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fact that the 20th century brought changes to the iron industry, and that the company was beginning to lose money. The last furnace at the Crane Iron
Company ceased operation in 1921; by 1935, most of the plant had been demolished, and little remains of the company's plant today. What does still exist is in the possession of the borough of Catasauqua, which is currently working to transform it into a shopping and dining destination.
314:, Thomas founded the first church in the borough of Catasauqua, in which residents still worship. He installed its first public water system, founded its first fire company, and served as its first burgess. He provided a number of neat, attractive homes for his employees, many of which are still standing today.
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on June 20, 1882. He, his wife
Elizabeth, and generations of their descendants are all buried in the Thomas family vault, a sort of underground mausoleum at Fairview Cemetery in West Catasauqua. The Thomas family mansion, located on Second Street in Catasauqua, is still standing, though its interior
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Iron produced at the Crane Iron
Company was used in a number of products, many of which were made elsewhere in Catasauqua. The neighbouring company of John Fritz's Iron Foundry used Crane iron to build the first American-made cast-iron construction columns, while the nearby Davies and Thomas Foundry
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In 1898, Leonard
Peckitt took the reins as president of the Crane Iron Company. He proceeded to purchase a number of other companies in the region, uniting them all under the incorporation of the Empire Steel and Iron Company. Though Peckitt was a shrewd businessman, he could not hide forever the
283:, and in 1872 the name was changed to the Crane Iron Company. By that time the community was no longer known as Craneville, but as Catasauqua; Thomas had named both his company and the town in which he founded it after his former employer in Wales.
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Thomas's wealth and generosity with it endeared him to his neighbors. He and his wife, Elizabeth, were known as "the father and mother of
Catasauqua", and frequently addressed as Mother and Father Thomas.
276:, on the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company's towpath on July 9, 1839. Less than one year later, on July 4, 1840, the first successful anthracite iron furnace in the United States began operation.
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Thomas's iron works was extremely successful, even though the iron industry in the rest of the Lehigh Valley had begun to decline. The company was incorporated in 1839 as the
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Additional accolades were presented to "Father Thomas" for his transformational ideas and vision. He was named the first president of the
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321:(then known as the American Society of Metallurgy), and was one of the founders of the American Association of Industrial Engineers.
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turned Crane iron into pipes and tunnel tubes. Among the still-existing structures which were created using Crane iron are the
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and at Neath, and worked on his father's farm before going into the iron industry. He married
Elizabeth Hopkins in 1817.
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Thomas's industry helped the small town to become quite prosperous, and he himself became a wealthy landowner.
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region, being rich in both anthracite coal and iron ore, was the perfect setting for Thomas's creation.
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As an adult, he was widely regarded as one of the foremost ironmasters in the
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wanted Thomas to build a furnace for the production of anthracite iron. The
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American
Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers
389:"Thomas, David (1794-1882), pioneer of the iron industry in U.S.A."
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429:. Vol. III. James T. White & Company. 1893. p. 360
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Thomas and his son, Samuel, walked into the infant community of
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178:(November 3, 1794 – June 20, 1882) was a native of
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348:Images of America: Catasauqua and North Catasauqua
350:by Martha Capwell Fox (Arcadia Publishing 2002)
426:The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography
479:Catasauqua.org: Our vision for the Iron Works
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452:"Obituary: David Thomas, Iron Manufacturer"
237:. The result was an easy method to produce
354:WelshDragon.net: Historical Wales Timeline
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334:has since been divided into apartments.
182:who was influential in the birth of the
521:People from Lehigh County, Pennsylvania
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511:American manufacturing businesspeople
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225:. On February 5, 1837, Thomas used a
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546:19th-century American businesspeople
526:Welsh emigrants to the United States
359:Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company
254:Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company
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541:19th-century Welsh businesspeople
16:Welsh born American industrialist
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202:. He went to school at nearby
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329:Thomas died from pneumonia in
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394:Dictionary of Welsh Biography
90:West Catasauqua, Pennsylvania
190:Development of the hot blast
468:– via Newspapers.com.
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460:. June 21, 1882. p. 4
268:Emigration to Pennsylvania
252:, where the owners of the
457:The Philadelphia Inquirer
437:– via Google Books.
399:National Library of Wales
281:Lehigh Crane Iron Company
194:David Thomas was born in
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274:Catasauqua, Pennsylvania
248:In 1839 he relocated to
77:Catasauqua, Pennsylvania
302:Philanthropy and honors
364:Welsh Biography Online
186:in the United States.
223:Industrial Revolution
184:Industrial Revolution
551:American ironmasters
506:Welsh industrialists
516:People from Swansea
501:British ironmasters
387:Robert (Bob) Owen.
88:Fairview Cemetery,
295:in New York City.
129:Engineering career
245:, Wales in 1804.
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71:(1882-06-20)
44:David Thomas
25:David Thomas
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536:1882 deaths
531:1794 births
404:February 7,
139:Ironmastery
97:Nationality
496:Foundrymen
490:Categories
464:August 27,
433:August 27,
370:References
331:Catasauqua
135:Discipline
50:1794-11-03
310:A devout
243:Morriston
229:to smelt
227:hot blast
160:Signature
231:iron ore
196:Cadoxton
145:Projects
58:Cadoxton
342:Sources
289:Holland
217:in the
204:Alltwen
198:, near
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60:, Wales
105:Spouse
92:, U.S.
79:, U.S.
200:Neath
180:Wales
116:(
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466:2020
435:2020
406:2021
291:and
233:and
66:Died
40:Born
256:in
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