Valley Girl Views: The Sunbury Nail, Bar, and Guide Iron Manufacturing Co

The Sunbury Nail Works 1883-1902

The Sunbury Nail, Bar, and Guide Iron Manufacturing Company in Sunbury was built in 1883 and first put in operation August 29th 1883. There were 25 nail machines with an annual capacity of 60.000 kegs of cut nails.

Map of the Sunbury Nail, Bar, and Guide MFG Co in 1887

Note the dwelling houses on the right and left of the factory

Here is "Iron Mill Row" in the 1889 Flood

And here is a better overview of the location - the green section labeled 8 is the nail works. Below 7th street

In 1883 there were also Nail Works in nearby Danville, Milton, Northumberland, and Williamsport.

In June of 1885 the puddlers at the Sunbury Nail and Iron works were on strike, "on account of a reduction of wages"

The header of the Sunbury Weekly News included a sketch of the Sunbury Nail Works, along with sketches of the court house, the Sunbury Bank, and the Wolverton Law Office Building

- On Wednesday evening November 3rd 1886 the employees of the Sunbury Nail Works, marshaled by superintendents Levi Busler and John P. Haas, headed by the Sunbury band, parades the streets of Sunbury with torchlights in honor of Geneal Beaver's election. [Note - Beaver stadium at Penn State is named for Gov. Beaver. The governor was the nephew of Thomas Beaver, who built the library for the town of Danville]

The nail works closed for a few days the first week of December 1887, due to a scarcity of coal.

1888 - Fred Rounds of Danville, Formerly of the Sunbury Nail Works, spend Sunday in this [Sunbury] city. Rounds had resigned his position at the Sunbury nail works in December of 1887, taking a similar position at the Danville Iron works.

1901 Map

2 Killed, 9 Injured, 4 Missing
When as wind storm blew over two stacks at the Sunbury Nail Mill

January 9th 1889

March 28th 1889

In October of 1893, the Nail Works had been purchased by new bondholders an new board of directors was appointed. "It would be a great benefit to this city if the works were started again, which will be done as soon as the iron trade warrants it."

In 1894 the Sunbury Iron works had 3 single and 3 double puddling furnaces, one heating furnate, 2 trains of rolls and 41 cut nail machines. Their annual capacity was 12,000 kegs of cut nails, brand name "Sunbury". The plant was listed as "idle and for sale" in the Directory of Iron and Steel Works of the United States and Canada

Volume 12, 1894.

In November of 1895, the the Columbian, Bloomsburg Pa, reported that the Sunbury Iron Works "after a long idleness, has resumed operations."

November 1885

Sunbury Nail Works destroyed by fire May 30 1902

The fire was discovered about 9:30, and "spread with such rapidity that in less than half hour the entire structure was a seething mass of angry flames that licked up everything in their path."

At the time of the fire, the factory had been idle "since it's purchase from the local owners by the steel trust several years ago". The property was owned by the American Steel Company, in 1902.

The cause of the fire was unknown, but was though to be arson.

In 1904, a new Sunbury Iron Works came to Sunbury - it was not affiliated with the earlier business.

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1890 Wage Dispute