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The following is a series of articles that ran in the Sterling Gazette in May – June of 1928 documenting a tragic fire in the Wire Mill. Three men died in this fire that, at the time, cost nearly half a million dollars.

May 19, 1928 ~ Sterling Daily Gazette

Three Live Lost in Fire
George Steltzer, John Burns and Frank Grate Are Missing

Death Rumors Were Denied Friday – Searchers Working In Ruin Today – All Employees Will Be Given Work by Company – To Rebuild At Once

Rumors that several men had lost their lives or wire unaccounted for in the disastrous file at the Northwestern Barb Wire company plant Friday morning were denied yesterday when a representative of the Daily Gazette south to ascertain the faces, but later in the day officials confirmed the report that three men, George Steltzer, 63 years, Frank Grate, 67 years, and John Burns, 70 years, were unaccounted for., following a thorough checkup.

The records fail to disclose any forth person missing, although there has been a rumor to the effect. The checkup again this morning, with no work of the missing men, confirms that believe that they perished. Owing to the intense heat in the debris it was impossible to make much of a perch late yesterday afternoon or night for the bodies but this morning a crew of men was engaged in the hunt.

The property loss was also larger than it was at first thought and is now figured at $400,000. All of the employees will be put to work by Monday morning and work on the erection of a new building will be started at once.

Old Employees Missing

Mr. Steltzer, one of the missing men, worked at the wire mill for a period of 22 years and then, after leaving the employment of the company, he returned last summer and had been working there since. He is survived in his immediate family by his wife and one daughter, Mrs. J R. Sides of Chicago.

Mr. Grate has been in the employment of the company for the past 37 years. He is survived by his wife and son Ed, of this city, and two daughters, Mrs. Stanly Hardy of Chicago and Mrs. Ed Meyer of Milledgeville.

Mr. Burns, the third employee who is missing, was a transient, He had been employed at the local mill at various times during the past 10 of 15 years and for the last year he had worked there continuously, Little is known regarding him.

Another employee was cut on the head by falling debris and was given attention at the Sterling Public hospital. His injury was not serious.

It is presumed that the men were overcome by the dense smoke and gas which quickly filled the plant and that they were unable to make their way to the exits. Their death has cast a pall of sorrow over their fellow workmen that is reflected throughout the entire community.

Work for all Employees

Contrary to the advance report that the mill would shut down and many men would be thrown out of work, officials stated this morning that every employee would be given work and that all should report to work Monday morning.

Work was resumed in the bale tie department last night and this morning 15 of the remaining fence machines were started up.

The barbed wire room began operations this morning and by Monday the 34 remaining continuous wire drawing machines will be ready for use.

Wire has been ordered from various other mills and some of it has already arrived. By the fore part of next week sufficient wire will be shipped in to keep everyone busy.

To Rebuild At Once

Paul Kornman, local contractor, has charged of the clearing the debris and it is expected that he will also receive the contract for the rebuilding of the portion of the plant destroyed. The new building will be of brick and fire proof construction, with basement, with is really the main floor, and two upper stories. It is understood, that the building can be ready for occupancy in from 60 to 90 days.

Lights are being strung throughout what remains of the old building in order that the work can go forward night and day in order to get everything cleaned up as quickly as possible and the bodies for the unfortunate victims recovered.

Further figures disclose that the lost will amount to around $400,000. The loss is covered by insurance. Orders for new machinery and parts have already been placed and full operations will be started just as possible. In the meantime all employees will be given work.

May 21, 1928 ~ Sterling Daily Gazette

Missing Men Not Found In Ruins Up To 1:30 today
Will Take Time to get Heavy Machinery and Rubbish Cleared Away

All of the employees of the Northwestern Barb Wire Company were put to work this morning. There is a large force at work both night and day in an endeavor to clean up the debris within the walls of the building which burned Friday morning.

Thus far a thorough search of the ruins has failed to disclose any of the remains of the three men, Frank Grate, George Steltzer, and John Burns, who are unaccounted for. The task of removing the debris, including heavy machinery and tangled masses of iron and wire, will require considerable time.

President Paul Dillon and Superintendent, Harry Hill is loud in their praise of the splendid work den by Chief Connie Nichols, his men and the volunteers. Mr. Dillon stated this morning that it was one of the best fire stops he had ever seen, and both he and Mr. Hill say the fire shows that Sterling has a real department.

May 22, 1928 ~ Sterling Daily Gazette

Charred Body Found In Mill This Afternoon
Could Not Be Identified At First Glance – Search For Other Two

The body of one of the men burned in the wire mill fire of Friday night was found by workers removing the debris of the fire about 2 o’clock this afternoon. At first examination the body could not be identified by the workers, but a more thorough examination is being made and possibly clothing, trinkets or other means of identification will be found.

The body was found near the door about the middle of the north side of the drawing room in front of what are known as the “bakers.”

No trace of the bodies for the other two men believed to have perished in the fire has been found. Workmen are working in day and night shifts in clearing the debris, but it is all in such a tangled mass that it will take a long time to get it all cleared up.

It is impossible to tell just where the bodies will be found as the men might have been overcome by the intense gaseous smoke and fumes as they ran for an exit or as they went for their clothes hanging in the coat room.

From the time the first call of fire was made it was but a matter of approximately a minute before the building was entirely filled with smoke and it was impossible to see one’s hand in front of them.

Mayor Burkholder last night at the city council meeting alluded to the low water pressure at the time of the fire, and Manager E. MacDonald of the Illinois Water Service Co., who was present, stated that an open six-inch pipe in the mill, which was not closed until after the fire, and another six-inch pipe which somebody was able to reach and shut off during the fire, caused the low pressure, as the new and old pumps at the pumping station were both going at high speed and ware pumping at nearly a 6,000,0000 gallon a day rate during the fire.

The one reservoir in use at the station held out to furnish the supply, but was beginning to run low. The valve permitting water to run back to the pumping station from the stand pop was not needed. Mr. MacDonald said that there was not means of increasing the pressure with a six-inch main running open at the point of supply for the pumpers.

May 23, 1928 ~ Sterling Daily Gazette

Charred Body of the Third Missing Man is Recovered

The bodies of all three of the employees of the Northwestern Bar Wire Mill, who lost their lives in the fire of last Friday morning., have been found, the third being uncovered in the debris about 1:15 o’clock Wednesday afternoon. With the first remains taken from the ruins indentified as Frank Grate, and the second body believed almost beyond doubt to be that of J. Burns, the last of the three to be recovered is the only other missing man – George Steltzer.

The last body was found in an elevator shaft, and while it is in better condition than either of the two previously found, there are no recognizable features. Workmen were engaged this afternoon in looking thought the debris near where the body was found in the hope that some article might be found that would lead to positive identification.

May 23, 1928 ~ Sterling Daily Gazette

Second Body is recovered from Wire Mill Ruins
Identify Remains of Frank Grate – Believe Other Is Body of John Burns

Two bodies have now been recovered from the ruins of the Northwestern Barb Wire company plant, where on last Friday morning fire caused a $400,000 property loss and claimed the lives of three employees. Frank Grate’s body was found yesterday afternoon and this morning a badly burned body was found about 15 feet east of where Mr. Grate’s remains were discovered.

The body found this morning, is believed to be that of John Burns, aged 70 years, a transient wire drawer. Beneath the right arm, which was tightly pressed across the chest, was found a strip of underclothing and also a fragment of a blue shirt. It was at first believed that it was the body of George Steltzer as he was wearing a blue shirt on that day. It was learned later, however, that Mr. Steltzer wore underwear with sleeves and the piece of underwear recovered was that of a full length sleeve. As only three persons are unaccounted for, the identification of the body recovered this morning and removed to the Melvin mortuary is doubtless that of John Burns. A portion of the arm of the body recovered this morning was very hairy while Mr. Steltzer’s arm was not.

Mr. Burns was an old timer and had worked in various mills about the country and had been employed at the local mill on several locations over a period of years. The last time he had worked here about a year and boarded at the Wire Mill Hotel. Very little is known regarding him. It is believed that he has a brother in the Pittsburgh district, but an effort to get in communication with him has been unsuccessful thus far.

The position of the body as it lay in the debris gave evidence that Mr. Burns was evidently endeavoring to make his ways thought the smoke to an exit, with was not far away. A search is being continued in the debris where the body lay for further identification.

First Body Found Tuesday

The first body found Tuesday afternoon was that of Frank Grate, 67, of this city. The remains were discovered near the north wall of the ruins, about 25 feet east of the west wall and a distance of about 10 feet from an exit, toward which he probably was wending his way when overcome by the dense gaseous smoke that nearly blinded and choked others, who narrowly escaped with their lives.

The remains were lying on some steel sheets of metal which covered the runways of the room and were not buried down in the ruins. With the removal of the body, a small piece of shirt wedged tightly beneath one arm in such a manner that the flames could not reach it, was recovered. This was taken to the home of Edwin Grate as part of the shirt which she had given her father-in-law for Christmas last year.

Coroner Swears In Jury

Coroner C.M. Frye took charge of the removal of the remains from the ruins and following identification they were removed to the Wheelock storage rooms in Rock Falls. The coroner’s jury consisting of H. F. Kidd, foreman, F. W. Scated, William Gaffey, L. A. Wheelock, Fred Compton and William Hayward, viewed the remains and were sworn in. Coroner Frye will not hold the inquest until the body of the third missing man is found.

With the finding of the remains of two of the three missing men, the workers continued their search with renewed efforts. Some are of the opinion, however, that the body of the one still unaccounted for is in the mill race, it being believed that he fell into the water in climbing hastily out of the window.

William Franklin Grate was born near Streator, Ill., November 10, 1863, the son of Sylvester and Eliza Grate. In 1899 he was married to Amanda Jane Havens, and shortly afterwards they moved from the old home in Table Grove, Ill., to this city, and with the exception of three years spent in the state of Iowa and one summer in Beardstown, Ill., they have resided here.

Mr. Grate first started to work in the Northwestern Barb Wire company plant in 1896 and had worked for the firm about 27 years.

The deceased is survived by his wife and three children, Edwin Grate of this city, Mrs. Stanley Hardy of Chicago and Mrs. Edward Meyer of Milledgeville.

The funeral will be conducted Thursday afternoon with a short service at the late home, on Fifth Avenue, at 3 o’clock and at the United Brethren church, of which he was a faithful member, at 2:30 o’clock. Burial will be in Riverside cemetery.

 May 24, 1928 ~ Sterling Daily Gazette

Delay Inquest until Debris of Fire is Removed
Coroner wants to be Certain No More Bodies Are in Wire Mill Fire Ruins

The body of the last of the three unaccounted for workmen who lost their lives in the disastrous $400,000 fire at the Northwestern Barb Wire Company plant last Friday morning was removed Wednesday afternoon. The first charred body to be removed was that identified as Frank Grate, 67, and was removed Tuesday afternoon. Yesterday morning a body identified as that of John Burns, 70, was found, and about 2 o’clock in the afternoon the remains of George Steltzer were found.

Mr. Steltzer’s body was located covered with a great deal of debris in the elevator pit. It was the most difficult of the three to get to and remove. The elevator shaft was right next to an exit and it is evident that Mr. Steltzer was overcome just as he was a step of two from safety.

The remains of Mr. Steltzer and Mr. Burns were removed to the Melvin mortuary, where they aware viewed by the same jury as vied the remains of Mr. Grate at the Wheelock undertaking parlor. The jury was sworn in by Coroner C. M. Frye but the inquest will not be held for at least a day or two until all of the debris has been cleaned up from the fire. No one else has been reported as missing, but Coroner Frye thought it best to wait a day or so in order to be certain that there are no more bodies buried in the debris.

By working day and night in cleaning up the debris and wreckage the work has moved along very rapidly and aside from some of the heavy machinery witch was operating in the basement of the building there is little left to clean up.

The fire was the most disastrous in the history of the city. The anxiety which preceded the finding and identifying of the remains of the three missing men has been a great burden on the families and it is a great relief now that positive identity has been made.

Little is known regarding John Burns. He was about 70 years of age and had worked at the mill on various occasions during the past several years. Burns was a transient wire drawer and had worked in practically all the big mills in this county. It was said he had a brother in the Pittsburgh distract but this far officials of the mill have been unable to get into communication with any relative or near friend. It is possible that the remains will be buried in a local cemetery.

The funeral for George Steltzer will be held at the family home, on Johnson Avenue, at 2 o’clock, Friday afternoon. Dr. E. C. Harris of the St. John’s Lutheran church will be in charge of the rites. Burial will be in Riverside cemetery.

May 26, 1928 ~ Sterling Daily Gazette

Begin Building Wire Mill Plant

Preliminary work on the reconstruction of the burned portion of the Northwestern Barb Wire Co. mill has been started and will be carried on concurrently with the removal of the debris of the fire.

The new building will be of approved mill construction and will add considerable floor space to the factory, permitting an increase in the capacity of the plant. Definite detail of the plans will not be ready for announcement for several weeks.

May 28, 1928 ~ Sterling Daily Gazette

Section of Warehouse at Wire Mill Falls
Overload Causes Top Floor to Give Way – Part of Wall Pushed Out

Following closely on the heels of the damaging fire of 10 days ago, which caused a loss of more than $400,000 at the Northwestern Barb Wire Mill, came another disaster Sunday evening when a portion of the top floor of the new three story warehouse gave way, carrying several tons of wire crashing through the second and first floors to the basement, and also pushed out a portion of the south wall of the building. The accident occurred about 6 o’clock last night and was due to an overload being piled on the top floor, much of the material being a finished product which had been placed there following the fire.

It is considered fortunate that the accident occurred on Sunday. Had it happened on a working day, it might have coast several lives.

Although the reconstruction cost will be considerable, the financial loss is small compared to the loss of the much needed floor space and of the time that will be required in the making of the repairs. Since the recent fire it has been necessary to use every bit of available space. In the effort to clean up the plant after the fire, the materials have been piled wherever space could be found. The load was too heavy on a portion of the top floor and it gave way.

A railroad car on the switch track just south of the building was damaged some by the falling brick. The sprinkler system was damaged and the basement was filled with several feet of water before it could be shut off. The broken ends were plugged this morning and the system is again in order.

