May 6, 2022

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of YHCIL, which occurs in June of 2022, our graduate assistant interns will be creating an exhibit that features the history, development, and opening of the museum.

May 6, 2022

As part of Dr. Leary's Special Topics in Applied History course, students Brooke Bobovnyik, Jacob Harver, Christopher Gillett, and Matt Franks researched and developed a virtual exhibit that traces the industrial, residential, and transportation history of the Brown Bonnell District. More than an industrial site, the Brown Bonnell District contained numerous features, such as the P&O Canal, that made Youngstown a significant town in Northeast Ohio for many decades.

December 17, 2021

Explore how industry, migration, culture, and social status influenced the construction of houses in the Western Reserve and nearby locations and learn of the history and architecture of these structures that still exist.

This exhibit was created by the graduate students of the American Architectural History course at YSU.

Melanie M. Jones, graduate student in the American Studies Program at Youngstown State University has created this virtual exhibit showcasing the role women played in various wars beginning with the American Revolution. This virtual exhibit serves as her graduate project for the program.

The Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor prides itself in providing access to the work of numerous YSU students as well as our graduate interns.

The YHCIL acquired the archives of the Youngstown General Duty Nurses Association (YGDNA), a local union of the Ohio Nurses Association (ONA), in 2018. The YGDNA was the first nurses' union established in Ohio and the second to be established in the country. Youngstown State University alum and past YHCIL intern, Mallorie Sutter, has been organizing and documenting the collection while participating in an oral history project to accompany the archive. The collection includes paraphernalia, board meeting minutes, financial records, job bids, and more.

The YGDNA virtual exhibit was developed and researched by graduate assistant intern of the YSU History Program, Brooke Bobovnyik. Further research was conducted by Mallorie Sutter, YSU alum and past YHCIL intern, and Zack Mayer, past graduate assistant intern of the YSU History Program.

Manufacturing Day 2021

In honor of Manufacturing Day, YHCIL graduate assistant interns have developed a virtual exhibit commemorating the local manufacturing of steel products used in the transportation sector. Highlighted companies include Syro Steel in Girard (which became Trinity Highway in 1992), Trinity Highway, which is based in Texas but has sites in Ohio, and Vallourec Star in Youngstown, Ohio.

Over a span of 120 years (1863-1983), the William B. Pollock Company earned a reputation for its innovative design and reconstruction of blast furnaces, ladles, and rail cars, its advancement over economic and industrial challenges over time, and its dedication to maintaining a high standard of excellence as a global supplier of steel products.

Learn more about the Pollock family and their company's foundation, growth, and role in the evolution of manufacturing in the new exhibit, "The William B. Pollock Company: Advancements in the Art of Iron and Steel" open now in the Bitonte Family Welcome Lobby. The exhibit is made possible through the generosity of the William B. Pollock Company Foundation and Roberta Hannay.

May 6, 2021

This spring semester, the Curation 2 course is composing a virtual exhibit about the process of transforming coal into coke - the fuel used in blast furnaces. A key component of the steel industry, the various methods of producing coke are not discussed in the permanent exhibit at YHCIL. Past and present techniques for manufacturing coke include beehive ovens, several types of by-product plants , and newer heat-recovery installations. Among specific sites featured in the online exhibit will be the historic Cherry Valley beehives at Leetonia, Warren Coke -with a pedigree tracing back to the 1920s - which now supplies blast furnaces in Cleveland, plus 21st-century SunCokeEnergy operations in Ohio. Students participating in this applied history program class are Brooke Bobovnyik, Jacob Harver, Hannah Klacik and Brian Pete. Prof. Tom Leary is the instructor.

Manufacturing Day 2020 (first Friday in October, annually)

In honor of Manufacturing Day, YHCIL staff and interns developed a virtual exhibit commemorating the past, present, and future of manufacturing in the Mahoning Valley region, highlighting well-known companies like James Ward & Co. (1841-1900), William B. Pollock Company (1863-1983), Vallourec S.A., McDonald Steel Corp, and more.

September 2020

Ohio Open Doors is an annual event of Ohio History Connection that celebrates community landmarks and significant buildings through special programming and tours by community organizations. This year, Ohio Open Doors went virtual, and the YHCIL staff and interns developed a virtual walking tour of downtown Youngstown to share with the greater Ohio community.

This video, produced by Youngstown State University graduate student and YHCIL intern Brooke Bobovnyik, documents the rise and fall of the steel industry in the Mahoning Valley.

Steel Valley Voices is a collection of oral histories and educational resources for teachers and researchers on the ethnic diversity of Mahoning Valley communities. The YHCIL has collaborated on multiple aspects of the project, including with the latest Latino Voices of the Valley.

Read more on the project from The Jambar

Read this feature on the project from WKBN27