Company Sports Teams and the Early Industrialization of
Youngstown, Ohio  by John Baechly  Early Industrialization in
Youngstown  In the early 20th century, Youngstown and the
Mahoning Valley changed from a farming and agricultural
community to an industrialized one.  Youngstown's population
increased from 45,000 in the early 1900's to 170,000 at the
start of the Great Depression.  This population expansion not
only occurred in the city of Youngstown but also in the suburbs
such as Boardman, Coitsville, Lowellville, and Struthers.  This
large population increase resulted from the rapid growth of the
steel industry.  The steel industry was growing so rapidly that
mill owners did not have enough people to work at their mills;
therefore, they turned to immigrants for help.  These
immigrants, whom came from northern, southern, and eastern
European countries, were used to provide the backbreaking labor
that was needed to run the steel mills.  They came to Youngstown
because they thought that it would provide them