Reflecting on a Decade of Change
Former Sparrows Point steelworkers gathered inside the museum on June 5, 2022. Photo by Mary Braman. by Auni Gelles Spring 2022 marked a decade since steelmaking ceased at the Sparrows Point steel mill. Founded by the Pennsylvania Steel Company in the 1890s, this Baltimore County mill reached its peak production in the 1950s and was once the largest steel plant in the world. Often associated with Bethlehem Steel, the company that […]
Read moreProject Update – Sept. 2021
By Anita Kassof, Beth Maloney, and Auni Gelles Fall 2021 marks three years since the Baltimore Museum of Industry began our Bethlehem Steel Legacy Project, a multiyear project to document and tell the story of the Bethlehem Steel mill at Sparrows Point—once the largest steel plant in the world. We’re sharing a behind-the-scenes update on […]
Read moreAccidents At the Point: 1891 Explosion
“Blast Furnace ‘B’ ready for Operation.” The first blast furnace at the Point was constructed in 1890.
By Clair Volkening On Sunday, December 8, 1891, four men were killed and five suffered injuries after an explosion in blast furnace B at Sparrows Point. The night before the explosion, workers had begun “blowing out,” or shutting down, the furnace so that repairs could be made to the firebrick walls and the furnace pipes […]
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