WV. Wheeling is the Catholic capitol of West Virginia due to the large number of Irish, Polish, Italian,
and other European immigrants that came to this city.
Remnants of the old National Tube pipe mill in Benwood, WV. In the background is the dangerous and dilapidated former toll bridge between Benwood and Bellaire, Ohio.
Another view of the remnants of the National Tube Benwood works.
Clarksburg, WV is a classic Rust Belt town that is also home to the West Virginia Italian Festival.
Disconnected smokestacks echo the lost industrial greatness of Clarksburg.
UCAR carbon plant in the Annmore section of Clarksburg.
CSX railroad trestle in Guyandotte, Cabell County, WV.
This is the Huntington Alloys works of the Special Metals Corporation in Guyandotte, near Huntington, WV. It was built in 1922 as a nickel alloy mill operated by
the International Nickel Company.
View of the Special Metals plant in Guyandotte, WV.
Another picture of the Special Metals alloy plant - note the internal rails for transporting materials around the plant.
This photograph shows another perspective of the Special Metals plant.
Ventillation stacks at Special Metals Huntington Alloys plant.
The Huntington plant of American Car and Foundry (ACF) builds "covered hopper cars".
Shops of ACF in Huntington.
Warehouse district in Huntington, WV.
A portion of Steel of West Virginia's mill in Huntington, WV.
Steel of West Virginia began operations in 1909.
As illustrated by the heap of scrap metal in the background, Steel of West Virginia is a "mini-mill" of sorts.
Norfolk-Southern railroad trestle in Ceredo, WV.