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These men are at the top of the blast furnace. Notice the two handcarts in the picture that the men used to load items into the furnace. |
Before your museum visit
Readings
- How Johnstown Made a Living:
- The Workers' World: Working 9 to 9
- Read about how steel is made:
- Photos and descriptions of the Bessemer process of making steel rails from the mid-20th century (offsite link)
- Modern steelmaking process explained. Downloadable PDF poster of steelmaking at bottom of page (offsite link)
- Read about coal mining jobs in the article "Old Time Mining" published by the Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) libraries (offsite link)
- Optional reading: Out of this Furnace by Thomas Bell, University of Pittsburgh Press
Primary sources
First Generation Interviews
- Mr. and Mrs. Cyburt on how ethnic groups related in the mills and mines
- Ms. Banda on mill accidents, unionizing, and "bettering yourself"
- Mr. Beerman on earning a living by owning a business
Census Data
- 1900 Cambria City census excerpt Formats: HTML, Tab-delimited text (import into spreadsheet or database program)
- 1900 downtown Johnstown census excerpt Formats: HTML, Tab-delimited text (import into spreadsheet or database program)
- 1900 Westmont census excerpt Formats: HTML, Tab-delimited text (import into spreadsheet or database program)
- Job Glossary for 1900
Photograph Galleries
- Coal Mining Gallery
- Views of the Mills Gallery
- Inside the Mills Gallery
- Steelworkers Gallery
- Steel Bosses Gallery
- Company Towns Gallery
Activities
During your museum visit
Primary Sources
Photograph
- 1937 steel strike in Johnstown - newspaper photo
Union song
Activities
After your museum visit
Readings
Primary Sources
- Image Galleries
- Interviews
- Song
- "John Henry" - lyrics and recordings
Activities
- Larger than Life, Part 2: What Heroes are Made of (Create a Coalminer Hero)
- Family Folklife Interview, Part 2 - wages, working conditions, and conflict
- Organizing, Muckracking, and Legislating, Part 2: Making Changes!
- Build a Better Warning