Under normal conditions the accident would not amount to a great deal, but coming s it does on top of the fire it makes maters more complicated and produces a larger handicap. Nevertheless the officers of the company are making the best of it and are rushing work toward the building of the new plant to replace the one destroyed by fire and will soon have the present difficulty adjusted.

May 31, 1928 ~ Sterling Daily Gazette

Inquest over Mill Victims Tonight

This evening at 7 o’clock Dr. C. M. Frye, coroner, will conduct the inquest at the Melvin mortuary to inquire into the deaths of Garage Steltzer, Frank Grate and John Burns, the three men who lost their lives in the recent fire at the Northwestern Barb Wire company plant.

The jury was sworn in at the time the bodies were recovered. The funerals and burials of all have occurred.

June 01, 1928 ~ Sterling Daily Gazette

Open Verdict in the Inquest over 3 Fire Victims
Evidence Heard by Coroner’s Jury on Wire Mill Fatalities Last Evening

An open verdict was returned last evening in the inquest held by Coroner C. M. Frye at the Melvin mortuary, after hearing testimony relative to the deaths of George Steltzer, Frank Grate and John Burns, the three men who lost their lives in the fire at the Northwestern Barb Wire company plant on May 18^th.

The verdict in each case was that the men came to their death; being burned in the fire witch destroyed building No. 6 of the Northwestern Barb Wire Company, where they were employed, May 18^th, 1928.

Evidence given the jury was practically the same as has been carried in previous reports of the fire, Simon Chapman stated that Chapman Bros., were removing some engines and had Robert Mayberry and Charles Morris doing the work. Mayberry told of using an acetylene torch and how the molten iron falling into some grease and oil started the fire. Morris, his helper, unbeknown to him had gone to get a drink of water. Morris was supposed to keep a fire extinguisher handy and put out any fires which might start. Mayberry said he grabbed several extinguishers but they were empty and that he got a hose but the water pressure was so low that the water barley came out the end of the hose. Within a minute the smoke was so dense and the fire so hot that Mayberry had to quit the room. When Morris got back he was unable to get into the room. Superintendent Harry Hill, Assistant Bert Bradley, T. J. O’Brian, employment manager, E. B. Van Horn, time keeper, and Sam Mitchell, steam fitter, testified. J. R. Sides of Chicago testified as to the identification of Mr. Steltzer and Edwin Grate told of the identification of his father, and Mr. Hill related how Mr. Burns was identified.

Paul Kornman, who had the contract of hunting for the bodies and cleaning up the debris, state that everything possible was down to speed up the work. By Monday following the fire he had 200 men working on the job. There were 150 tons of wire in addition to the machinery, fencing and debris to remove.

Retrieved from The Daily Gazette
Transcribed, and minor corrections made, by Dana Fellows ~ 2011

Northwestern Barb Wire Company Incorporated By Dillon-Griswold

After trying various lines of work in New York, St. Louis, Dixon, Ill., and perhaps elsewhere, Washington Dillon was close to finding in sterling, the one which would occupy him for the rest of his live.

Washington Dillon was the great grandson of Moses Dillon, who had established the first iron forge in Ohio, at Zanesville. Although there is no information that Washington Dillon ever worked in the iron works, he undoubtedly had heard much about the business from his grandfather and others.

Washington Dillon was mechanically inclined…he was a tinker, some have called him, and his partnership with his step-brother, William C. Robinson, in the hardware and farm implement business in Sterling gave him the opportunity to satisfy that inclination. It also was to bring him a new and broader opportunity.

Like others serving in t a farm trade, Robinson and Dillon were well aware of the pressing need for satisfactory fencing at a reasonable cost. When the newly invented barbed wire became available, they were quick to stock the item. They were further intrigued by its success and the difficulty in getting enough to satisfy the wants of their customers. As demand multiplied, blacksmiths, hardware dealers and others of a mechanical bent began making the special wire.

Only 10,000 pounds of barb wire were sold in the United States in 1874, it is estimated. This was the year Haish, Ellwood and Glidden was granted their first patents.

In the next four years, 1875 to 1878, at least 114 barbed wire patents were recorded and the total amounts sold boomed to 26,665,000 pounds. By 1880, the volume was up to 80,500,000 pounds.

Incorporation

Washing Dillon was quick to join the rush to this new manufacture and he began experimenting with the manufacture of barbed wire in the rear of the hardware store.

IN 1875, Dixon began making barbed wire in a building on First Avenue, in Sterling, where Leaths Furniture Store is located today, according to his son, P. W. Dillon.

Washington Dillon made his own barbed wire machines which required the use of both hands and one foot to operate. Before 1878 ended, he and W. C. Robinson were ready to incorporate and launch the new business on a larger scale.

Dillon was then 36 years-old and Robinson, 39, but Robinson was apparently not in good health. It is evident in one of his letters of that time that he had been working extremely hard in civic enterprises as well as in the hardware business and he now “hoped to have some relief.” The men were not only cousins, their mothers having been sisters, but they were also stepbrothers. Washington’s widowed mother had married Robinson’s widower father in 1850.

Capital

To provide capital for the new enterprise, Dillon and Robinson put in $2,500 each. Two other men, David H. Law and James M. Ball, Chicago, also invested $2,500 each, providing a total original capital of $10,000.

The application for incorporation of the Northwestern Barb Wire Company was filed in the office of the Illinois secretary of state on Feb. 28, 1879, and this is considered the official date of incorporation. However, the signatures of Robinson and Dillon on the application were notarized by John G. Manahan on Feb. 20, and the signatures of Law and Bell were notarized on Cook County on Feb. 22.

The original certificate of incorporation was signed by the Illinois secretary of state on March 29, 1879.

The company was incorporated for “the manufacture and sale of barbed fence wire.”

The capital stock of 10,000 was divided into 100 shares of $100 each.

Four directors were to be elected annually: the principal office was to be in Sterling and the live of the corporation was to be 50 years.

The minute book of the company records that the first meeting of the “commissioners of the Northwestern Barb Wire Company” was held on March 17, 1879.

Stockholder Law presided over the election of four stockholders and directors, who in turn elected Washington Dillon, president; Law, secretary and W. C. Robinson, treasurer. Bell was never mentioned by name again in the minutes or the record available, although it can be presumed that he attended the second meeting of stockholder and directors on Nov. 1, 1879 and the third meeting held in July of 1880.

Northwestern’s Love Affair for Trains

Story by Ron Parsons – Gazette City Editor ~ 1979
Transcribed, and minor corrections made, by Dana Fellows ~ 2011

Only in Sterling can the grinding, puffing, hissing, rumble and rattle, click and clack sounds of the last of the steam locomotives be heard as they go about the important business of switching the Northwestern Steel and Wire Company cars of steel products and scrap to their destinations.

The fleet of steam locomotives currently used at Northwestern Steel and Wire are the last of a dying breed and perhaps the last of their kind used the United States today (1979). While there are some occasional runs made by steam locomotives owned by museums and “railroad buffs” the steam engine is no longer used and occupies and important chapter in the history of American transportation.

Time was when vehicle traffic stopped for the Northwestern Steel and Wire Company's fleet of steam engines and trains on Avenue G as shown in the photo. This was 1959, or before the overpass was built.

