Harbison-Walker Refractories Company

The Harbison-Walker Refractories Company is a national historic district and historic refractory brick manufacturing complex which is located in Mount Union in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. It originated as the Star Firebrick Company on March 7, 1865, with Articles of Association by a group of Pittsburgh and Allegheny residents.

Harbison-Walker Refractories Company
Harbison-Walker engine repair house, May 1989
Harbison-Walker Refractories Company is located in Pennsylvania
Harbison-Walker Refractories Company
Harbison-Walker Refractories Company is located in the United States
Harbison-Walker Refractories Company
LocationW. Shirley St., Mount Union, Pennsylvania
Coordinates40°23′10″N 77°53′23″W / 40.38611°N 77.88972°W / 40.38611; -77.88972
Area21 acres (8.5 ha)
Built1899, 1905
MPSIndustrial Resources of Huntingdon County, 1780--1939 MPS
NRHP reference No.90000392[1]
Added to NRHPMarch 20, 1990

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.[1]

History

edit

On January 30, 1875, Hay Walker Sr. and Samuel P. Harbison entered Articles of Agreement to purchase the interests in Star Fire Brick Company and formed the Harbison and Walker Company. Then on July 30, 1894, Harbison & Walker was incorporated under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, finally being chartered as Harbison-Walker Refractories Company by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on June 30, 1902.[2] Ultimately this company was merged into Dresser Industries in 1967.[3]

The company was part of the Fortune 500 from 1955 until 1967.[4]

In 2015, a successor company in Pittsburgh adopted the Harbison-Walker name and brand as its own.[5]

A national historic district and historic refractory brick manufacturing complex which is located in Mount Union in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, the Harbison-Walker Refractories Company property consists of fourteen contributing buildings and twenty-seven contributing structures, which were built in two sections; the No. 2 works date to 1899 and the No. 1 works date to 1905. Principal buildings and structures include brick kilns; mixing, molding, and drying facilities; storage and shipping sheds; a pattern making building; and crushing and screening facilities.[6]

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. It is located in the Mount Union Historic District, established in 1994.[1]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ MacCloskey, James E. Jr (1952). History of Harbison-Walker Refractories Company. Pittsburgh, PA.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. ^ "Pittsburgh Company Annual Reports, Downtown & Business, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh". Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
  4. ^ "FORTUNE 500: Harbison-Walker Refractories".
  5. ^ "ANH Refractories rebrands as HarbisonWalker International - Pittsburgh Business Times". Archived from the original on January 22, 2015.
  6. ^ "National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania". CRGIS: Cultural Resources Geographic Information System. Archived from the original (Searchable database) on July 21, 2007. Retrieved December 2, 2011. Note: This includes Deborah L. Suciu (August 1989). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Harbison-Walker Refractories Company" (PDF). Retrieved December 2, 2011.
edit