Editing Leechburg, Pennsylvania (section)

=== Industrial Development ===
In 1872, the Leechburg Rolling Mill opened, producing [[Tinplate|tin plate]]—the first in the United States to do so.<ref name="Beers1914"/> In 1874, it became the first steel plant in the world to use [[natural gas]] as a fuel source.<ref name="LAMHS"/> The borough also hosted the Leechburg Foundry and Machine Company, which employed hundreds and produced machinery for regional use. George Mesta, one of its founders, went on to establish Mesta Machine Company in Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh Shovel Works, opened in 1898, employed about 100 workers and became known for shovels used during the construction of the [[Panama Canal]]. The town also featured a roller-process flour mill, a planing mill, and a branch of the C.L. Flaccus Glass Company. Hicks Coal Company and others mined local [[coal]] to fuel these enterprises. In the 20th century, Allegheny Ludlum and later [[Allegheny Technologies|ATI]] operated plants in nearby [[West Leechburg, Pennsylvania|West Leechburg]] and Bagdad, sustaining the industrial economy until closures in the early 21st century.<ref name="Trib2025"/>