The switch engines currently used at Northwestern operate around the clock on the network of rails encompassing the steel complex. The engines are constantly taking scrap, the basic raw material of the steel industry, to the giant electric furnaces and in turn, hauling the finished product to shipping stations to be in turn, shipped to the actual customer.

The death warrant for the huge steam “work horses” was signed late in the 1930’s when railroads in the U. S. entered a conversion program from the wood and coal-fired steam engines to the powerful petroleum-fired diesel engine. Railroads began this conversion during the late 1930’s and as the years went by; more steam engines were either converted or simply sold for scrap in favor of the popular diesel. It was the beginning of the end for the great steam engine.

It was not until 1960, however, when it was generally recognized as the year the big steam engine died in the United States. The Grand Trunk Western (GTW) ran the last regularly scheduled steam-powered passenger train in February of 1960 and the Illinois-Central and NorthWestern pulled in their last hoppers with 4-8-2’s and 2-8-2’s according to Jim Boyd, in an article published in the spring of 1977.

Shortly after the railroads began their conversion from steam to diesel engines in the late 1930’s the Northwestern Steel and Wire Company initiated the purchase of old locomotives for scrap metal. But, instead of melting them all down, the company decided to use some of them in the plant operation.

Some of the early engines purchased were used for parts and even to the present time, in a certain part is unavailable or obsolete, Northwestern maintains a locomotive repair unit and parts are made here and the engines are kept serviceable and running around the clock.

If, at such time the current Grand Trunk Western class steam engines are taken out of use, or replaced, by Northwestern, it will spell out the final curtain for this very important part of American history. There just aren’t’ any more to be bought,,, at any price.

Photo of Burt Halsne shown shortly before his retirement after 22 years of service with NWSW. He started in 1956 as foreman in the Locomotive and Tractor Repair Department.

In May of 1960, switch engine ex-GTW 0-8-0 8327 (built by Lima in April of 1927 and still in use by NSW), was rounding out its first month of service for the Northwestern Steel and Wire Company It was the first of many engines that would replace the company’s 0-6-0’s.

As late as 1962, Northwestern had more than 100 old steam engines in its scrap yards. Most ended up as the basic raw material in steel-making. Were melted down,,, and finally marketed in the form of nails, fence, bale ties, wire and steel structural pieces.

Not only did Northwestern melt down a number of locomotives, but railroad Pullman and baggage cars were also cut up for the scrap material needed. At one time, a special sale was offered to the public and townsfolk as well as curio collectors from the area purchased light fixtures, furniture and other items from the old cars.

NSW Roster

At its peak, Northwestern had a total of 16 ex-Great Trunk Western 0-8-0 engines and as near as can be determined, all but two (8310 and 8314) were actually steamed up for service at one time or another. Several years before the GTW’s arrived, the biggest engine used by Northwestern for switching was an 0-60 wheel configuration which the Chicago Burlington & Quincy Railroad had converted from 2-6-2 model. This unit was the NS&W’s first oil burner and served off and on until the 0-8-0’s arrived.

With the current fleet of some 16 engines to work from, Northwestern keeps approximately four serviceable at any given time and with a storehouse full of parts salvaged from 20 years scrappeing steam locomotives, the company is much better equipped than most to keep them running economically.

With the recent innovations of oil firing and the auxiliary tenders, the current engines are easily on-man engines keeping in mind that even with the use of coal earlier, the engineer did his own firing. Under the old coal fired system, Northwestern engines are reported to have consumed approximately 24 tons of coal each day along with 48,000 gallons of water. As far as peer is concerned, a GTW 0-8-0 engine is able to tie onto over 25 loads of steel, work up their steam, and move them down the track.

Steam Engine at Northwestern Steel & Wire Co.

Northwestern Steel and Wire Chairman of the Board, P.W. Dillon has a special admiration for steam locomotives. His admiration for the “iron house” stems from earlier experiences when, as a youth, he operated steam engines while in Colorado for health reasons. It was his decision some years ago to keep the Northwestern steam engines running as long as they could be economically justified.

And while local residents in the Rock River Valley today take the huffing and puffing Northwester steam engines as a common-place activity, rail-fans from the state and other states as well, consider it as distinct privilege to travel to Sterling to witness again, the thrill and excitement of the old steam locomotives in action… a living legend today and still adding pages to the history of tat important chronicle… the American railroad.

Following appeared in the Daily Gazette in 1979
Retrieved by Dana Fellows ~ 2011 and Transcribed by Caitlyn Fellows ~ 2011

Early Northwestern Wheels Turned By River Power

Because the Dillon family had established itself so firmly in Ohio in pioneer days it is only natural to wonder what drew one branch of the family to the Rock River Valley in Illinois half a century later.

It in part, can be explained by the sudden spurt in growth taking place all along the Rock River at that time in history. From Rockford to Rock Island, much was happening to attract settlers to this area. Following the close of the Black Hawk War in 1822, when the Indians of northwestern Illinois had been moved west of the Mississippi River, settlements sprang up all along the Rock River, but it wasn’t until the 1850’s that rapid growth occurred in this area.

As early as 1854, Dixon had two major railroads entering the city, the Illinois Central Railroad which ran north and south, and the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad Company, today known (1979) as the Chicago and Northwestern Transportation Company. The next year the GACU Railroad extended to Sterling and Morrison, and in 1856, the rails were extended all the way to the Mississippi River at Fulton.

This excellent railroad service connected with Chicago, the Great Lakes, and the Gulf of Mexico by way of the Rock River and the Mississippi River.

Rock River Power

From the time the white man came to this area, it was felt that the Rock River provided great possibilities for water power, and it was soon developed at all the larger settlements in the valley.

On February18, 1847, the Illinois General Assembly approved the formation of a corporation to be known as “The Sterling Hydraulic and Manufacturing Company” with the authority to erect a dam across the Rock River, at, or near the foot of the rapids in said river, at Sterling, in the county of Whiteside.

The said corporation shall be the sole owners and proprietors of the water power to be created and produced by reason of the dam aforesaid.

On Feb. 5^th, 1849, the General Assembly approved a general act, “for the improvement of the navigation of Rock Falls, and for the production of hydraulic power.” Under these two acts, a corporation was formed and the dam built at Sterling. It was completed soon after the arrival of the first Galena and Chicago Union Railroad train in Sterling in July, 1855.

By 1872, the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad had made connection with Sterling and Rock Falls.

In the late 1800’s, Sterling showed a population growth from 1741 to 5087. In 1867, a new town, to be called Rock Falls, was laid out at the south end of the Sterling dam. Only the river separated the two towns.

In a short time they developed into two industrial sites, sharing the abundant water power of the Sterling Hydraulic Company. The stage was now set for the rapid, sold and closely knit industrial development of Sterling and Rock falls.

Water power played an important role in the industrial development of Sterling and Rock Falls, and in particular in the Northwestern Barb Wire Company.

In the early days there were about 25 water wheels on the Sterling Rock Falls races, located at the north and south ends of the 940-foot dam of the Sterling Hydraulic Company. The dam had a fall of eight feet and six inches, which produced approximately 4000 mechanical horsepower. Of this total, Northwestern in its original plant on the Rock Falls race used two wheels, producing over 200 horse-power.

The Dillon-Griswold mill in Sterling race used five wheels, producing nearly 1300 horse-power, by far the largest operation in the twin cities.

In time, the water power was converted to electricity, resulting in a substantial increase in the power produced and used.

Low Water Level

Another fact is noted about the early days concerning water power from the Rock River. Because of low water levels at time, the Rock River sometimes failed to produce all the local power needed and industries such as the Northwestern Barb Wire Company carried auxiliary power produces by huge steam boilers. It should be also noted that though the river no longer produces the power for Northwestern, it does supply thousands of gallon of water per minute used for cooling operations, which of course, is returned, clean, to the river.

Soon after 1910, a second dam was constructed one-half mile upstream from the old dam, in connections with completion of the Illinois-Mississippi Feeder Canal witch starts at the point.

This second dam powered twelve wheels at 250 horse-power each, to be converted into electricity, giving the twin cities water power close to 8000 horsepower from industry from the two dams combined.

Eventually the Illinois Northern Utilities Company bought out the local power interests and supplied electricity for local industry.

By 1972, all local productions of electricity had ceased and Commonwealth Edison Company (successor to the Illinois Northern Utilities Company) supplied the county with electricity produced elsewhere.

The two power dams still stand and speak of a day when the Rock River turned the wheels of industry in the Sterling-Rock falls Community.

Today, the Northwestern Steel and Wire Company, for the most part, receives power for its Sterling and Rock Falls plant’s directly from the Commonwealth Edison company atomic energy station in Cordova, Ill.

The Northwestern Steel and Wire Company today is rated the largest customer user of electricity in Northern Illinois.

Following appeared in the Daily Gazette in 1979
Retrieved by Dana Fellows ~ 2011 and Transcribed by Rachel Fellows ~ 2011

James Foster, Only Non-Family President of NW Barb Wire

In the 100 year history of the Northwestern Steel & Wire Company, only one man has the distinction of being the first, and only, non-family to assume to the presidency of the company. He was James C. Foster, a former sales manager with Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation.

Foster was named president of the Northwestern Barb Wire Company (NS&W) on March 1^st, 1938. He succeeded Paul W. Dillon who resigned to become chairman of the board and general manager of the firm.

The following is the complete text of Foster’s appointment as carried in the March 1^st, 1938 edition of The Sterling Gazette:

Paul W. Dillon has resigned the presidency of the Northwestern Barb Wire Company to become chairman of the beard and general manager. His place as president will be taken by James Craven Foster, general sales manager of the Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation, who resigned Monday to take up his new duties on April 1^st. Mr. Foster has been with Jones & Laughlin, one of the three largest steel corporations in the United States, since 1913.

Mr. Dillon will continue as the head of the gigantic industry he has created here, but felt that the load was becoming too great for one man to carry, hence the shift of the presidency upon the shoulders of Mr. Foster.

The growth of Northwestern Barb Wire Company has been phenomenal during the past few years under the leadership of Mr. Dillon, it was incorporated in 1879. At the present time, when the miss is operating at its full capacity, as it was until a few months ago, a peak of 2,007 men were on the pay rolls.

Has Gone Steadily Ahead

Originally the Northwestern Barb Wire Company made, as its name implies, only barbed wire. Later other lines were added in 1902 W. M. Dillon formed a partnership with J. Wool Griswold under the name of the Dillon-Griswold Company, he putting in his fence machines and Mr. Griswold his bale tie machines. The present plant was built, but Mr. Dillon retained the Northwestern Barb Wire plant on the Rock Falls side of the river, where he continued to make nails, etc.

The Dillon-Griswold company went into the hands of a receiver in 1911. Meanwhile P.W. Dillon had become associated with his father in the Northwestern Barb Wire plant and had taken over the active management. In 1913, the Northwestern Barb Wire Company purchased the Dillon-Griswold plant and made changes and enlargements, since which time it has forged steadily to the front until today it is one of the biggest industries of its kind in the Twin Cities. Washington M. Dillon died January 12^th, 1920.

From a humble beginning, manufacturing only one line, the plant is now making between 50 and 60 different articles-possibly more. The Dillon-Griswold plant put in a rod mill which did not prove successful. Three years ago, the work of putting in a complete steel mill was started by the successors, the Northwestern. The first steel was poured two years ago in April. More changes and improvements are contemplated for the future.

Foster a Marine

The new president of the Northwestern, James Craven Foster, is a middle-aged man, married, and an ex-service man, having served during the World War as a captain in the United States Marines. He is a member of the American Legion and other ex-service organizations.

Mr. and Mrs. Foster will take up their residence here sometime during the later part of March, in time for Mr. Foster to take over his new duties April 1^st.

The Following was taken from a copy of the “Lighting Bolt” from April 1986. Retrieved and transcribed by Dana Fellows ~ 2011

Northwestern Takes Bold Step Into Future  

The year 1879 was the year in which the curious minds and restless hands that would lead America into its age of greatest progress were beginning to make their presence felt.

This was the year in which Thomas Alva Edison would perfect his electric light in Menlo Park, New Jersey and when inter-city telephone communication would be demonstrated for the first time. In that year Northwestern Barb Wire Company made its quiet entrance on the local scene.

Four young and industrious hardware merchants, headed by Washington M. Dillon and his stepbrother, William C. Robinson, signed papers of incorporation of Northwestern Barb Wire Company – thus beginning the history of Northwestern Steel and Wire Company on that cold day on February 28, 1879.

Ironically also in that same year, an Englishman named Dugald Clark would, for the first time, melt steel in a furnace that utilized an electric arc .. a process that would be perfected to a high-degree of efficiency at Northwestern Steel and Wire Company 57 years later.

At the outset, 10 employees turned out spools of barb wire in a single three-story building built from stone quarried from the Rock River and positioned along the river banks on the Rock Falls side.

The Company purchased the smooth wire it needed from the American Steel and Wire Company in DeKalb. About 600 spools of barb wire a day were being turned out at the Company’s modest facility. Power to run the barb wire machines came from a long-line shaft driven by water wheels installed on the river side of the mill race.

Into The 20th Century

Washington M. Dillon was forced to continue the operation of the plant on his own following the sudden death of William Robinson in 1883. In 1892, Washington Dillon entered into a new partnership with J W Griswold and started the Dillon-Griswold Wire Company in Sterling. Dillon kept his original plant across the river in Rock Falls, but devoted much of his time and energy to the new organization, which manufactured Dillon’s barb wire and Griswold’s bale ties, and later added field fence and nails to the product line.

The new firm grew and prospered until Griswold’s death in 1902. When Griswold’s heirs expressed little interest in managing the factory, Dillon … dissolved the partnership and returned to the operation of Northwestern Barb Wire Company in Rock Falls.

When the Dillon-Griswold Company went into receivership in 1912, Northwestern purchased the remaining assets of the firm and the barb wire factory moved from Rock Falls into the Sterling plant’s newer and larger facilities.

The elder Dillon was assisted in the move by his son, Paul W., who had, at that time, been assuming additional responsibilities in the firm for the past few years. Following Washington’s death in 1920, Paul – P W. to his friends and associates – was elected president by the board of directors. He was an intense, capable young man whose leadership and enterprise quickly became apparent to those around him in the Company and in the community.

