PA Industry

Published: January 8, 2020

Categories: kellyplanet | Learn Stuff
Tags: article | GO PA! | history

There is a whole lot of industrial power in PA! The world as we know it would not be the same without Pennsylvania industry. PA inventions even helped the U.S. during World War II. Some of these are rather obvious, while other will make you say “That’s from PA?”

Steamships

PA didn’t invent the steam engine, but we have dibs on the first functional steam-powered boat. John Fitch ran the first successful steamship trial in Philadelphia on the Delaware River in 1787. Later, when steam power was introduced to ships on the Mississippi, it came from PA. The first Mississippi River steamboats were powered by the Pittsburgh Engine Company, founded in 1811.

Suspension Bridges

Everyone thinks of the Golden Gate in California or New York’s Brooklyn Bridge, but PA gets the credit for the first suspension bridges hands-down. The first Chain Suspension Bridge was in Westmoreland, PA in 1801. Not good enough? The first Wire Suspension Bridge was ALSO in Pennsylvania – over the Schuylkill River, just north of Philadelphia in 1816.

Ferris Wheel

Move over London, the original Ferris Wheel was built by George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. from Pittsburgh, PA. He used PA’s Bethlehem Iron Works to build the 264ft wheel to rival the Eiffel Tower at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. America still rocks the records because The High Roller in Las Vegas has held Tallest Ferris Wheel at 550ft (nearly double the original) since 2014.

Gas Stations

Early on, motorists bought fuel in containers sold at general stores. One of the first places to buy fuel anywhere was in Altoona, PA in 1909. The very first ever ‘drive in’ filling station in the universe goes to Pittsburgh in 1913. It sold Gulf refined petroleum and was located at the modern site of Walter’s Automotive Shop at Baum Boulevard and St. Clair’s Street.

Fossil Fuels

Pennsylvania isn’t the energy industry leader these days, but at one time we were. The very first Oil Well EVER was drilled in Titusville, PA in 1859. You’re welcome, Texas. PA was once the world leader in coal production, particularly Anthracite. In modern times, PA produces a whole lot of natural gas, thanks to Marcellus deposits. There are literally over 1000 gas wells in this state. Trust me, I live in Tioga County.

Escalators

Walking up stairs is too much work. Jesse Reno from Lehigh University patented what he called the Inclined Elevator in 1892. The first Escalator was installed at Coney Island as an amusement ride by Reno in 1895. The design eventually became a form of transportation used all over the world.

Revolving Doors

Revolving Doors are very useful. They are used to create an ‘airlock’ to retain HVAC inside buildings, provide security by limiting multiple access, and are just plain fun. The very first one was invented in 1888 by Theophilus van Kannel in Philadelphia. He called it a ‘Storm-Door Structure’.

Jeep

It has been manufactured by Fiat, Daimler-Benz, Chrysler, AMC, Ford and Willys Overland – but the JEEP is Straight Outta PA. It was invented by the Bantam Car Company from Butler, PA in 1940 for WWII. The design was so integral to wartime transporation that production moved to Willys and eventually automotive giant Ford. Available today as the Wrangler, JEEP is a Pennsylvania American Classic.

Zippo

Another staple of WWII, the ZIPPO lighter was invented in 1932 by George Blaisdell. Zippo has been manufactured almost exclusively at their headquarters in Bradford, PA ever since. While Zippo has never had an official government contract, demand by soliders has made the lighter a staple at BX and PX stores for decades. As of 2012, over 500 million Zippo lighters have been produced.

Woolrich

Long before you could shop L.L. Bean or The North Face, Americans wore Woolrich. Founded in Clinton County, Woolrich has been the oldest outdoor clothing manufacturer in the United States since 1830. Their main factory is still located in the PA company town of the same name (yep, that’s Woolrich, PA). Woolrich supplied soldiers during the Civil War, at a time when 1/3 of the current states didn’t yet exist.

Vaseline

Petroleum Jelly doesn’t have such clear roots. Invented in 1872 by a British scientist coming out of New York who discovered the substance in Pennsylvania, Vaseline eventually became manufactured in Pittsburgh so the full circle makes this list. A global brand today, Vaseline was first developed by scraping the gunk from oil rig pumps in Titusville, PA.

Bollman Hats

No, PA didn’t invent Samuel L. Jackson (that would be awesome though). The Bollman Hat Company was founded in Adamstown, PA back in 1868 and now is the largest and oldest hat company in the country. Bollman hats are still made right here in the U.S.A. (now including the Kangol brand) and are a favorite of celebrities like Samuel L. Jackson, L.L. Cool J, Eminem and PA’s own Kevin Eubanks.

