Originally founded by the United States as a fort named Fort Steuben, in 1786, Steubenville drastically transformed into an industrial city producing many goods. Fort Steuben was initially made to keep illegal settlers out of Ohio. This became very iconic later when Bezaleel Wells stumbled upon Steubenville and discovered that Steubenville had been occupied by many illegal settlers. This was similar to a later experience in Chicago in the 1960’s, when blockbusting was being practiced. Blockbusting essentially was an attempt to avoid introducing black residents into white communities. This ended in many protests by the black communities and their supports, similar to the conflicts experienced by the illegal settlers and the native americans of the region of the Seven Ranges.
Steubenville was an ideal location due to it being centered in a valley and having a large sum of fertile land. The first major transition into industrialization that Steubenville experienced was when they established a woolen mill in 1810. The factory was known for producing broadcloth, which was too expensive for the average consumer. The factory later shut down due to the Panic of 1819. Within the panic, banks throughout all of the country failed, mortgages were foreclosed, forcing people out of their homes and farms. Unemployment spread across the country too as falling prices affected agriculture and manufacturing companies.
A Steubenville resident took a risk and opened steubenville’s first brewery in 1815. Steubenville was an ideal location for manufacturing as it was located right next to the Ohio River. The brewer’s major markets were down the Ohio in Wheeling, WV, and Pittsburgh, PA. The brewery took off, by the 1870s it was producing more than 2,000 barrels of beer yearly. Steubenville is a city that is located within Jefferson County. This was troublesome for the brewery, when in 1908, Jefferson County became a dry county. Though this brewery and many others continued to produce and sell alcohol to nearby counties, steubenville took a huge lost economically as its eighty bars were forced to close. Then in 1919, when the 18th amendment to the United States Constitution made manufacturing alcohol illegal nationwide, Steubenville’s breweries closed for good.
Though this may be stretching it a bit much, this event could be compared to the end of unjust contract selling in Chicago. The realtors in Chicago would charge African Americans more for housing than the white communities. According to a lecture giving in class, realtors were supposed to make a profit of 5%, but were making up to 100% in profits from over charging blacks. These homes were dangerous to live in-- falling pieces of plaster, chipping in paint, leading to lead poisoning in kids. In the end, policies such as Code Enforcement, reinforcing slumlords to maintain their properties.
Steubenville was an ideal location due to it being centered in a valley and having a large sum of fertile land. The first major transition into industrialization that Steubenville experienced was when they established a woolen mill in 1810. The factory was known for producing broadcloth, which was too expensive for the average consumer. The factory later shut down due to the Panic of 1819. Within the panic, banks throughout all of the country failed, mortgages were foreclosed, forcing people out of their homes and farms. Unemployment spread across the country too as falling prices affected agriculture and manufacturing companies.
A Steubenville resident took a risk and opened steubenville’s first brewery in 1815. Steubenville was an ideal location for manufacturing as it was located right next to the Ohio River. The brewer’s major markets were down the Ohio in Wheeling, WV, and Pittsburgh, PA. The brewery took off, by the 1870s it was producing more than 2,000 barrels of beer yearly. Steubenville is a city that is located within Jefferson County. This was troublesome for the brewery, when in 1908, Jefferson County became a dry county. Though this brewery and many others continued to produce and sell alcohol to nearby counties, steubenville took a huge lost economically as its eighty bars were forced to close. Then in 1919, when the 18th amendment to the United States Constitution made manufacturing alcohol illegal nationwide, Steubenville’s breweries closed for good.
Though this may be stretching it a bit much, this event could be compared to the end of unjust contract selling in Chicago. The realtors in Chicago would charge African Americans more for housing than the white communities. According to a lecture giving in class, realtors were supposed to make a profit of 5%, but were making up to 100% in profits from over charging blacks. These homes were dangerous to live in-- falling pieces of plaster, chipping in paint, leading to lead poisoning in kids. In the end, policies such as Code Enforcement, reinforcing slumlords to maintain their properties.
http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Steubenville,_Ohio?rec=804
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h277.html
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h277.html