Файл:1910 - Wire Mill.jpg

English: Wire Mill - 1910

Established as the Iowa Barb Wire Company in 1885, produced barb wire primarily for shipment to the Midwest. The site consisted of thirteen acres bordering the Little Lehigh river and extended from Lehigh to Fourth streets. To secure this industry, the citizens of Allentown subscribed for bonds of the company to the amount of $75,000, accepting a mortage on the premises as collateral. William M Douglass came to Allentown as the superintendent, and during his management, the plant became a bulwark of the city's industrial life.

Taken over by United States Steel in 1901. During World War I, the plant operated 24 hours a day producing barb wire to ship to the Western Front in France. In 1915, it was a major producer for the Allies, operating 24 hours a day producing producing more than 100,000 tons of barb wire, staples and nails. to ship to the Western Front in France. The heyday of the plant ended during the Great Depression. When the nation entered World War II, a number of contracts were awarded to the company. But the Allentown mill's distance from the major steel suppliers in Pittsburgh made it unprofitable to operate. In 1943, U.S. Steel closed the wire mill for good. The plant was vacant until the late 1960s when most of the buildings were torn down; one large structure remains along Lehigh Street