In 1888, the first Atlas Cement Company plant was built in Coplay. Due to the need for more cement rock, the company constructed Atlas Plants 2, 3 and 4 between 1895 and 1905.
The plants were located in Northampton. This was the largest cement complex in the world for many years.
The Great Depression in the 1930s crippled the Atlas plants and the entire Lehigh Valley cement industry. In 1931, the United States Steel Corporation purchased the Atlas. The plants only operated a few months each year.
In 1936, the new company- Universal Atlas- started to demolish Plants 2 and 3. Plant 4, the largest of the three plants, continued operations until 1944.
In 1940, U.S. Steel decided to construct a new modern plant on the old Atlas site. Construction started in late 1940 and continued until 1943. The Turner and McDonald Construction Company of Chicago was awarded the contract.
All the cement used to construct the new plant was produced at Atlas Plant 4, a short distance from the new plant.
