Historical Significance:

John Sharpless Worth and William Penn Worth formed the firm of Worth Brothers Company in 1881, after learning the iron trade from their father Sheshbazzar Worth at Viaduct Mills in Coatesville. John was more mechanical with fifteen patents for machinery and William managed the business side of operations. 

John and William built Worth Brothers into one of the largest independent plate manufacturers in the country. In 1897 the company had the widest (132”) mill and the largest flanging machine. 1900 saw the addition of a tube mill. Again in 1905 they had the widest plate mill (152”). The company had twenty-four open hearth furnaces and two blast furnaces operating: the first in 1910 and the second in 1912. 

The brothers purchased the plant of the Coatesville Iron Company (Viaduct Mills) in 1886 and The Valley Iron Works in 1908. In 1915 when the brothers sold their mills to Midvale Steel & Ordnance Company, employment was close to 4,000 with a total of eleven plate, skelp and bar mills.

After selling the Coatesville mills, the brothers formed the Worth Steel Company (1917) and constructed a plant at Claymont Delaware, which continued to be a family business until 1951 when Colorado Fuel & Iron Company purchased the plant.

Iron and Steel Hall of Fame Induction - 2024