The Glendon Iron Company was the largest industry in the Easton area for much of the 19th century. Its rise and fall was a reflection of the Lehigh Valley reign as America's leading iron-producing region.
Beginning with the success of the Lehigh Crane Iron Company at what is now Catasauqua, in 1840, the Lehigh Valley became the center of an iron boom that was to last for more than four decades. This iron boom resulted from the construction of the connecting Lehigh Navigation, Delaware Division Canal and Morris Canal. These waterways brought anthracite, which was used as blast furnace fuel, and high quality New Jersey iron ore to the Lehigh Valley. The canals enabled the products of local furnaces to be shipped to the bustling markets of Philadelphia and New York. Many entrepreneurs were attracted to the region by this iron boom and among them were Charles Jackson and William Firmstone.
Charles Jackson, a member of a wealthy Boston family, had many investments in New England shipping and manufacturing facilities.
In contrast, William Firmstone was an English immigrant who had served as an itinerant iron master at various furnaces throughout Ohio and Pennsylvania. He was also a technically innovative engineer and a competent businessman. Appointed in 1842 by Jackson to be the superintendent of the newly formed enterprise, Firmstone purchased land and waterpower rights from the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company and began to build an iron-making facility to the southwest of Easton.
By 1844, the first furnace of what had become known as the Glendon Iron Company was placed in production. Its blowing engines were powered by two 15-foot diameter waterwheels which drew their water from the adjacent Lehigh Navigation. These drove two horizontal blast cylinders. No 2. furnace was constructed in 1845; it was 45 feet high feet high, and 10 by 14 feet across the bosh.
In 1846, the Glendon Iron Company produced over 7,000 tons of iron. No. 3 furnace was constructed in 1850, also 45 feet high with dimensions of 16 by 14 feet across the bosh. After 1850 a common blast, produced by a combination of water and steam power, was provided for furnaces Nos. 2 and 3.
In 1854, Jackson purchased the South Easton furnace, which was located to the east of the main plant adjacent to the Rodenbaugh and Stewart Wire Company. This furnace had been built in 1844 by Frederick Goddell; it occupied the site of an earlier abortive cold blast charcoal furnace that had been constructed by the firm of Barnet, Swift and Company.
The Glendon Iron Company, under William Firmstone's direction, soon established a fine reputation for quality. Like many other Lehigh Valley iron companies, the Glendon Iron Company imported large quantities of New Jersey magnetite ore via the connecting Morris Canal and Lehigh Navigation.
In 1852, the Glendon Iron Company purchased the Teabo mine near Hibernia, N.J., which it operated until 1892. The usual furnace charge at Glendon consisted of -1/4 New Jersey magnetite and -3/4 local brown hematite from Williams Township.
Most of Glendon's iron was shipped via the canal network to New York, where it was loaded onto coastal schooners for shipment to Boston. There, it was rolled into bars and rolls at the Glendon Rolling Mill which was also owned by Charles Jackson, Jr.
These products were then exported or sold in New England. Unfortunately, the Glendon Rolling Mill was closed in 1857 after its superintendent had embezzled over $200,000. After 1857, the Glendon Iron Company concentrated on what became known as the Grey Forge market, where its products enjoyed a fine reputation.
In 1868, the Glendon Company constructed No. 5 furnace as a part of William Firmstone's efforts to remain competitive with other Lehigh District producers such as the Crane Iron Company and the Thomas Iron Company. No. 5 furnace had a sheet-iron stack, 75 feet high and 18 feet in diameter at the bosh; it became the most productive of the company's furnaces.
During the 1870s, the Glendon Iron Company continued to prosper under the innovative and competent leadership of William Firmstone. In 1874, Firmstone rebuilt the old No. 1 furnace to more modern specifications. The rebuilt No. 1 was 63 feet high and 18 feet in diameter at the bosh.
After Firmstone's death in 1877, the Glendon Iron Company was managed by his son, Frank. Although Frank Firmstone was a skilled engineer, he lacked his father's organizational skills. In 1881, he rebuilt furnace No. 2 and No. 3 to modern specifications. As rebuilt, these iron shell furnaces were both 80 feet high and 18 feet in diameter at the bosh. The Glendon Iron Company continued to be both productive and profitable until 1884, when a steady decline began which resulted in the temporary closure of the works following Frank Firmstone's resignation in 1887.
John Thomas, a former foundryman at the works, succeeded Firmstone as superintendent and modernized furnaces Nos. 1, 2 and 3 over the next two years. In 1889, John S. Fackenthal became superintendent and iron production was restarted. In 1893, the I.P. Morris Company steam-blowing engines were installed at Glendon, but the company could not return to profitability and in 1894, the works were permanently shut down.
In 1896 the company was placed in the hands of its creditors, who offered the works for sale. There were no buyers. The new blowing engines were sold to the Empire Steel and Iron Company, and furnaces Nos. 1 and 5 were torn down. During the next 20 years, the entire complex was demolished and the land reverted to the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company.
Today the site of the Glendon Iron Company is a part of the City of Easton's Hugh Moore Park where a few stone ruins and the base of one furnace are all that remain of the company's production facilities.
However, the adjacent boroughs of Glendon and West Easton contain many fine examples of workers' housing built in the 1840s by the Glendon Iron Company. The Firmstone family mansion today is part of the Easton Children's Home.