A Fertile Land for Development

Evening of Braddock’s Defeat by W.C. Wall. HC Museum collection.

4 WESTERNPENNSYLVANIA HISTORY | S P R I N G 2 0 0 9 A FERTILE LAND FOR DEVELOPMENT

16,000 BP–1850

Calumet or peace pipe, c. 1753. Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History.

This peace pipe was given ong before dinosaurs roamed the earth, about 300 million to George Washington by an Indian leader during his trip years ago, the key geographic features of this region formed. to Western Pennsylvania in 1753. In particular, he L sat in council with Vast tropical swamps covered Western Pennsylvania. As the Tanaghrisson and visited climate changed over millions of years, that plant life died, decayed, Queen Aliquippa, both of the Seneca Nation. and was buried. Under pressure and over time, those materials transformed into the single most valuable mineral deposit in the world: the Pennsylvania coal seam. Above ground, meltwater from glaciers north of the city ﬁlled the Allegheny River basin carrying sand, gravel, and rock to the area around the Point. By the time the ﬁrst people arrived 16,000 years ago, the distinctive features we know today already existed. These gifts of nature made this land valuable for the peoples who traveled to and through it. The forks of the rivers became the key to the interior of the nation—first for military control and later as a jumping off point to the West. The landscape challenged settlers to create new ways to travel over, on, and around it. The rich coal deposits provided fuel for this region’s idea foundry—the spark for early industry and the engine that drove innovation.

WESTERNPENNSYLVANIA HISTORY | S P R I N G 2 0 0 9 5 Paleo-Indians hunted Fur trader Michael and gathered in what Bezallion writes first becomes Western description of region These peoples’ names and Pennsylvania faces are lost to the ages, 16,000 BP 1717 but archaeologists find their belongings at sites like Meadowcroft Rockshelter. Tool Maker

Twelve thousand years ago the last ice age came to an end. The massive glaciers that once crushed the landscape with ice over a mile thick, retreated north beyond the newly formed great lakes. Among the forests of what we now call Western Pennsylvania lived a people well adapted to living off the region’s abundant natural resources. These peoples’ names and faces are lost to the ages, but archaeologists find their belongings at sites like Meadowcroft Rockshelter (Washington County), which dates to 16,000 before present (BP)—the oldest site of human occupation in North America. The tool maker figure at right from the History Center’s Innovators exhibition is at work on a stone projectile point. He is skilled at working flint, chert, quartz, and other materials. In addition to producing tools of stone, bone, and wood, the first people in the Americas produced finely woven textiles for clothing, bags, and nets used for hunting and fishing. By 3,000 years ago, their descendants throughout the Americas had also domesticated plants such as maize (corn), beans, squash, and tobacco, which figured prominently in trade with newcomers from Europe 400 years ago.

Above: An early tool maker replica in the History Center’s Innovators exhibition. Figure by Time Machine AG, photograph Heather Mull.

6 WESTERNPENNSYLVANIA HISTORY | S P R I N G 2 0 0 9 CHAPTER 1 Regional tribes include Céloron de Blainville Queen Aliquippa Iroquois, Lenape or expedition buries lead plates, allies with British Delaware, Shawnee claims Ohio Valley for French

1740s 1749

Queen Aliquippa

“We dined in a Seneka town where an old Seneka Woman Reigns with great Authority,” wrote Conrad Weiser. Shrouded in mystery, Seneca leader Aliquippa’s life reveals itself only in brief accounts by French and British envoys. Aliquippa may have been born as early as the 1680s; one story has her family bidding farewell to William Penn when he departed Pennsylvania in 1701. Other reports date her birth to 1701 or 1706. In fact, by the 1740s, Aliquippa lived in Western Pennsylvania and led a group of about 30 Seneca families. Fiercely loyal to the British throughout her life, she met twice with Conrad Weiser in 1748 while negotiating a treaty between the western Indians and Pennsylvania. He reported a Logstown visit where Aliquippa requested gunpowder and shot to“enable her to send out the Indian boys to kill turkey & other fowls for her, whilst the men are gone to war against the French.” Céloron, a French expedition commander, attempted to pay the Queen homage in 1749 as she encamped near McKees Rocks. She rebuffed him. “The Iroquois inhabit this place and it is an old woman of this nation who governs it,” Céloron wrote. “She regards herself as sovereign. She is entirely devoted to the English.”

Queen Aliquippa. Figure by Time Machine AG, photograph Heather Mull.

Indian map of the Ohio Country, 1763, showing European settlement. Courtesy of Newberry Library.

WESTERNPENNSYLVANIA HISTORY | S P R I N G 2 0 0 9 7 Washington General Braddock builds Braddock’s army Forbes builds new road Fort Duquesne surrenders at road from Wills Creek defeated across river through Bedford and captured from the Fort Necessity (now Cumberland, Md.), from present-day Ligonier to Forks of Ohio French razed by towards Forks of Ohio Kennywood British soldiers

1754 1755 1758

Queen Aliquippa and George Washington

“Went up three miles to the mouth of the Youghiogheny River to visit Queen Aliquippa, who had expressed great concern that we passed her in going to the Fort,” wrote a young George Washington. Aliquippa had at least two encounters with Washington. When he traveled to Western Pennsylvania in 1754 at Governor Robert Dinwiddie’s request, Washington visited Logtown to attend a council with Iroquois leaders, but he neglected to visit Aliquippa on his way. Hearing of the Queen’s displeasure, Washington made a trip to pay her homage. His short journal entry of that visit reveals the best known account of Aliquippa: I made her a Present of a Match-Coat: & a Bottle of rum, which the latter was thought much the better present of the two. Aliquippa must have trusted Washington; she, her son, and their followers joined him at the Great Meadow to witness the battle at Fort Necessity. After the defeat, they fled to George Croghan’s Augswich homestead in present-day Huntingdon County. There the tired, sick Seneca leader lived out her last months, dying on December 23, 1754. “Alequeapy, ye old quine is dead,”Croghan recorded in his journal. Her name lives on in the town of Aliquippa, Beaver County, and in the ridge and gap near Augswich.

