Monessen is named for the Monongahela River and the industrial German city of Essen. Its largest employer was Pittsburgh Steel Company, later renamed Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel.

In 1972, Page Steel and Wire Company closed down, but the biggest economic blow came when Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel, closed nearly all its Monessen operations in 1986. The company’s remaining operation, the rail mill, closed in March 1987.

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