McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania

Situated along the south bank of the Ohio River, McKees Rocks is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1769, McKees Rocks was later incorporated as a borough in 1892. Also known as "The Rocks", the borough occupies 1.1 square miles and is home to an estimated population of 6,600 people. It is comprised of several neighborhoods including West Park, Meyers Ridge, and the "Bottoms", which is the site of the McKees Rocks Indian Mound, a designated historic landmark, where the oldest human bones in eastern North America have been discovered. At 7,293 feet, the McKees Rocks Bridge, which carries traffic between McKees Rocks and Pittsburgh, is the longest bridge in Allegheny County.

The industrialization of McKees Rocks began with the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad (P&LE) in 1888. P&LE constructed a maintenance and repair facility that housed a machine shop, repair shop, electric shop, paint shop, car erection shop, planning mill, and passenger station. Three steel mills that had facilities on the site prospered once P&LE started operation – Iron City Bridge Works, Pittsburgh Steel Works, and Vulcan Forge. In addition to extensive iron and steel interests, McKees Rocks also had large railroad machine shops, and manufacturers of locomotives, freight and passenger cars, and springs, enamel ware, lumber, wall materials, plaster, nuts and bolts, malleable castings, chains and forgings, tin ware, concrete, and cigars. The Pressed Steel Car Company, manufacturer of passenger and freight railroad cars on an assembly-line basis and America's second-largest rail car producer, drew national attention with the “Pressed Steel Car Strike of 1909”, also known as the "1909 McKees Rocks Strike”. This American labor strike lasted a few months, and left at least a dozen dead. Since the 1950s, McKees Rocks has been on the decline, both physically and economically. New development and/or revitalization in the area has been virtually non-existent since the turn of the century.

Cycles of manufacturing and industrial activity in McKees Rocks make asbestos exposure an issue. Workers exposed to asbestos may be at risk for mesothelioma, a type of asbestos cancer. If you or a loved one were diagnosed with mesothelioma in McKees Rocks, you should also consider contacting a mesothelioma attorney for legal advice.

Jobsites in McKees Rocks where Asbestos Exposure Occurred

A number of jobsites in McKees Rocks, PA have been identified as harboring asbestos containing materials. These sites, at one point in their history, were known to have exposed a variety of tradesmen to asbestos. We will be documenting in more detail how asbestos exposure occurred at these sites in the future on this web site.