United States Steel Corporation. Gary Works

Construction of the Gary Works steel plant at Gary, Indiana began in the summer of 1906. The Gary Works was a subsidiary of the Illinois Steel Company, which was in turn a subsidiary of the United States Steel Corporation (U.S. Steel). The plant in Gary became operational in 1908. Engineers employed by U.S. Steel platted the townsite in the spring and summer of 1906, but made few provisions for the immediate housing needs of the construction workers and laborers. In response to the housing shortage, workers built shacks or pitched tents adjacent to the construction site. When construction was completed on the first permanent homes in the area, company officials and executives bought or rented most of these homes and charged high rents to the workers.