West Virginia’s steel industry began on June 11, 1884, when the first Bessemer converter was started up at Riverside Iron Works in Wheeling. Before that, Wheeling was known as the “Nail City” for making wrought-iron nails. But by 1890, steel production had taken over, with far more steel being made than iron.

In the 1890s, canned food became very popular, and cans were made from tin plate—thin steel coated with tin. A new tariff in 1890 made it easier for U.S. companies to compete with British tin plate, so many Wheeling factories started adding tin plate mills between 1893 and 1895.