CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Our city has a rich heritage as one of the world's major steel producers.
It's ingrained in our culture, wrote Plain Dealer reporter Bill Lubinger in an article in 2002 discussing efforts to save the history of the late LTV Corp.
So it's no wonder that in Lorain on a summer day in 1961, a crowd of 40,000 lined the streets to watch a parade kicking off a three-day Steelmark Days celebration. It was billed as a community tribute to the men who make steel. Displays, contests and fireworks highlighted the tribute. Lorain was the sixth community in the nation to hold Steelmark Days.
Steel truly was a source of pride for this region long before it became a symbol of our industrial decline.
As far back as 1858, an article in the Cleveland Leader newspaper claimed that Cleveland enjoyed advantages even greater than Pittsburgh for the manufacture of iron:
"With [the cost of] transportation added, iron can be made $7 a ton cheaper in Cleveland than made at Pittsburgh and brought here. . . . Would it not be wise to start blast furnaces in Cleveland?"
Ohio's access to the Great Lakes, network of navigable rivers and rich deposits of coal and iron literally helped to build the region and the nation, the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History said.
By 1900, Cuyahoga County produced 968,801 tons of iron and steel and ranked fifth nationally in iron and steel production.
And Cleveland was also the center of innovation in the steel-making business. The first Bessemer converter was purchased by the Cleveland Rolling Mill Co., which eventually was absorbed by U.S. Steel Corp., according to ohiosteel.org.
The Bessemer converter transformed pig iron into steel, a process previously managed by highly skilled artisans working with small batches. With the Bessemer converter, relatively unskilled men could make vast quantities of steel cheaply.
And in 1875, the first open-hearth furnace built exclusively for the production of steel was constructed by the Otis Steel Co. in Cleveland, which became Jones & Laughlin Steel Co. in 1942.
A look back is a view of Cleveland's history through pictures. The series show photographs that appeared in Cleveland's newspapers. Today and in future installments this series of photos will focus on summer fun. If you have an idea for future segments, add a comment and we will try to please. Check out previous A look backs on Euclid Beach Park, Edgewater Park, Goodtime cruise ships, Public Square, Cleveland MetroParks Zoo, League Park, Great Lakes Exposition, former Mayor Ralph Perk on a playground, and Cain Park Arts Festival.