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In the heart of a strong buying market, a field of
unlimited trade possibilities, Cleveland naturally
thrives industrially. Half the population of the United
States and Canada lives within a radius of 500 miles
of this metropolis. Its industries supply not only the
people of the United States, but many other nations
as well with a variety of products. In manyr of these
products Cleveland leads the world in total output.
The city's location forms a natural and economical
meeting place for iron ore from the Lake Superior
district, coal from the states of Pennsylvania and West
Virginia, and limestone deposits from northern Ohio.
Its location has met the present day requirements of
combined low cost of transportation and convenience
of distribution. This factor has made it an important
center in the iron and steel industry.
Each year in normal times Cleveland receives more
than 10,000,000 tons of iron ore. While a great deal
of this is reshipped to other cities, enough is refined
here to give the iron and steel business high rank in
all branches of the industry. The value of the iron
and steel output equals one-third the value of all
other Cleveland-made products combined.
The manufacture of iron and steel in Cleveland
dates back to 1828, when one small smelter was established.
It was built of thick masonry and used a
cold blast. The fuel was charcoal and with necessarily
crude methods, production did not exceed 15
or 20 tons per week. The furnace was blown by
horse-power.
The first plant to use steam blast began operations
in 1834 In 1882 the first steel tank ship for carrying
ore was constructed. This marked a new epoch in
the steei industry as it paved the way for cheaper
and more efficient transportation from the mines. Iron
ore now comes to Cleveland almost entirely bv means
of boats specially built to carry it. These are really
floating tanks, some having a capacitv as high as
12,000 tons.
The Cleveland Museum of Art
September, 1925
The handling of ore at the docks is always a source
of interest. Many of the docks are equipped with ore
handling buckets having a "grab" of 10, 17 and 20
tons. An ordinary railway ore car may be loaded
by three grabs of a single bucket. Huge mountains
of ore are familiar sights along Cleveland's docks.
From these storage piles the ore may go to any
of a score of blast furnaces, some of which produce
as high as 600 tons of iron per day. In the pioneer
days of the industry 20 tons per week was a large output.
Cleveland's smelters now have a capacity of
nearly 3,000,000 tons of pig iron annually. One plant
alone has a capacity of more than 700,000 tons of steel
products a year.
Diversity of Industries.
From this basic, pioneer industry, many other lines
of manufacturing have developed. Nearly everything
for which the world has a marked is manufactured in
Cleveland. United States Government reports show
that 83 per cent of the officially classified industries
of the nation are represented here.
Cleveland occupies an important position in the
production of wire nails, bolts and screws, malleable
castings and heavy machinery. It holds high rank
in the production of tacks, drills, steam hammers,
lathes, punches, shears, forges and automatic screw
machines. Other products turned out in great quantities
include wire springs, wire fence and wire nails;
tools of all kinds; hoisting and conveying machinery,
railroad supplies, stoves for oil, gas and coal; office
furniture, scientific instruments, wire of all kinds, artificial
silk, and tow motors.
Cleveland is one of the largest hardware producing
centers in the United States. There are several
large manufacturers of steel office furniture, printing
presses and paper cutters. The only multigraph
manufacturing concern in the United States is located
in Cleveland. Only one city in America produces