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Warwood: a Walking Tour of its History and Architecture
Item 23 of 23
This factory has changed hands several times, but it has consistently provided employment for greater Warwood residents. In 1930, the Wheeling Steel Company expanded to Warwood and built the Ackermann plant, where they built pressed steel stampings and innovative steel shipping containers known as “band boxes”. From 1964 to 1986, Blaw-Knox used the facility as an iron roll foundry. Since 1990, the Bethlehem Gear & Machine Company (of the Mull Group) has produced a variety of gears.

Facing NW, taken June 2017, photo courtesy of Christina Rieth

Facing NW, taken June 2017, photo courtesy of Christina Rieth

Facing S, taken June 2017, photo courtesy of Christina Rieth

Facing S, taken June 2017, photo courtesy of Christina Rieth

The plant is located in Warwood, Wheeling's northern most neighborhood. the neighborhood is named after Henry Warwood, who founded the Warwood Tool Company in 1854 in Martins Ferry. The company was relocated to Warwood in 1907.

As early as 1795, Thomas Glenn is the first known owner of the land; he bequeathed the land to his son, William, sometime before 1795. Farmers initially settled in the region north of Wheeling for its rich, fertile soil.

Farmland in Warwood made way to industrial and residential development at the turn of the century. Foreseeing the potential of Warwood’s future, R. J. McCullagh founded the Warwood Land Company in 1903. The company sold the lots at a very low price at the time, starting at $300 each. The land was far less susceptible to floods than other parts of Wheeling, and streetcars ran between Warwood and Wheeling every 15 minutes, which became excellent selling points for prospective residents. Working-class families who came to the area sought employment at the industrial plants and built their residences, businesses, and churches nearby. Coal mines were abundant in Warwood, and an oil boom hit Warwood in 1911.

Warwood became an incorporated community on May 26, 1911, and as part of the “Wheeling Greater Movement”, Wheeling annexed the Warwood neighborhood in 1919.

Hinrichs Bissett, Mabel, & Bertha Cupp Jones. "Warwood: a History, 1669-1975." Ernest St. C. Benfield, 1993.
Rieth, Christina. "Warwood: a Walking Tour of its History and Architecture". Wheeling Heritage, 2017.