Iron Heritage -- Saving One Cupola

The Effort to Preserve One of Centre Foundry's Two Cupola Furnaces

"I am proud to have been a member and serve as Recording Secretary of USW local 4842. I am proud of all the work done by the union members. I am also thankful for the opportunity to have worked with Centre Foundry Company employees. It is my hope that the history of Centre Foundry and Machine Company is not lost. I hope City Officials save one of the Cupolas . The men who worked there Literally shed blood, sweat and tears, along with a lot of burns , broken bones, and bad backs. May God bless all of you." ~Tom Hoffman, Jr.

Even through the 1960s, the iron melting facilities at Centre Foundry in Warwood consisted of two old-style cupolas. During the nineteenth century through mid to late twentieth centuries, cast iron was produced the old way, using coke and limestone to melt pig iron at 2,300 degrees in preparation for casting. This was not a clean process, producing prodigious amounts of air pollution. But a cleaner method existed.

Cleaner Air - Replacing the Cupolas

In 1973-74, two modern, clean-burning, electric Ajax Channel Induction furnaces with a total capacity of 55 tons, were installed at Centre Foundry on more than 2 million pounds of concrete.

They were supplied with electricity from power stations located both north and south of the plant. This eliminated cupola use and helped the foundry to meet federal air quality standards under the Clean Air Act. The original 69,000-volt transformer is still there today.

So the two cupola furnaces with their piles of coke and limestone have sat unused since the 1980s. Closed in Sept. 2023, Centre Foundry's iron and equipment is already gone. The property itself is to be auctioned.

Read the history of Centre Foundry.

See or print our brochure-length History of Centre Foundry

But what will become of the cupolas?

An effort is underway to save one of the furnace to preserve it as a monument to our industrial heritage, much like the Clinton blast furnace at Station Square in Pittsburgh

The cupolas continue to sit unused in the old foundry as of this writing. Tom Hoffman, a former Centre Foundry employee, approached Library local history staff about a year ago after the plant closed. Tom wanted to talk about an idea he had that he wanted us to pass along to the right people--people who appreciate our heritage and are in a position to make a difference in terms of preserving it. We promised him we would do so, and sent an email to the people we thought might be able to take action.

The Clinton Blast furnace at Station Square speaks powerfully to Pittsburgh's industrial heritage. Surely Wheeling deserves something similar.

Tom mentioned the Clinton blast furnace, on display for many years now near Pittsburgh's Station Square. If you've seen it up close, you know what an impressive exhibit of Pittsburgh's former industrial prowess it makes. It is a fitting tribute to the Steel City’s proud history, making a powerful statement that is not to be ignored. Other examples from Pittsburgh include the blast furnace lungs, also at Station Square, and the incredible Carrie Blast Furnaces National Historic Landmark — Rivers of Steel at Homestead.

Tom believes that the cupola furnaces in Centre Foundry could make a similar statement for Warwood and Wheeling. The ones in Centre Foundry must date at least to the late 19th century, and they are quite impressive. Tom envisions salvaging one cupola and placing it at Heritage Port -- or alternatively, we would suggest, near the new visitor center, or near the Centre Foundry site, or at Garden Park, or somewhere.

The furnaces are quite massive and would require a crane and semi-truck to move. We understand it will be expensive and unlikely, but we wanted to plant the seed of an idea.

We agreed with Tom then, and we still think the idea has merit, assuming the possibility still exists. Much like the tower of letters at OVGH [a successful effort has been made to save those as well], such a thing would be an amazing piece of public art that would dazzle and draw visitors. It would be challenging, but worth it, we believe.

We currently have little in terms of public art to memorialize Wheeling's own industrial past. This would be an epic answer to that omission.

But time is of the essence. It is not known how long before everything is dismantled and sold for scrap. That would be unfortunate. We’ve lost countless treasures like this before, and we are running out of opportunities. In fact, we can't think of another quite like this. Consider this the seed of an idea. Perhaps some readers will be willing to help this idea grow.