A view of Johnstown, from the top of the Inclined Plane at Westmont, by William H. Rau, circa 1891.

Credit: Courtesy of the American Premier Underwriters, Inc

The Cambria Iron Works in Johnstown had been producing iron rails for thirteen years when John Fritz made the first steel rails in the United States there in 1867. When William Rau took this photo in 1891 the Cambria mills employed more than 7,000 workers and spread out over 13 miles along the Conemaugh, Little Conemaugh, and Stonycreek Rivers.