The Solvay Process Company

The Solvay Process Company. History. , The Village of Solvay bears the name of two brothers Enrst and Alfred Solvay, Belgian chemists who perfected the synthetic process for manufacturing soda ash, an essential ingredient for a host of other products in America's industrial economy. The "Solvay Process" required large amounts of water, limestone, and salt brine, three materials that Syracuse, the "Salt City,” had plenty of., It was the vision of Syracuse engineer William B. Cogswell, who persuaded the Solvay's to bring their method to America. The massive Solvay Process Company, the first one of its kind in the western hemisphere, opened in 1884., Cogswell and company president Rowland Hazard shared the philanthropic ideals of Ernst Solvay toward his employees and their families. As such, Solvay Process Company was a very progressive company, especially by the industrial standards of the days. Following a terrible accident in January 1885, which killed five men, Cogswell and Hazard established Solvay's Mutual Benefit Society. By 1888, it paid hospital bills, provided income for injured workers, and acted as an insurance policy for employees who paid monthly dues. Fredrick Hazard, who succeeded his father as company president in 1898, and his wife Dora were instrumental in forming the Solvay Guild. The Guild implemented even more social welfare programs, including education and training programs, childcare facilities, cooking classes, a library, and a variety of recreational programs. By 1918, Solvay Process employed 7,000 workers. In 1920, Allied Chemical and Dye Company took over Solvay Process and its sister company Semet-Solvay (coke products) and ended these programs, which were costing the company nearly $300,000 annually., For the next sixty five years, the Allied Corporation's Solvay Plant continued to be one of the area's largest employers. Global economic shifts and technological innovations rendered much of the plant obsolete and Allied closed the facility in 1986., (upper left photo caption:) , Milton Avenue, Looking North Towards Lamont Ave. 1933 , This is during the height of the Great Depression, but Solvay Process Works continued to operate 24 hours a day. The plant literally gave birth to the Village of Solvay, incorporated in 1895. This image offers a perfect symbolic representation of how the Works dominated every aspect of life in Solvay., (lower left photo caption:) , Solvay Process Works 1912 , The Solvay Process Company was probably the largest industrial operation in Central New York. A private power generating station maintained self-sufficiency for the plant 24 hours a day. The works were powered by coal, hence the billows of black smoke coming out of the iconic smokestacks, a familiar sight in any American industrial town. Allied Chemical made several expansions and updates to the works over the course of the 20th century. After its closure in 1986, most of the old buildings were removed to make way for new industries., (lower right photo caption:) , Canal Boat at Solvay Process , Syracuse's central location on the Erie Canal and the main line of the New York Central Railroad was another major reason for its selection as a site for Solvay Process Company. This 1887 photo shows canal boats docked at the Solvay Works. The Erie Canal ran directly through the factory., (middle photos and illustrations captions from left to right:) , William Cogswell: (1891) , Mr. Cogswell was born in Oswego in 1834 and moved to Syracuse in 1856. He was the General Manager of the Solvay Works for over 25 years. He died in Syracuse at his estate at 1234 James Street in 1921., Guild Hall , Built in 1893 by Roland Hazard and his wife Dora Sedgwick Hazard. Many credit the Solvay Guild with starting the nation's first day-care center here, in addition to Syracuse's first kindergarten classes. Guild Hall contained a stage, dance floor, and kitchen where many women took cooking classes. The Guild sponsored a variety of "Americanization” classes for Solvay employees, many of whom were immigrants from Italy, Germany, and Eastern Europe who gained economic stability in the plant., Solvay Life , Solvay Life was a magazine published by the Solvay Guild. It contained a wide variety of content and articles related to the factory and life in Solvay. This particular issue is from 1920, the same year that Allied Chemical ended the social-welfare programs that characterized the Hazard and Cogswell era., Political Cartoon from Post-Standard (1986) , The Solvay Process produced a pound and a half of waste for every pound of end product. Nearly 315 acres of land near Onondaga Lake were dedicated to "waste beds.” Described as a "foul smelling tooth-paste” like substance, it sat in the waste-beds leeching various toxins into the ground. In 1943, one of the waste-bed's retaining walls failed, literally flooding the town of Lakeland and the State Fairgrounds causing millions of dollars in property and environmental damage. Onondaga Lake and nearby lands are currently undergoing a massive environmental clean-up by the Honeywell Corporation (Allied acquired Honeywell in 1999 and changed its name)., All images (on marker) are from the collections of the Onondaga Historical Association.