History of the Steel Mill
The rise of the steel industry in the late 1800s was accompanied by the emergence of mill towns. In the shadows of steel mills, families, schools, businesses, churches, politics, and communities arose. Steelton, Pennsylvania, a long and thin borough just south of Harrisburg on the Susquehanna River, is but one example. Bethlehem Steel started the first integrated steel mill in America on one hundred acres of land as the Pennsylvania Steel Company in 1867 (Kallman 32). Since then, Steelton’s history has been dominated by the mill. On the western edge of town lies the four mile long stretch of land that houses the mill. This particular site was chosen for the steel mill because of its “close proximity to transportation systems, especially the Pennsylvania Canal and the main line of the Pennsylvania Railroad” (Kallman 34). Within thirteen years of its opening, the mill became the largest in the United States. In 1916, Bethlehem Steel bought out Pennsylvania Steel and the mill grew to its full size, 600 acres. The first recognized union at the mill, United Steelworkers 1688, was introduced in 1939 (Kallman 37). The opening of the steel mill and the availability of jobs encouraged foreigners to settle in Steelton; “the smokestacks of an expanding steel mill, the multiplication of neighborhoods, and the creation of new wealth were emblematic of a new social order some felt would lead to progress and prosperity for all” (Bodnar xx). The immigrants came to Steelton because they envisioned success. Throughout the years, the mill recruited large numbers of immigrants from Europe for the sole purpose of working in the mill, bringing to Steelton both cultural and class diversity that still exists today (Bodnar 25). In its thriving days during World War II, the mill employed over 6,000 employees. Today, just 1,500 workers remain. As the steel industry in America shrinks, parts of the mill have become vacant and some, demolished. Likewise, the influence of the mill has decreased. James Bodnar reports that during the late 1800s, ‘the dominant force in Steelton … was the company itself. Pennsylvania Steel employed over one-half of all residents in the town (7). The heyday of the Bethlehem Steel Steelton plant is long gone.
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