Hard Times in the
Depression
The depression hit our area hard, as it did most places in our nation. Many were out of work and money was tight. Luckily, for us here in Weirton, times were not as hard for some if they worked in the mill.
Right around the time the stock market crashed that fateful day in October 1929, Weirton Steel, along with Great Lakes Steel, Hanna Iron Ore Co. and Hanna Furnace Corp., joined forces to create National Steel. The timing was unfortunate, but during the Depression, Weirton Steel never ceased operations.
The preceding was adapted from an artcile in the Weirton Daily Times by Paul Zoros on November 8, 2025. Click on the link below to read the entire Zoros article.
1936 Ohio River Flood
Steubenville - Weirton Area
The photographs shown in the Official Book of Flood Pictures (3 images shown here) were taken during the Ohio River Flood in the Steubenville-Weirton district on March 18th and 19th, 1936. Many of these photos are shown here exclusively and all of them were taken by Weirton Steel Employees Bulletin, which was the first publication to print pictures of the flood in this district.
— from the 1936 Foreward of the
Official Book of Flood Pictures
With windows completely sealed and the only doorway half-sealed, the River Pump House was a fortress weathering the flood. Brown's Island in the background is entirely submerged.
Probably the first time in its history the Fort Steuben Bridge, near Weirton, collected no tolls, due to “high water.”
Too much water caused the interruption of operations at a number of industrial plants located at the edge of the Ohio River in Steubenville, Ohio.
Weirton Steel & WWII
The book (far left), The Unsung Heroes of the Production Front, authored by Lloyd Hargest, notes the incredible production achievements of Weirton Steel during The Second World War.
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Near left is a 1950 letter by Weirton Steel Co. President, T. E. Millsop, recognizing and thanking Mr. A. Coppa, a member of the extraordinary team at the Steubenville Plant during WWII.
—Letter was provided by R. Coppa