Flip to East Pittsburgh Westinghouse plant workers at a rally for full production, 1944.Close Window
Credit: Courtesy of the Pennsylvania State Archives
Between 1939 and 1943, the federal government spent more than $1.270 billion in Pennsylvania, at which time its industries, including more than 8,000 war plants, employed more than 2,560,000 workers. The five county Philadelphia area accounted for 28% of the state's manufacturing during the war; the Pittsburgh area, comprising eight counties, produced 28%; and Lehigh Valley came in third at 4.8%. During World War II, the federal government funded construction of the Cressna Defense Plant on the former Schuylkill County fairgrounds.
