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City of Campbell marks 90 years since its name
By Sarah Lehr
CAMPBELL
It’s been a century since East Youngstown, modern-day Campbell, rose from the ashes of a massive steelworkers strike.
Campbell, however, did not officially become “Campbell” until a decade later with the force of an April 26, 1926, proclamation.
This summer, the city plans a party – date and details to be announced – to mark 90 years since its naming. Though the anniversary will be a cause for celebration, Campbell’s origin story is less than festive.
On Jan. 7, 1916, unrest over labor conditions at the Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. boiled over, resulting in rioting throughout East Youngstown. Vindicator articles from that era estimate damage to businesses and residences at $1 million and describe how “foreigners” shot revolvers into the air, broke store windows and smashed whisky bottles in the streets.
Realizing that the scale and pace of destruction was beyond his control, the sheriff at the time called the governor. The Ohio National Guard came in and quelled the riot, but the historic implications were lasting.
Rioters had burned down much of East Youngstown, forcing the area to undertake a large-scale rebuilding effort.
The strike also brought attention to the plight of steelworkers, who worked in hot, dangerous mills for low wages.
Historians cite the 1916 strike as one impetuous for the rise of so-called “welfare capitalism,” in which corporations saw an incentive to invest in benefits, such as company picnics, for laborers.
In fact, after the strike, the Youngstown Sheet & Tube built company homes for its employees. The apartment-style concrete buildings still stand today at Chambers Street in Campbell.
A third impact of the strike may have been Campbell’s naming, an action that, in today’s parlance, might be called “re-branding.”
In her 1976 book, “The Fascinating History of the City of Campbell,” Florence Galida describes how concerned citizens sought to “erase the reputation of lawlessness” that lingered after the “Great Strike.”
In 1922, the village of East Youngstown’s population neared 1,620. That level allowed the community to change its charter status from village to city, opening the door for an accompanying name change.
A 12-person committee convened and eventually decided on the surname of Sheet & Tube founder, James A. Campbell. Galida attributes the selection of a businessman, in part, to the influence of Chamber of Commerce members on the committee.
Jessica Trickett, collections manager for the Mahoning Valley Historical Society, believes the committee’s choice was fitting.
“I can say with certainty there wouldn’t be a city of Campbell without him,” Trickett said. “He was a great entrepreneur and a very intelligent man.”
Born in 1854, Campbell was one of several investors to form the Youngstown Iron Sheet & Tube Co. Campbell also became the company’s second president in 1905. The first president, George Wick, later perished in the Titanic shipwreck of 1912.
Trickett said Campbell’s transformation from an agricultural zone to an industrial center mirrors the history of the larger Mahoning Valley. Steel jobs attracted immigrants, primarily from eastern Europe, as well as blacks fleeing the Jim Crow South.
Trickett characterized early Campbell as a “shanty town” turned “boom town,” detailing how a population influx drove the expansion of infrastructure, businesses and government services.
Galida, also the president of the Campbell Historical Society, grew up in the Chambers Street company homes. She remembers her childhood as a mix of foreign languages, punctuated by the whistle of the steel mill.
The Campbell native is uncertain, however, as to why locals pronounce “Campbell” like the desert animal rather than the soup. It’s been that way as long as she can remember, Galida said.
“Maybe it was easier to pronounce,” she speculated.