Pressed Steel Car Company workers

Pressed Steel, previously known as Western Steel, was an early steel manufacturer of railroad cars located in Hegewisch, currently the southernmost neighborhood of Chicago. Conceived as a company mill town on the model of nearby Pullman, the town was founded by Adolph Hegewisch in 1882. As a businessman, however, Hegewisch was far less successful than industrialist George Pullman. The town of Hegewisch was incorporated into the city of Chicago a few years later. Western/Pressed Steel was heavily involved in military production of shells and tanks during both World War I and World War II. During World War I, immigrant workers were strongly encouraged to buy bonds to help the war effort. This series of photographs of bond rallies from 1918 were donated to the Museum by Hegewisch resident Frank Moll.