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Chapter 8
over iron. Aluminum did not rust as iron
did. Aluminum replaced iron pots, kettles
and tools in the home. Because of heavy
demand, a new factory was built in
1907. They renamed their company the
AluminumCompany of America, or Alcoa.
Today, Alcoa is the world’s largest producer
of aluminum. The main offices of this
company are located in Pittsburgh.
The
glass industry
also began in the
Pittsburgh area. The materials for making
glass— sand and soft coal—were found in
this area.When sand is heated andmelted,
it can be turned into many kinds of
glass products. One company alone has
developed thousands of kinds of glass. By
1870, Pittsburgh factoriesweremakingone-
half of the glass in our country. Today, the
offices of the Pittsburgh Plate Glass
Company are located in Pittsburgh. This
glass company is the second largest
in our country.
Cement
became another new and
important industry. In 1871, it was
discovered that a rock called
limestone
could
be ground into a fine gray powder. When
mixed with water, small stones, and sand,
the mixture hardened into
concrete
.
Concretewas tobecome auseful product in
making buildings, dams, tunnels, bridges,
and roads. The Lehigh Valley in eastern
Pennsylvania became the leading producer
of cement in our country. Today,
Pennsylvania is still a leading producer of
cement in theUnited States.
During the Age of Big Business,
John
Rockefeller
became the “king of oil.” He
started a new industry called
oil refining
.
It was discovered that oil could bemade, or
refined, into many useful products such as
grease and fuel for lamps. By 1878, John
owned nine out of 10 oil refineries in our
country. He called his business the Standard
Oil Company. When he retired from
business in 1911, he had made more than
one billiondollars fromhis oil company. He
gave awayone-half of themoney to colleges,
medical schools, and other good causes.
You have read how the railroad industry
grew. The railroads carried the natural
resourcesneededbyour growing industries.
In return, they transported finished
products from factories to our growing
cities. Coal was the most important item
hauled by the railroads. By 1900, 10,000
miles of track covered our state.
Trains were not always a very safe way to
travel. A Pennsylvanian by the name of
Much cement is needed for
roads, bridges, and
buildings.