In 1930, the third generation of the Dillon family in Northwestern management, W.M. (Martin) Dillon, was named general manager of a newly acquired subsidiary firm: Parrish-Alford Fence and Machine Company of Knightstown, Indiana. Martin ran the firm for five years at its Indiana location, then supervised the moving of the facility back to Northwestern’s original home in Rock Falls.

Northwestern faced some difficult times in the decade of the 1920’s and 1930’s. A major fire swept through the wire mill, causing three fatalities and doing an estimated quarter-million dollars in damage during the 1920’s. But at this time in Northwestern’s history, the greatest threat to its future was not represented by natural causes, but by man-made ones.

During the hard times that followed the stock market crash of 1929, the Company felt the economic pinch even more than the majority of the other he country, NSW was operating at full capacity to assist the war effort.

When Leonard Shannahan (who later went on to become Superintendent of the IO-Inch Mill) first came to Northwestern in 1946, the Company was pouring steel into I-ton ingots. “In 1947 we averaged 500 tons a day on that mill,” Leonard recently reflected. “That eventually went up to 1100 ton a day.”

Leonard said he misses those days when spirit among workers was high and there weren’t so many restrictions on job descriptions. “You knew· everyone – their wife’s name and kids names. We were close. When you walked into the IO-Inch Mill on a given day, you didn’t know what job you would eventually be doing. If we had a breakdown everybody worked on it. It didn’t matter who you were.”

In the early 1950’s the Company embarked on yet another major expansion in the building of a complete new plant just west of Avenue G to house two new 150-ton electric furnaces, a new 46-inch blooming mill and a 12-inch merchant bar mill.

By 1968 technology was starting to work in Northwestern’s favor A new concept developed by the Company, called ultra-high power, allowed NSW to achieve substantial increases in productivity This year saw the installation of a 250-ton furnace.

In just three years, Northwestern’s insatiable appetite for steel melting power increased to the point that in 1971, the first heat of steel was tapped from furnace No.7, – a 400-ton unit that remains the largest of its type in the world. By the end of the decade, a second 400-ton furnace was installed and the 250-ton furnace also was converted to 400-tons.

How It’s Done Today

When it comes to steel production through the use of electric furnaces, no one “does it better” than Northwestern Steel and Wire.

A pioneer in electric steel-making, Northwestern has continually stepped up its production capacity to include three 400-ton electric furnaces .. the largest of their kind in the world.

Why does Northwestern use electric furnaces to melt scrap steel instead of producing steel from scratch? There are a number of reasons:
(1) Northwestern is located in a good scrap area and selected steel scrap is the principal ingredient for the production of electric steel.
(2) Northwestern is located in an area where there is more than adequate electrical supply This is vitally important to the mill, as its daily usage of electricity is comparable to the electrical needs of a city of 300,000 population.
(3) Electricity is considered a “pure” source of heat, and does not in itself impart any mysterious properties to the steel. Heat comes from both the proximity of the electric arc and the electrical resistance of the steel bath itself The production of heat by electricity is unique in that oxygen is not necessary to support combustion. Thus, the quantity of oxygen can be controlled, and the presence of oxygen compounds and other impurities undesirable in good steel can be materially reduced. In addition, the electric furnace process permits the addition of alloying agents to molten steel without appreciable loss by oxidation.
(4) Northwestern has 50 years of experience in the electric steel-making process.

The operation begins with steel scrap, sorted by grade and loaded into huge charging buckets which are used to transfer the scrap to the furnace. The furnaces themselves resemble giant tea kettles on rockers; their steel shells are lined with refractory or water cooled panels to hold steel reaching temperatures of 3000-degrees. The dome-shaped, water cooled roof of the furnace is removable in that it swings aside when the furnace is to be charged with scrap. Once the furnace has been charged, the roof is swung back into place and three carbon electrodes are lowered into the furnace.

In the case of the 400-ton furnaces, these three electrodes are 28-inches in diameter It is at this point that ultrahigh power is supplied to the electrodes through automatic control devices connected directly to Northwestern Steel and Wire Company’s computer.

Current within the furnace arcs from one electrode to the metallic charge of scrap and from the charge to the next electrode. This process continues until the steel is a molten mass. Periodically during the heat, limestone and flux are added to the molten steel causing impurities to rise to the surface and form the slag which floats on top of the metal. At intervals during the heat, the furnace is tilted slightly so that this slag can be removed.

When the temperature of the bath reaches a specific point, alloying elements are added to the heat to determine the grade of steel as called for in the specifications given to the chief melter.

Bloom Caster

When the steel is ready for tapping, the electrodes are raised above the dome and the tap hole is opened. Awaiting the molten metal is a ladle into which the steel is to be poured. The ladle is pre-heated at a pre-heat station so that the molten steel will retain its high temperatures throughout the casting process. Since the electric furnace is on rockers, it can be gradually tilted so that the steel is drained from under the remaining slag.

Most of the steel that Northwestern produces is processed either into a bloom or billet continuous caster a relatively new process that takes the place of the old billet mill. Northwestern utilizes an 8-strand billet and 6-strand bloom caster, which means that either eight billets or six strands are produced simultaneously as the steel is poured through the caster. The billets and blooms are then taken to one of Northwestern’s rolling mills where they are reheated in a reheat furnace and then, while hot and pliable, rolled into finished products, such as angles, flats, channel, beams and rods.

Making Steel – The Electric Way

By the time the German Army invaded Poland in 1939, Northwestern had nearly recovered from the financial struggles involved in the start-up of the new steel plant and was well into a tone of continuing expansion, improved product quality and increasing profits.

Northwestern's 10 Ton Furnace, about 1936

The two original 10-ton electric furnaces at Northwestern allowed the Company to produce its own steel and wire rod and thus become self-sufficient for the first time.

Ingots poured from these first furnaces were about 6×6 inches and weighed about 800 pounds. They were poured into gang molds, each holding four ingots. The ingots later were increased to 12×12 and weighed about 1,400 pounds.

Fryn Engineering designed a small re-heat furnace for the ingots and the blooming mill reduced them to 2×2 inch billets.

Next step in the process was a rod mill to produce the No.5 rods from the billets. This was a new mill designed by Fred Gildon, Superintendent of the Rod Mill, and the manufacturer, Birdsboro Corporation. Gildon is credited with being a genius in this area.

An innovative feature of the mill was the continuous production of a round with a minimum of handling, thus requiring a very small labor force of 8 to 10 men. It also produced rods at speeds almost unheard of at that time – 3,700 feet / minute (by contrast, Northwestern’s existing Morgan Rod Train is listed at 20,000 feet/minute). At full capacity, it would produce about 30 tons an hour.

As a pioneer in the electric steel making process, Northwestern’s melt shop had to proceed by trial and error. One of Northwestern’s early successes, though, was called top-charging. The idea of top-charging an electric furnace is believed to have originated in the development of these first furnaces for Northwestern. The earlier furnaces used elsewhere, were side-charged units, which were alright for making alloys and special steels.

But in order to get any tonnage volume out of the furnace, it was necessary to get a lot of scrap into it in a short period of time, so the top charge arrangement was perfected.

