Williamson Iron Co.
The Williamson Iron Co. was an iron manufacturer which operated in downtown Birmingham. The company was first incorporated on June 13, 1885 by Charles Williamson and James Simpson. The Elyton Land Company exchanged a deed to the company's property for $20,000 in stock in the venture.
The 75-ton Williamson Furnace was constructed just south of the Railroad Reservation, on the eastern third of Block 111, at 10-20 14th Street South on what is now the site of the Lumen Apartments. The company's furnace was first blown in in October 1886. It had a 65-foot stack which swelled to 12'-8" at the bosh. It was described as a 75-ton furnace, and the company advertised the capability of producing 1,250 tons per month of "foundry and forge pig iron". A furnace storage building was constructed over the right-of-way of Powell Avenue.
The Williamson Iron Co.'s foundry, machine shop and blacksmith shop occupied the site of the former Jefferson Foundry on the eastern third of Block 94, at 1420–1430 1st Avenue North and 1415-1431 2nd Avenue North, abutting 15th Avenue North, on what is now the parking lot for Innovation Depot.
The plant was known as a "fair weather" operation, relying on high prices for iron to justify the relatively high price it paid to secure coal at from Lewisburg and Coalburg and its iron ores from Red Mountain and Tuscaloosa County, both at market rates. The company was briefly supplied with red ore from Sloss Furnaces during a shutdown. At one time, the company employed B. A. Thompson, who later served as Mayor of Birmingham.
The furnace was idled during the depressed economic conditions arising from the Panic of 1893. The Jones Valley Iron Co. leased the company's plant for some operations. Although they planned to make use of the furnace, the Sanborn Fire Insurance Map for 1902 labelled it as "abandoned and dilapidated," while the foundry and machine shop were apparently in operation, protected by a night watchman.
In September 1902, with iron prices rising, the company was reorganized with Frederick Dimmick, now the majority stockholder, as president. Simpson served as secretary and treasurer of the firm, and Thomas Edwards, son of pioneer furnace master Giles Edwards and veteran mechanic with the Sloss-Sheffield Steel and Iron Co., was hired away from the Jenifer Furnace in Talladega County to supervise the works as general manager.
On November 26 a fault in the blast furnace or in its charging resulted in a fracture through which burst a spray of molten iron and ash. Edwards was burned to death and several others injured, including James Simpson's son, Charles. The capital loss to the company was estimated at around $8,000.
As promised, the furnace was rebuilt and continued to operate until another economic downturn, the Panic of 1907, caused it to be shut down again. The Williamson Furnace Co. was incorporated in 1908 by B. E. Wilson Jr, John Fletcher and George Brittain. They leased the plant beginning in 1910, but closed in 1911. The furnace was scrapped during World War I.
The Williamson Iron Co., presumably acting then the Furnace Company's landlord, maintained a business office on the 10th floor of the Brown Marx Building in 1909. The corporation was formerly dissolved in 1948.
References
- "To Work at Once: Williamson Furnace to Be Put in Shape." (September 5, 1902) The Birmingham News, p. 7
- "The Furnace Burst" (November 28, 1902) The Birmingham Times, p. 1
- Woodward, Joseph II (1940) Alabama Blast Furnaces. Birmingham: Woodward Iron Company. reprinted 2007 by University of Alabama Press. ISBN 0817354328