Editing Ironton, Ohio (section)

=== Changing economics of the iron industry ===
The downfall of Ironton came as the market for iron changed.  Also, the nation was making the transition from a demand for iron to steel.  After a nationwide economic recession in the late 19th century, Ironton was no longer growing.

The [[Norfolk and Western Railway]] built [[Ironton Norfolk and Western Depot|a new railroad station]] downtown in 1906, and it continued in operation into the mid-20th century.<ref>{{cite book|editor=Owen, Lorrie K.|title=Dictionary of Ohio Historic Places|volume= 2|location=St. Clair Shores, Michigan|publisher= Somerset|year= 1999|page= 857}}</ref> Two major floods (1917, 1937) caused extensive damage to the city and its industries. The second flood came during the Great Depression; together with the shift in the iron industry, it devastated the city. The iron industry declined, affecting other industries, as well.<ref>{{Cite web|first=Benita|last=Heath|date=2012-01-29|title=The 1937 Flood|url=https://www.irontontribune.com/2012/01/29/the-1937-flood/|access-date=2021-01-10|website=The Tribune}}</ref> As the iron industries closed, Ironton had little with which to replace them.

An industrial city, Ironton worked to attract other heavy industry to the region. Companies such as Allied Signal and Alpha Portland Cement did build in town. The region has had difficulty creating an alternate economy.<ref name="PayneThesis">{{cite web | url=https://etd.ohiolink.edu/!etd.send_file?accession=osu1392657460&disposition=inline | title=Modernity Lost: Ironton, Ohio in Industrial and Post-Industrial America | date=1994 | access-date=7 September 2016 | author=Payne, Phillip Gene | archive-date=September 17, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160917073238/https://etd.ohiolink.edu/!etd.send_file?accession=osu1392657460&disposition=inline | url-status=dead }}</ref> By 2004, both Alpha Portland Cement and Allied Signal were gone, and Ironton had shrunk by nearly 30% from its peak population in 1950. (See US Census table below.)