Since Roman times, ironworkers have played a key role in construction. During the Middle Ages, they were organized into craft guilds. By the late 1880's, steel had replaced wood and stone as the weight-bearing material in bridges and buildings, and the occupation not only grew substantially but it took on a new élan -- ironworkers became known as "cowboys in the skies".
Our exhibit presents highlights from a history of the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers published in 1996 to celebrate the founding of the union.
