As a child with a heritage from the steel city of Pittsburgh, I lived well after the years when coal smoke turned the skies black and rained cinders on the towns surrounding the old steel mills. Most stories of the mills came from my grandparents, but I have to assume they were similar to other states with a large steel-production impact. To learn more, a band of explorers loaded up on a foggy winter morning and made the trek across state lines to such a place. This particular site was similar in that it was the lifeblood of the nearby town, and responsible for bringing in the population and housing to the surrounding area. It was no surprise then to see the condition of the city several decades after the plant ceased operations and much of it had been destroyed. Only a few buildings remain, including an office and former powerhouse. Other structures such as smokestacks and an old melt mixer still stand, just barely.
