WARREN, Ohio – The Western Reserve Port Authority and Youngstown Historical Center of Industry & Labor are collaborating to relocate a 16,000-pound steel ingot poured from the first heat of Republic Steel Corp.’s new basic oxygen furnace in 1965.
The ingot currently is just outside the main gate of the Pine Avenue Southwest site that the port authority sold to Kimberly-Clark Corp. in 2023 and where the consumer paper products manufacturer is constructing an $800 million plant.
A port authority employee who previously had been employed at the former mill – which later was owned by WCI Steel and RG Steel – recognized the ingot and pointed out its historic significance, said Gabrielle Davis, marketing and project manager for the port authority.
“Thankfully, representatives from Kimberly-Clark agreed and asked for our perspective on where in the community it could go, as the right place for it long-term isn’t on the Kimberly-Clark site,” she said.
The commemorative ingot was poured from the first heat of steel made in Trumbull County by the basic oxygen process, according to a plaque that originally had been affixed to the slab dated July 7, 1965.
In an article published in the June 4, 1965, edition of the Tribune Chronicle, Richard F. Armitage, Republic’s Warren District manager, invited civic organizations and individuals in the Warren area “to donate all kinds of scrap to be used in the first heat in one of the new furnaces.” Steel from that specific heat would be used to produce a memento of some kind to mark the event.
The ingot contains “various steel souvenir items provided by area residents to symbolize the beginnings of the second century of steel making in America,” according to the script on the plaque, which appears to have been removed from its original location and now is affixed to a replica at Monument Park in downtown Warren.
The Pine Avenue ingot appears to have a hollow section in the middle where donated items might have been placed after the ingot had been cured before the cavity was sealed, according to Jonathan Liana, curator and primary researcher at YHCIL, more commonly known as the Steel Museum.
How and when the ingot and plaque came to be separated was unclear to the city officials and historians contacted for this story. It similarly was unknown what artifacts had been donated for the ingot and what items might be contained in the cavity.
Discussions surrounding the removal of the artifact from the Kimberly-Clark property and determining a location for it are in the “beginning phases,” said Jonathan Cambouris, YHCIL museum administrator.
Early discussions revolved around relocating the ingot to the historical center in Youngstown, which recognizes labor and industry throughout the Mahoning Valley. However, the building isn’t designed to support the object’s weight, even on the ground floor, Liana said.
“All it would do is sink,” he remarked.
Placing it outside on a wedge of property at Commerce and Hazel streets near the museum also had been discussed, Cambouris said. That site also would require approval by Youngstown’s design review committee, and he said there had been “positive discussions” with the city’s economic development office.
Recent discussions have centered on the city of Warren taking custody.
“The city is very happy to accept it. I think it’s a great place for it,” said Mike Keys, city community development director. Possibilities include the site where the replica is located in Monument Park or elsewhere on or around Courthouse Square downtown or in Perkins Park by the Warren Community Amphitheatre.
“That would be great,” said Meghan Reed, executive director of the Trumbull County Historical Society.
City Council would have to approve any funds needed to cover expenses for the relocation, Keys said.
Kimberly-Clark representatives have not expressed any concerns about a need to remove the artifact soon, Davis said. Cambouris and Liana both pointed out that America250 – the celebration of the semiquincentennial of the signing of the Declaration of Independence – is coming next year.
Communities around the country are being encouraged to celebrate such historic “commemorative pieces” in association with the celebration, Cambouris said.
“A commemorative piece like this that would be installed for [America250] would warrant major news coverage,” Liana affirmed.
Davis expressed her appreciation to YHCIL for its work researching the history of the ingot.
“We are glad to be working with the city to reunite the ingot with its original placard and grateful to Kimberly-Clark for allowing us to relocate it,” she said.
Pictured at top: From left are Gabrielle Davis, Jonathan Cambouris and Jonathan Liana.