Donora Historical Society and Smog Museum

Welcome to Donora.We've been waiting for you.

American Steel & Wire - c1920s - employees in the mill yard inside the Sixth Street gate.

UPCOMING EVENTS and LATEST NEWS (as of 04/26/26)

CLOSING EARLY - Saturday, May 2 at 12:00 pm - Due to Donora's 125th Birthday Celebration at the Donora Borough Hall. Historical Presentation - Industrial Boomtown: The Building of Donora, Pennsylvania at 1:00 p.m. ALL ARE WELCOME and LUNCH PROVIDED.

Industrial Boomtown: The Building of Donora, Pennsylvania - At the turn of the 20th century, Donora became the last of the great steel towns built along the Monongahela River, and it all seemed to happen overnight. When William H. Donner moved his National Tin Plate Company to the newly built industrial town of Monessen, in 1898, the area that would be Donora in three short years was mostly farmland and a small village called West Columbia. Donner quickly impressed the industrial elite of Pittsburgh and in 1899 formed the Union Improvement Company along with the Mellon brothers: Richard and Andrew, Henry Clay Frick and others with an eye toward creating another industrial complex across the river, one mile north of Monessen and about thirty miles south of Pittsburgh. As the mill and infrastructure of the town went up the population exploded with new arrivals, growing to nearly four thousand by 1901. Union Improvement thought of nearly every need of a new community except for housing for employees, creating a booming hotel and boarding house business. A large and diverse population poured into Donora to not only build and work at the mills but to also take part of the "American Dream" by starting their own business. Individual entrepreneurs opened everything and anything a new town might need or demand. The newcomers also built churches, a synagogue, ethnic and national social clubs, political and beneficial associations, and fraternal and civic associations. The community put a priority on education building schools that were a source of pride in the community. At the center of all this was the mill itself, the only reason the town even existed.

SMOG MUSEUM HOURS

OPEN Saturdays - 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

or by appointment

When the SMOG MUSEUM is CLOSED...

We can still be reached daily by email - donorahistoricalsociety@gmail.com.
All voicemail messages will be returned within a few days.
Any research inquiries can still continue electronically.
Any merchandise orders can be placed by email.
Artifact donations can be arranged by email.

Facebook Update

Our Facebook page is having issues and is currently blocked by Facebook. Hopefully the issue will be resolved soon.

The next Eldora Park Walking Tour dates for 2026 are scheduled for:
Saturday, April 18 at noonSunday, April 19 at 1:00 p.m.
Please email donorahistoricalsociety@gmail.com or call 724-823-0364 to RSVP. Space is limited. Click Eldora Park Walking Tour to learn more.

To get your new Donora Special Dark Beer T-shirt, stop by the Smog Museum to purchase in person for $25/$30 or by sending an email to donorahistoricalsociety@gmail.com to order by mail or click Merchandise to learn more.

To get your copy of the new Donora book - Donora Death Fog by Andy McPhee, stop by the Smog Museum to purchase the book in person for $25 or by sending an email to donorahistoricalsociety@gmail.com to order by mail or click Merchandise to learn more.
Listen to author Andy McPhee's interview on The Allegheny Front that aired on WESA radio in Pittsburgh on April 3, 2023.

Cement City Podcast - A limited-run, ten-episode docuseries hosted by award-winning journalist Jeanne Marie Laskas for Audacy Podcasts that goes inside a local election in the small Rust Belt town of Donora, Pennsylvania. "Cement City" tells the story of a broken-down town at a precipice. Donora’s population is 4,650. The town has no schools, no banks, no grocery stores, no gas stations. Laskas and producer Erin Anderson arrive at a pivotal moment: Donora has hit bottom, but there’s hope. For the first time since the steel mill left 50 years ago, something might be moving into town instead of leaving it – and there’s an unlikely cast of flawed heroes and rainy-day optimists who are determined to make it happen and save their town. Episode 1 features the Donora Historical Society and Smog Museum.

Facebook - find us and like us by searching on Donora Historical Society and Smog Museum. All of our upcoming presentations and events will be announced here on this website, on Facebook, and various newspapers.

To Donate to the Donora Historical Society and Smog Museum, please use our PayPal option to the right.
If you would like to add a note along with your donation, please consider sending an email to:donorahistoricalsociety@gmail.com

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