Northwestern's 50 Ton Furnace, about 1940

Northwestern continually upgraded its steelmaking capacity. By the early 1940’s Northwestern installed two 50-ton furnaces, and, like the rest of plied rod to Northwestern were also competitors in the wire business. To get away from this potentially disastrous situation, Paul Dillon knew he had to begin melting steel and making his own rods; but he was apparently blocked by a new piece of legislation called the National Recovery Act.

In the midst of the Depression, Congress had decided that there was an over-abundance of steel production in the country and banned the installation of any additional facilities. The Act was later found unconstitutional, but at the time, it presented the greatest challenge ever to the survival of Northwestern Barb Wire Company.

Paul Dillon’s solution to the problem posed by the National Recovery Act was to use the wording of the NRA’s section on steel to his advantage. The Act prohibited “the construction of blast furnace, open hearth or Bessemer steel capacity,” but neglected to mention electric furnace steelmaking.

Although it had been used only for small quantities of specialty steels, the electric furnace offered Northwestern the chance to get into steelmaking.

Working closely with William Moore of Lectromelt Corporation, a pioneer in electric furnace steelmaking, and with engineers from Westinghouse Corporation, who built the necessary electrical equipment, Paul Dillon drove Northwestern through the legal loophole in the NRA and installed two small 10-ton electric furnaces at the Sterling plant, along with a billet mill and a rod mill after a horribly cold winter.

Ignoring the experts who said carbon steel could not be made profitably in electric furnaces, Northwestern, on Easter Sunday, April 12, 1936 became a steel producer as well as a wire mill … and continues to this day to be at the forefront of electric furnace technology.

Moses Dillon: Early Pioneer in Steelmaking

The history of the Dillon family in the steel making industry is traced back to the Pre-Civil War days in the State of Ohio.

Moses Dillon was an early pioneer in the steelmaking industry. Dillon is shares the distinct honor of being the first steelmaker to build the first iron furnace west of the Allegheny Mountains in Ohio in the early 1800’s.

Dillon built his first steel furnace at Dillon Falls, Ohio, near Zanesville. The mill was operated by Moses Dillon and his son, John. At the time, they produced bar iron and castings.

Dillon Iron Works ~ Zanesville, Ohio ~ 1832

Following the death of Moses Dillon, the operation was managed by his son, John. John Dillon continued the iron works operation until the vein of ore was exhausted.

John Dillon, 82, died July 17^th, 1862 at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Moorehead, in Zanesville, Ohio. It is believed the first Dillon furnace was operated until about 1850. It was in the late 1830’s the Dillon furnace was leased to Henry Blandy and A.F. Blockson.

The Dillon furnace and forge operated for two years without success. An article in the Ohio Courier dated Dec. 24^th, 1872, explains why the Dillon Furnace failed.

According to the article, good iron ore in the vicinity of the forge was exhausted and the managers had to resort to other points, often as far as Frazeysburg, for what they had expected to obtain on their own grounds. With the slow transportation of that particular time, the expense of hauling ore that distance was prohibitive.

The newspaper article related, “The iron works fell into ruin and the homes were moved away. Dillon’s Falls became a ghost town for nearly half a century. Then, in 1906, soon after the interurban line was constructed, a cottage colony grew up.”

In the year 1974, there was still a small Dillon Falls community, including a school, small store, and other businesses, and homes on both sides of the Licking River, connected by a highway bridge for local traffic.

There is still a road on the west side of the river from the site where the Dillon iron works once was located and extending south under the present Interstate 70, past the Dillon burying ground joining US Rt. 40.

The first venture by Moses Dillon into the iron business was reported by his son John, in his memoirs.

John explained in his writing, “When in my fourteenth year of age, my father (Moses Dillon) sold his farm in Harford County and moved to Fayette Pennsylvania, near Beaver town, now called Union Town, where he had previously bought one half of a Furnace created by George Meason on Dunbar Run, called Dunbar Furnace.”

Back in Maryland, Moses Dillon once again assumed his place of leadership ith the Society of Friends, which included some missionary trips to the Indians, west of the Alleghenies. In 1803, on a visit on horseback to the Wyandotte Indians in Ohio country, Dillon camped near the falls of the Licking River with his companion, Hugh Judge, a Quaker preacher.

J. F. Everhart in his 1182, History of Muskingum County, Ohio, tells of the visit by Moses Dillon to this country and the affect it had on him.

“Arriving at the falls of the Licking, Dillon was first impressed with the beauty of the landscape, and then with the fact that here was a fine water-power, and conceived the idea of utilizing it for manufacturing purposes.

Before leaving the neighborhood, Dillon discovered iron ore, which increased his determination to make this a business point.

Soon after his return home, he purchased a tract of land including the falls, probably near 3000 acres.

Dillon moved the falls in 1805 and proceeded to erect an iron furnace and foundry and made all kinds of hallow-ware, then in vogue.

First Furnace

Dillon’s furnace was probably the first furnace and foundry erected west of the Allegheny Mountains.

In 1814, Dillon built a gristmill and two sawmills near the falls, one on the east side of the river. These mills and the furnace and foundry, gave employment, sometimes to as many as 150 men.

“In 1806, Dillon opened a store at the Falls of the Licking, with a general assortment of merchandise suited to the wants of the pioneer, and trading with the Indians, many of whom lingered in the region round about, and found it convenient to exchange their skins, furs and other wares and meats, for articles of clothing and ammunition.

The store owned by Dillon was to become an important trading point. The people were allowed to settle on his land nearby, and the village, that grew in this wise – though never regularly laid out, and on one acquired title to the land occupied by then – once numbered 50 families.

Two Sons

Two of Moses Dillon’s sons, John and Isaac, were like himself…enterprising men. He was engaged in business with his sons until the time of his death in 1839.

His son John continued the furnace, foundry, and mills for some years after the elder Dillon’s death.

Interesting Bits

Stories circulated around the area where Moses Dillon’s steel works was located on the Licking River indicate the famed western novelist Zane Gray spent much time there.

While Zane Gray was enrolled at nearby Zanesville High School, he spent more time at Dillon Falls than in classrooms itself. On his tramps and fishing trips to the falls, he became acquainted with “Muddy” Mizer, who lived in a shack on the east side of the river.

Gray later said that the scenery at the falls aroused his interest in the great outdoors. After Gray became famous and wealthy, he paid “Muddy” Mizer’s room rent at a hotel near Altadena, California.

Swim Pool Thomas W. Lewis once wrote that there was a famous swimming pool at the foot of the falls on the west side of the Licking River. But, the flood of 1898 filled it almost full of gravel. Summer residents hoped that the 1913 flood would wash the gravel out, but it did not.

Zane Gray and those who enjoyed the swimming pool in the river would be amazed at the recreational facilities in this particular area today, partly as a result of the 1912 flood.

Dillon Dam

On October 2, 1960, the Dillon Dam on the Licking River was dedicated as a final unit in the Muskingum Valley Flood Control Program of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Located about a mile above the Dillon Falls, the dam backs up the river into a permanent reservoir covering about 1325 acres and extending 10 miles upstream. For storing flood water the pool could be enlarged to 10,285 acres and nearly three times larger than normal.

The Dillon Dam is a rolled, earth-filled structure 118-feet high and 1400 feet long.

