Andrew Carnegie was not the first to make steel, but when Carnegie, McCandless & Company completed the Edgar Thomson Works along the Monongahela River in 1875, it ushered in the dawn of a new era that shaped the fortunes of the region for more than a century. Capitalizing on the new Bessemer process that made steel quicker and cheaper to produce, Carnegie and his partners completed their first steel works in Braddock in 1875. Carnegie continued building mills and acquiring businesses connected with the industry. When he sold Carnegie Steel to J. P. Morgan in 1901, creating the United States Steel Corporation, it became the first billion-dollar company and made Carnegie one of the richest men in the world. 📸 Image of the Carnegie Furnaces at Braddock, Pa., from across the river. Detroit Publishing Company, c. 1905. Library of Congress. (fb)

Vintage Pittsburgh until 3 p.m. today at the museum! (fb)