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RUST BELT IN KENTUCKY

Oct. 2008 image by author

The former Ashland oil refinery is now operated by Marathon. This plant dates back to 1922.

Mar. 2006 image by author

The Amanda and Bellefonte blast furnaces of A-K Steel (formerly ARMCO Steel) in Ashland, KY. Evidently the Bellefonte Furnace was demolished not long after I took this picture.

Mar. 2006 image by author

More detail of one of the A-K furnaces showing the skip hoist and the stoves.

Mar. 2006 image by author

The ore bridge above the stockpile of taconite served both the Amanda and Bellefonte Furnaces.

Mar. 2006 image by author

CSX train passes A-K Steel's blast furnaces in Ashland, probably on its way to the nearby CSX rail yard in Russel, KY.

Mar. 2006 image by author

A view of A-K Steel's steel mill in Ashland as viewed from across the Ohio River in Ironton, OH. After nearly a century of steel production (beginning in 1923), the plant closed in 2019.

Mar. 2006 image by author

A-K Steel was still operating these coke ovens on the other side of Ashland when I took this picture. In 2011 they closed the coke works down and sent nearly 500 workers looking for new jobs. A United Steelworkers Local 523 spokesman said, "Many here are accustomed to living a lifestyle based on their jobs at the plant. Many, myself included, really have no idea right now what we will do next."

Mar. 2006 image by author

Saturday evening at A-K Steel's coke plant between Ashland and Catlettsburg, KY. Semet-Solvay, a division of Allied Chemical Corporation, constructed a coke ovens plant here in 1912.

Oct. 2008 image by author

Covington, Kentucky is across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, Ohio. It's hard to believe now, but not that long ago the (then) long tentacles of the Mafia reached down from the Northeast and Midwest into Covington (and Newport and Wilder). These Ohio Valley towns were hotbeds of bootleg liquor, gambling, and prostitution in the mid-20th Century.

Oct. 2008 image by author

St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in Covington, KY.

Oct. 2008 image by author

Steel tube mill in Wilder, KY. At the time of this writing TMK IPSCO is still operating the facility, but these particular structures have been demolished. The tops of the skyscrapers in downtown Cincinnati are barely visible behind the mill.

Nov. 2010 image by author

Maysville, Kentucky.

Nov. 2010 image by author

Dayton Power and Light's coal-fired Stuart power plant as viewed from near Maysville. It closed in 2018.

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