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Workers at the Springfield Iron Furnace, Blair County, PA, circa 1870.
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Springfield Furnace showing workers lined up, with children, tools, mules, and wagons. The complete iron works can be seen in the background.

Credit: Courtesy of the Blair County Historical Society

For more than a century, Pennsylvania was the ironmaking center of America. Its iron furnaces and plantations employed large and diverse workforces that included skilled workers from the British Isles, slaves, indentured servants, and unskilled workers from local farms.

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