Presston
Stowe Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Pressed Steel Car Company provided worker housing at substantial cost to employees, keeping them in constant debt. During the 1909 McKees Rocks strike against the company, immigrant workers were evicted from their homes. The evictions led to the August 22 "Bloody Sunday Uprising" where at least 11 people died. The houses were sold after the company ceased operations in 1949. Constructed in 1899 as Schoenville, the neighborhood's appearance remains similar to 1909.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Built in 1899 as Schoenville, the mill village of Presston housed workers of the Pressed Steel Car Company — but the housing came at a price that kept immigrant families perpetually in debt to the company. When workers struck in 1909, the company evicted them from their homes, and tensions exploded into the August 22 "Bloody Sunday" clash in which at least eleven people died. The neighborhood, little changed since 1909, still stands as a witness to that struggle.
Why it matters
The McKees Rocks strike was one of the fiercest labor uprisings of the era, exposing the exploitation of immigrant industrial workers and helping galvanize the American labor movement.
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Related events
- · McKees Rocks Strike of 1909
- · Bloody Sunday Uprising
Themes & tags
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