Danville Bessemer Company

The Danville Bessemer Company was incorporated in New Jersey, with operations in Danville, Pennsylvania. The company made rail for railroad industry by the Bessemer Method.

On August 24, 1856, Sir Henry Bessemer first described the process to a meeting of the British Association in Cheltenham which he titled "The Manufacture of Iron Without Fuel." It was published in full in The Times. Many industries were constrained by the lack of steel, being reliant on cast iron and wrought iron alone. Examples include railway structures such as bridges and tracks, where the treacherous nature of cast iron was keenly felt by many engineers and designers. There had been many accidents when cast iron beams collapsed suddenly, such as the Dee bridge disaster of May 1847.

Though this process is no longer commercially used, at the time of its invention it was of enormous industrial importance because it lowered the cost of production of steel, leading to steel being widely substituted for other substances which were inferior but previously cheaper. Bessemer's attention was drawn to the problem of steel manufacture in the course of an attempt to improve the construction of guns.


Certificate: Capital Stock issued in the early 1900’s

Printer: E. A. Wright Bank Note Company, Philadelphia

Dimensions: 8” (h) x 11 3/4” (w)

State: NJ-New Jersey | PA-Pennsylvania

Subject Matter: Iron Companies

Vignette Topic(s): Eagle Featured

Condition: Vertical fold lines, punch hole and stamp cancels in signature areas and body. Edge faults and toning from age.