Items related to The Iron and Steel Industry in the Far West: Irondale,...
Irondale, a quiet residential community ten miles south of Port Townsend on the northeast corner of Washington's Olympic Peninsula, was once home to a major West Coast iron and steel industry that lasted from 1881 to 1919. In its heyday, especially 1909-1911, the town was a bustling commercial hub with daily ocean steamer traffic arriving and departing, carrying hundreds of passengers and tons of cargo, raw materials, and finished products. Though Irondale's future seemed promising, in true boomtown fashion the town and its industry prospered and declined together.
Irondale's turbulent history reflects conditions faced by western entrepreneurs, including stiff competition from established eastern cities. The striving for financial profit and for a self-sufficient economy free from eastern domination encouraged speculation and boosterism, a theme found commonly throughout U.S. history. Western growth during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century spurred a greater demand for iron and steel, materials used not only in household farming implements but also necessary for all types of structures and transportation facilities, particularly railroads.
Diane Britton's impressively researched work greatly advances an understanding of community- and industry-building in the West. It provides the first narrative account of the rise and eventual demise of an integrated steelworks at Irondale, examines the intimate relationship between the town and plant, and places that local history into a larger regional and national context.
Irondale's turbulent history reflects conditions faced by western entrepreneurs, including stiff competition from established eastern cities. The striving for financial profit and for a self-sufficient economy free from eastern domination encouraged speculation and boosterism, a theme found commonly throughout U.S. history. Western growth during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century spurred a greater demand for iron and steel, materials used not only in household farming implements but also necessary for all types of structures and transportation facilities, particularly railroads.
Diane Britton's impressively researched work greatly advances an understanding of community- and industry-building in the West. It provides the first narrative account of the rise and eventual demise of an integrated steelworks at Irondale, examines the intimate relationship between the town and plant, and places that local history into a larger regional and national context.
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- PublisherUniv Pr of Colorado
- Publication date1991
- ISBN 10 087081236X
- ISBN 13 9780870812361
- BindingHardcover
- Edition number1
- Number of pages226
(No Available Copies)
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