South Park in Buffalo in Erie County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Bethlehem Steel in Lackawanna

The Industrial Heritage Trail

— Part 2: The Largest Steel Plant in the World —

Bethlehem Steel in Lackawanna Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Anton Schwarzmueller, June 3, 2015

1. Bethlehem Steel in Lackawanna Marker

Inscription. Construction of the massive new steel plant beban on July 14, 1900. Equipment began arriving from Scranton nine months later. The company dredged a 3,300 foot ship canal and built miles of track to link the plant with the railroads. This allowed the iron ore, limestone, and coal to be brought in and processed into steel. The sprawling steel plant officially began steel production on October 20, 1903. It soon became the largest steel production facility in the country, giving the Lackawanna Steel Company the biggest market share in the nation, until it was supplanted only by the formation of U.S. Steel.

The large influx of workers from the company's old Pennsylvania site swelled the Town of Seneca's population. Controversy arose between the eastern and western sections of the town over paying for the necessary infrastructure improvements for both the steel plant and its workers. To help save the town from bankruptcy, residents proposed making the steel mill and the surrounding area its own incorporated municipality, and in 1909, the City of Lackawanna was formed.

A Bessemer converter in Lackawanna Steel. The Bessemer steel production process removed impurities from molten iron by blowing air through the bottom of the converter. Steel Plant Museum of Western New York.

Lackawanna Steel Plant, Buffalo 1903.

Erected by

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The Industrial Heritage Committee, Inc.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Government & Politics • Industry & Commerce. A significant historical year for this entry is 1900.

Location. 42° 50.042′ N, 78° 51.283′ W. Marker is in Buffalo, New York, in Erie County. It is in South Park. It is on Fuhrmann Boulevard ¼ mile south of Ohio Street, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Buffalo NY 14203, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Upstate New York

and specifically in Western New York.

It is also in the American Northeast,

on the Great Lakes,

and in the Mid-Atlantic.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France,

the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

New Netherland,

and one of the original Thirteen Colonies.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: A different marker also named Bethlehem Steel in Lackawanna (here, next to this marker); The Lehigh Portland Cement Company (here, next to this marker); The Union Ship Canal (here, next to this marker); a different marker also named Bethlehem Steel in Lackawanna (here, next to this marker); a different marker also named Bethlehem Steel in Lackawanna (here, next to this marker); Improvements in Ship Design (a few steps from this marker); Early Lake Erie Water Craft (a few steps from this marker); The Great Lakes (a few steps from this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Buffalo.

Also see . . . The Steel Plant Museum of Western New York. (Submitted on July 25, 2015, by Anton Schwarzmueller of Wilson, New York.)

Northwest View image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Anton Schwarzmueller, June 3, 2015

2. Northwest View

Marker is on the third tower from the right; it is the second tower away from this viewpoint.

Credits. This page was last revised on February 16, 2023. It was originally submitted on July 25, 2015, by Anton Schwarzmueller of Wilson, New York. This page has been viewed 1,510 times since then and 91 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on July 25, 2015, by Anton Schwarzmueller of Wilson, New York.