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Chester Rolling Mill
The Chester Rolling Mill was a large iron (later steel) rolling mill established by shipbuilder John Roach in Chester, Pennsylvania, United States in 1873. The main purpose of the Mill was to provide metal hull plates, beams and other parts for the ships built at Roach's Delaware River Iron Ship Building and Engine Works, also located at Chester. Amongst the mill's notable achievements, it manufactured the steel plates for the first steel-hulled steamship built in the United States, ''Alaskan'', and for the U.S. Navy's first four steel ships, the so-called "ABCD ships". Production of the latter vessels drove Roach's shipbuilding empire into receivership after the government unexpectedly repudiated the contracts, and Roach was forced to sell the Chester Rolling Mill and most of his other companies to satisfy creditors. The Chester Rolling Mill later became part of the Wellman Steel Company. History Roach established his shipyard, the Delaware River Iron Ship Building and Engine Wo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Roach (shipbuilder)
John Roach (December 25, 1815 – January 10, 1887) was an American industrialist who rose from humble origins as an Irish immigrant laborer to found the largest and most productive shipbuilding empire in the postbellum United States, John Roach & Sons. Roach emigrated to the United States at the age of sixteen in 1832, eventually finding employment at the Howell Works of James P. Allaire in New Jersey, where he learned the ironmolder's trade. Following an abortive attempt at farming in Illinois in 1839, Roach returned to Allaire's employment at the Allaire Iron Works in New York City, where he learned how to build marine steam engines. In 1852, after 20 years in the employment of Allaire, Roach and three partners purchased a small New York ironworks which had fallen into receivership, the Etna Iron Works. Roach soon became sole proprietor, and during the American Civil War transformed the Etna Works into a major manufacturer of marine engines. He continued to prosper after ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
