Steel Mill – Pottsville

Started in the mid-1800s to make iron rails for the railroads, Pottsville Steel grew into a huge iron and steel enterprise by the 20th Century. Due to the availability of iron ore and other natural resources in the region, iron and steel mills like this one dotted the landscape of the Schuylkill River Valley during the 1800s. The increased demand for labor in the steel mills, iron foundries, and other industries brought a constant flow of immigrants into the region from Eastern and Western Europe during the 19th and 20th Centuries.