Birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution

Birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution. .

"History does not repeat itself in detail, but there were remarkable similarities between the Severn River Valley in the eighteenth century and the Lehigh River Valley in the nineteenth century. Both may be called cradles of the Industrial Revolution. One of the cradle of the British Industrial Revolution and the other cradle of the American Industrial Revolution." , Thomas Hughes, Historian Univ. of PA

, A mixture of geology, geography, and transportation advantages brought the Lehigh Valley into the forefront of America's Industrial Revolution. These factors coupled with the anthracite blast furnace technology made cheap iron readily available., Even before the completion of the Lehigh Navigation system in 1829, its builders, Josiah white and Erskine Hazard of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company (LC&N), were aware of the Valley's rich deposits of iron ore, coal, and limestone, the essential ingredients for making iron. As entrepreneurs, their interest in ironmaking brought Welsh ironmaster David Thomas to America. Thomas had discovered that anthracite coal could be ignited in an iron furnace by heating the air blast before it entered the furnace. With this process perfected, LC&N helped Thomas build a furnace along the banks of the Lehigh Navigation at what is now Catasauqua, Pennsylvania. On July 4, 1840, Thomas and Crane Iron Company began to produce iron., By 1870, there were 55 blast furnaces operating at 21 locations or near the Lehigh Canal. This industry flourished in the Lehigh Valley until the last iron furnace at Bethlehem Steel shut down in 1995.