Crayola

The Binney & Smith Company was founded in New York in 1885 as a chalk manufacturer. What we know as ‘crayons’ came about in 1903 as ‘dustless chalk’ and Crayola was born, manufactured in Easton, PA. Crayola is sold in 80 countries worldwide. Pennsylvanian Fred Rogers molded the 100 BILLIONTH Crayola Crayon in Easton back in 1996.

Harley-Davidson Production

No one will argue that Harley-Davidson Motor Cycles was founded in Wisconsin in 1903. We’ll give them that. Today, Harley-Davidson manufactures motorcylces in 5 locations, with Wisconsin primarily acting as World Headquarters. Truth is, most Harleys are made in Pennsylvania. The largest HD plant in the world is located in York, PA.

Pyrex

This one took extra research. PYREX was invented by Corning Inc. in 1908, obviously of Corning, NY. So how does PA get the credit? PYREX was made BY Corning, not IN Corning. Turns out that Corning Inc. has a plant near Pittsburgh, PA where PYREX was actually produced. PYREX is, and has been, Made in the U.S.A. (now by Corelle Brands) in Charleroi – Straight Outta PA.

Hefty Trash Bags

My buddy Frank Crofchick mentioned to me one day that Hefty Trash Bags were from PA. This one was tough to prove, but he’s correct. Hefty has its roots going back to the Mobile Chemical Company (Mobile Oil, ExxonMobile) from New York. Like Corning, Mobile had plants all over the place and their Plastics Division produced Hefty Trash Bags in Pittsburgh, PA.

Kepner Scott Shoes

PA keeps ‘Made in U.S.A.’ alive. The Kepner Scott Shoe Company was founded in 1888 in Orwigsburg, PA (down Rt. 61 from the America’s Oldest Brewery) and is the oldest children’s shoe manufacturer in the country. Kepner Scott shoes are sold globally and they have produced over 10 million pairs. Numbers like that don’t come close to names like Nike or Adidas, but these shoes aren’t produced in child sweat shops.

K’NEX

Legos come from Denmark and are the largest bulding toy in the world. Most places can’t claim to have any stake in this arena, but Pennsylvania has K’NEX. Introduced by Joel Glickman in 1992 (after Lego wouldn’t buy his design), K’Nex are manufactured in Hatfield, PA. Today, like Lego, K’Nex has all kinds of product licenses like Sesame Street, Mario Bros., Angry Birds, and more.

Mack Truck

MACK TRUCKS are Straight Outta PA. Mack was founded in 1900 and their manufacturing plant and world HQ was in Allentown, PA until 2009. Mack is now owned by Volvo and their HQ is in North Carolina, but ALL Mack Trucks are still made in Pennsylvania. In addition to their Allentown plant, Mack has a facility in Middletown, also the location of Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Station.

Martin Guitars

Another company that was thought of in New York, but actually operated in PA, Martin Guitars was established in 1833 and makes guitars in Nazareth, PA to this day. Martin produced their one millionth guitar by 2004. Elvis Presley was playing a Martin guitar at his last concert. Martin even released a signature Houston Baker…I mean John Mayer… guitar in 2018.

Pencils with Erasers

Graphite pencils have been around since the 1500’s, but it took several hundred years and some Pennsylvania ingenuity to add an eraser. Until 1858, all pencils and erasers were separate. Then Hymen Lipman added a small eraser to the end of the pencil in Philadelphia and that’s how you see pretty much all pencils today.

Toilet Paper & TP Rolls

It’s kinda gross, but modern Toilet Paper wasn’t introduced until 1857, by Pennsylvania-born Joseph Gayetty. His design came in stacked sheets similar to modern tissues. It took the Philadelphia company Scott Paper (1879) to invent the Toilet Paper Roll – which is how toilet paper comes packaged to this day.

Shop Vac

Often imitated, but never duplicated, pretty much all vacuums of this type are generically referred to by the brand name Shop Vac. Founded in 1953 in Williamsport, Shop Vac’s world headquarters and main manufacturing facility are still there on Reach Road. I drive past it at least once a week. Shop Vac is a global product and also has manufacturing facilities in Australia.

Commercial Atomic Power

Nuclear power was first developed for wartime applications in Los Alamos, NM. Eventually people figured out that you could do more than blow stuff up. The first commercial non-wartime Atomic Power Station on the planet was built in Shippingport, PA – outside of Pittsburgh. To this day, Pennsylvania has the second most nuclear reactors in the country, behind Illinois.

PPG Industries

Delaware is home to chemical giant DuPont, and that’s hard to beat. But PA comes pretty darn close. Pittsburgh is the home of PPG Industries, founded in 1883. PPG is the world’s second-largest chemical coatings company, behind the Dutch company AkzoNobel. PPG tried to buy them outright, but the Europeans wouldn’t have it. So PPG just acquired their North American operations instead.