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The Crane Iron Works, Catasaqua, PA, circa 1860.
Credit: Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Canal Society Collection, Canal Museum, Easton, PA
Founded in 1839 by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, the Crane Iron Works helped revolutionize iron production in the United States when it became the nation's first iron works to successfully smelt iron ore with anthracite coal. The company remained in operation until its sale in 1899.