First proposed in 1934, construction was delayed by World War II, the Korean War and local objections. Originally estimated at under $7 million, the final cost of the structure was reckoned at $35 million.

Dillon Lake and surrounding area is open to the public for picnicking and water recreation, with the entire area named in honor of the noted pioneer industrialist, Moses Dillon.

Washington Dillon, co-founder of Northwestern Barb Wire Company, at Rock Falls, was the great grandson of Moses Dillon.

Retrieved from the Daily Gazette by Dana Fellows ~ 2011
Transcribed by Rachel Fellows ~ 2011

Manufactured Under Columbia Patent License

In the early days of the manufacturing of barb wire by the Northwestern Barb Wire Company, the product was produced and tagged with a “Columbia Patent”.

The Panhandle – Plains Historical Review explains why as follows

“In 1891, the Columbia Patent Company was formed, being an organization composed of the licenses of Washburn and Moen. The Columbia Patent Company purchased from Washburn and Moen, the barbed-wire patents.

The royalty from the patents were fixed at one dollar per ton, subject to a rebate, and continued at this rate, almost without exception throughout the period during which the royalties were collected. A rebate of 70 cents per ton was paid during the six months period ending May 31^st, 1893, and thereafter gradually increased until the end of the royalty period, at which time ninety-seven cents per ton was being refunded.

At the expiration of the royalty period covered by the licenses issued by the Columbia Patent Company, June 28^th, 1904, the licensees were: John A. Roebling’s Sons, Dillon Criswold Wire Company, Jamesville Barb Wire Company and the American Steel and Wire Company.”

As a result of the licensing arrangement and the switch to Glidden wire, the Northwestern Barb Wire Company factory was enlarged and new machinery was installed.

In one account, it is reported that in a six-month period in 1884, sixty-five men worked night and day on thirty-five machines and produced 400 cars (4,000 tons), of barbed wire.

Paul W. Dillon, son of Washington Dillon, related that there was a nail “pool” similar to the barbed wire pool. Each plant was allowed to make an assigned quantity of nails and an inspector was stationed at each plant to see that the assigned volume was not exceeded and that the production was recorded accurately.

Northwestern was allowed to make 500 kegs of nails a day and sell them for $1.00 a keg. A keg contained 100 pounds.

The nail making machines used by Northwestern were made by Bates at Joliet, Ill., from whom the company later also bought wire drawing and galvanizing equipment.

In 1892, however, Washington Dillon had formed another business relationship, this time with J. W. Criswold, and this new obligation was given his primary attention during the 10 preceding years of the company’s history.

Retrieved From The Daily Gazette by Dana Fellows ~ 2011
Transcribed by Rachel Fellows ~ 2011

Various Fence and Nail Products offered over the years at Northwestern Steel & Wire Company

STERLING Brand Nails and other wire products were added to the Northwestern product line over the years.

The manufacture of nails was included into the product line during the early years of operation of the Northwestern Barb Wire Company.

The nail manufacturing portion of Northwestern Barb Wire, and in later years of Northwestern Steel & Wire Company, was an important product line and was enlarged over the years to meet the demands of various industries and costumers.

Under the STERLING Wire Product line, Northwestern manufactured the following under the regular nail division: common nails, smooth box, wire spikes, finishing, double-head nails, cement coated sinkers, cement coated box nails, casing nails, blunt point, flooring, galvanized shingle, lath, roofing, foundry, dish-head drywall,  plasterboard, fence staples, poultry netting staples, panel staples, siding, and hardboard siding.

In the ring and screw shank nail division, Northwestern manufactured flat washer nails, pole barn, drywall, underlayment, flooring, pallet, roof rafter, common, Deniston lead seal, and gutter spikes.

In the agriculture line, Northwestern manufactured feedlot fence panels of rugged, one-piece construction, which quickly and easily erected onto wood posts using J-bolts or large fence staples. No stretching or bracing was required.

The Du-A-Lot cattle panels were 16-feet long, 55-inches in height, and weight of 55.5 pounds. The hog panels were 16-feet long, 34-inches in height and weigh 41.5 pounds.

Fence Division

STERLING field fence was manufactured in 20-rod rolls with a STA-BRIGHT galvanized coating. It was in the product line starting in 1879.

STERLING brand barbed wire was also STA-BIRGHT galvanized and it was made in two and four point Regular; two and four point Frontier, and the twisted barbless cable, all were available in 80 rod spools.

STERLING poultry fence and extra line netting were also in the Northwestern product line. Other products it the line included electric fence wire, baling wire, steel posts and accessories, merchant quality wire, hardware cloth, fabric-cloth, welded wire fabric, and single loop bale ties.

Products manufactured under the STERLING plastic coated facing line conclude Lawn Guard ornamental fence, flat top Color Guard flower boarder, flat top Color Guard flower border, and Tot and Lot lawn or “play-pen” fence.

Included also in the product line was STERLING Galvanized ornamental fence, ornamental flower boarder, welded yard fence, gates, and numerous metal gate fittings.

STERLING building and reinforcing fabric was manufactured to combat shrinkage while concrete is curing and later prevents cracks or spreading resulting from foundations settling, weather extremes, and load stress. Re-Bar tie-wire was sold in uniform coils of wire produced from 16 gage annealed wire with taped square core. Each three and one-half coil contained approximately 385 feet.

Northwestern maintained its own fleet of trucks for reliable delivery of products to its customers. In addition to the inventory at the mill, the company had warehouse facilities in east and southwest United States.

From top management down to the production employees, where was a spirit of dedication by over 4000 people who took pride in their work with the company. This was the reason Northwestern served the needs of its customers with the attitude: “We’re Big Enough To Server You…. Small Enough To Know You.”

Source, Daily Gazette, Modified by Dana Fellows ~ 2011

Spool of Northwestern Barb Wire as what it would have looked like in the 1980's

Northwestern Barb Wire was established in Rock Falls IL

The first home of the Northwestern Barb Wire Company was secured by the officers of the company, in 1897, in an old wagon plant located in Rock Falls. The building was next to an elevator and flour mill owned by Lloyd Dillon, Washington Dillon’s older brother. The building’s had been constructed of stone quarried from a bed of the Rock River.

A basic reason for starting the mill in that particular location was the availability of water power from the nearby Rock River. Water power was developed originally and was provided on the Sterling side of the river by the Sterling Hydraulic Company. Half interest in the Hydraulic Company was sold to A.P. Smith, founder of Rock Falls. However, when he started the town of Rock Falls in 1867, he built a mill race on the south side of the river to serve industry in the new community.

The importance of having water power is evident considering the fact Thomas Edison invented the incandescent light that same year the Northwestern Barb Wire Company was incorporated in 1879. The date of the first electric plant in Sterling was 1890. The first gasoline engine made for sale was built in Sterling in 1886. So, the only choices for dependable power in the year 1879, were steam and water.

Even so, most of the work was done by hand during that period and the Northwestern Barb Wire Company had a work force of 10 persons. Where production is concerned, the work began turning out about 60 spools of barb wire per a 24 hour day.

Another major advantage of the particular period of time was the accessibility of two railroads in the Sterling and Rock Falls community in which to provide excellent shipping facilities for projects manufactured locally.

Source, Daily Gazette – Original story slightly modified by Dana Fellows ~ 2011