Leechburg's former Siberian Iron Works 1 of 23 sites in Pa. receiving new historic markers

A site in Leechburg is one of 23 across the state receiving new historical markers from the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission.

The site of the former Siberian Iron Works will soon receive the familiar blue sign with gold lettering that marks 2,300 historical sites across Pennsylvania.

“For Leechburg, it was kind of our second incarnation,” Larry Boehm, a local historian with the Leechburg Area Museum and Historical Society, said of the Siberian Iron Works. “Economically, it was huge.”

The town had started out as a canal town, Boehm said, but was revitalized after the mill was constructed in 1872. Several mills throughout the Alle-Kiski Valley followed, and the population of Leechburg jumped from about 600 to 1,500 in the next decade.

Siberian Iron Works was one of the first mills in the United States to use natural gas in steel production, and was one of the earliest foundries in the country for producing black and tin plates on an industrial scale.

Boehm said that was significant because, until that point, Britain had a monopoly on the tin plate industry.

Siberian Iron Works was founded in response to tariffs imposed on foreign tin plate, and by 1895, the domestic product outpaced the foreign by 5 to 1. The overall production created a wave of new jobs, as well as British immigration.

“That’s why a lot of names from this area are of Welsh and English descent,” Boehm said.

The mill’s founder, William Rogers, would frequently travel to Britain and other parts of Europe to learn industrial techniques and recruit workers.

Siberian Iron Works’ name was chosen after Rogers had visited Eastern Europe and learned a process for producing “Russian Iron,” which, at the time, was used for boiler production. Rogers returned to the United States, patented the process and named his mill after Siberia.

The mill was known as the American Sheet and Tin Plate Works after it was purchased by U.S. Steel around 1900, Boehm said. It was closed during the Great Depression in 1931 and dismantled in 1932.

To this day, though, Boehm said the mill is a point of pride for Leechburg and the people who live in the borough. It had a lasting effect on the development of the town and the local economy.

“It was the reason why a lot of those people have their jobs and why their ancestors were here and why they were here,” he said.

Boehm said a date or exact location for the new marker has not been determined.

Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission markers also will be added to a number of other landmarks and towns in Western Pennsylvania to commemorate historical events.

Western Pennsylvania markers will include ones in Pittsburgh for Andy Warhol, the iconic pop artist; in Beaver Falls for the first substantial workforce of Chinese immigrant workers in Pennsylvania; and in Donora for baseball legend Stan Musial.

The 23 markers were selected from 39 applications, the commission said in a news release.

Nominations for historical markers can be submitted by anyone and are evaluated by a panel of experts across the state.

Here are the Western Pennsylvania sites to receive Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission markers:

Andy Warhol (1928-1987), Pittsburgh

20th-century Pop artist from Pittsburgh. His iconic style is recognized worldwide. This unique style combined commercial images with fine art and has inspired numerous modern artists.

Charlotte Elizabeth Battles (1864- 1952), Girard, Erie County

Battles defied late-19th- and early-20th-century gender roles by becoming a college graduate and a female bank president. Her most significant role as bank president was her refusal to close the Battles Bank during the Great Depression despite President Roosevelt’s Bank Holiday order for the closure of all banks in 1933. It was described as the only bank in the state and one of few in the nation to remain open and solvent.

Chinese Workers in Beaver Falls, Beaver Falls, Beaver County

The first substantial workforce of Chinese immigrants in Pennsylvania came to Beaver Falls in 1872. The workers were recruited to the Beaver Falls Cutlery Factory to replace white laborers on strike. They remained for several years learning specialized skills and assuring profitability for the company because of their reduced wages. Across the nation, other American labor unions and politicians felt these Chinese workers were a threat and advocated for the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, which remained in effect until 1943.

Earl “Fatha” Hines (1903- 1983), Duquesne

Revolutionary jazz pianist who got his start in Pittsburgh. While there, he became the first African American on a radio broadcast. He influenced many other jazz greats, and his band launched the careers of Billy Eckstein, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Nat King Cole and others. He was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame in 1980.

Mary Ella Roberts Rinehart (1876- 1958), Pittsburgh

American mystery writer often compared to Agatha Christie, although she predated her. She was a best-selling author of more than 30 novels, short stories, essays and plays. Many of her works were adapted for stage or screen. She also served as a war correspondent during World War I.

“Out of This Furnace,” Braddock

Novel by Braddock native Thomas Bell describing three generations of a family’s experience working in the steel industry. It is widely used at colleges and universities worldwide as a text relating to labor, immigration and ethnic studies.

Pittsburgh Chinatown

Established as early as the 1870s, Chinatown was the cultural and economic center of the Chinese community in Western Pennsylvania that served Chinese populations in New York, Ohio and West Virginia. The growth of the community was suppressed by political and labor efforts leading to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. The community was destroyed by the construction of the Boulevard of the Allies in the 1920s and its residents and businesses were displaced. Remnants remained until 1959.

Rolling Mill Mine Disaster, Johnstown, Cambria County

Explosion at the bituminous coal mine owned by the Cambria Iron Co. in 1902. It is cited as one of several in the first decade of the 1900s — the deadliest in the history of U.S. mining — that contributed to the establishment of the Pennsylvania Department of Mines. The 112 miners who died were nearly all immigrants from eastern Europe.

Siberian Iron Works, Leechburg

Built in 1872, it was one of the earliest foundries in the U.S. to produce black plate and tin plate on an industrial scale. It was founded in response to tariffs imposed on foreign tin plate, primarily on British tin, in order to meet the demand for the product at a more reasonable price. By 1895 domestic tinplate outpaced foreign 5 to 1 providing many new jobs and a wave of British immigration.

Stan Musial (1920-2013), Donora, Washington County

Considered one of the best baseball players of all time, Musial began playing on the local Donora Zincs baseball team while in high school against adults. Drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1941 and remaining through 1963, he became one of the best hitters in Major League Baseball. He is a member of both the National Baseball Hall of Fame and the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame.