Sharon Steel Corporation

The Sharon Steel Corporation was a steel plant company, and is notable due to its contribution toward the growth of the iron and steel industry in the Shenango River Valley, Mercer County, Pennsylvania.

The longest surviving was the Sharon Iron Company, the owner of the old Clay Furnace. It is true that it ceased operations at the beginning of the 20th century, but it was the foundation for the future growth of the iron and steel industries. Many of the men who were affiliated with this company have gained local as well as national recognition for their contributions to the processes of steel manufacture. Among these men were Christian H. Buhl and his son Frank Buhl. In 1862, Christian H. Buhl became owner of the plant, and appointed Frank the general manager. From this and other holdings, the Buhls formed the Sharon Steel Castings Company in 1887. This was the first steel producing plant in the Valley, as well as in Mercer County. In 1902 the company became associated with the American Steel Foundries. Its plant has since been dismantled, and the site is now occupied by the Mercer Tube Works.

In 1890, when steel began to replace the use of puddled iron, a change in manufacturing methods became necessary. This change, however, served to advance the Shenango Valley as a steel center, and resulted in greater developments in the new industry.

The Buhls were responsible for bringing two other plants into the Shenango Valley, the Buhl Steel Company of Sharon in 1896, and a much larger plant located one mile (1.6 km) south of Sharon, “on the bottom land”, in 1899. The Buhl Steel Company and the property of the Sharon Iron Company, Ltd., locally called the “North Works”, passed into the hands of the Carnegie Steel Corporation, while the Sharon Steel Company, locally referred to as the “South Works”, became a part of the Union Steel Company on December 1, 1902. This plant later was known as the Farrell Works of the Carnegie Steel Corporation.

Because the mills were located along the river, it was natural that the workers would want to settle in towns nearby, thus Sharon and South Sharon grew and developed into sizeable communities. Both cities can point to Frank A. Buhl for making Shenango Valley, practically single-handed, an iron and steel center.

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