George Washington in the Uniform of a British Colonial Colonel, 1772, Charles Wilson Peale. Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia.

8 WESTERNPENNSYLVANIA HISTORY | S P R I N G 2 0 0 9 CHAPTER 1 City of Pittsburgh is Fort Pitt built, Treaty of Paris ends named for English covers 20 acres Seven Years’ War prime minister

1759-1761 1763

Why Pittsburgh? Life mask of George Washington, c. 1780. Courtesy of Fort Necessity National Battlefield. On November 27, 1758, Brigadier General John Forbes penned a letter to William Pitt, Prime Minister of This region tested and shaped Washington’s character and his career. He faced great challenges and suffered England. Forbes reported the positive turn of events for crushing defeats in battle, but also ultimately found British forces battling the French in North America. Days success. Washington, from his first journey to this area, earlier, Forbes marched an army of nearly 5,000 men 50 miles to recognized the strategic importance and the military and the Forks of the Ohio, site of French Fort Duquesne.Alerted to the commercial potential of Pittsburgh. Over the years he invested approaching British army, the few hundred French and Canadian himself and his capital in Western Pennsylvania and maintained soldiers defending the fort destroyed it and withdrew. Forbes a lifelong interest in its growth and development. claimed the ruins, renaming them for Pitt: “I have used the freedom of giving your name to Fort Duquesne, as I hope it was in some measure the being actuated by your spirits that now makes us Masters of the place.… These dreary deserts will soon be the richest and most fertile of any possessed by the British in North America.”

Portrait of General Forbes by John Watson, 1758. HC L&A, GPC, collection of Alan M. Scaife.

The Scots Magazine, the first published map of Pittsburgh in January 1759.

Published just two months after General Forbes claimed Fort Duquesne and named the site, this map may be the earliest to show Pittsburgh. Note the location of the fort and the many surrounding Indian towns, including Aliquippa’s location (#14). An accompanying article describes how “the British flag flies over the debris … in triumph.” WESTERNPENNSYLVANIA HISTORY | S P R I N G 2 0 0 9 9 King George III signs Pontiac’s Rebellion British push back Indians George Anschutz Royal Proclamation begins, an uprising to at Battle of Bushy Run builds first iron restricting settlement drive British from region furnace in Pittsburgh east of Alleghenies

1763 1792

Creating a Culture

Families crossed the mountains into Western Pennsylvania on foot or horseback carrying just a few possessions. The journey took days, following old Indian trails and rutted military roads. Usually these pioneers arrived with only some hand tools and simple utensils, a few head of livestock, and a horse. They also brought with them language, music, foodways, and rich cultural traditions. By the late 1790s they had transformed the wilderness into a distinctive backcountry that valued independence, innovation, and hard work.

Map showing Scots-Irish migration patterns, 1770–1820. Illustration courtesy of Dawn Rivers. By the late 1790s they had

Most settlers who came to Southwestern Pennsylvania transformed the wilderness into immigrated from Western European countries, especially the British Isles. Others traveled inland from communities along a distinctive backcountry that the Atlantic coast. valued independence, innovation, and hard work.

Conestoga Wagon on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, Thomas Birch, 1816. Shelburne Museum, Shelburne, Vermont.

10 WESTERNPENNSYLVANIA HISTORY | S P R I N G 2 0 0 9 CHAPTER 1 Whiskey Rebellion Whiskey is made Lewis and Clark’s boat instigates use of using rye not barley built in Pittsburgh federal forces

1794 1803

Above: Tar and feathering the excise man. Whiskey Courtesy of Washington & Jefferson College; museum purchase. Right: Advertisement for a manufactory It steals gently upon the senses, like music of copper stills used to make the region’s Monongahela Rye Whiskey. upon the soul, and animates the intellect From Samuel Jones, Pittsburg in the Year 1826. without ever collapsing an idea.

– Samuel Johnson reflecting on the spirit “Pure Rock Water” whiskey—a daily drink—served as Before the rebellion came the whiskey, a payment for work, barter for goods, and tradition of distilling grains into spirits that cash in trade. Not every farm had a still; settlers brought from the old country. In just as millers of grain were specialists, so Scotland, malted barley served as its base; in too were distillers. But enough 30-gallon this region, distillers created a new recipe—rye copper stills existed in the region to for whiskey or rye and corn to make bourbon. produce whiskey for the population’s With little hard money on the frontier, need plus extra for trade.

WESTERNPENNSYLVANIA HISTORY | S P R I N G 2 0 0 9 11 The Pittsburgh Foundry, James Finley is First African American Construction begins on the Steamboat New Orleans the first iron foundry, the father of congregation established west National Road is first to be built in is established the suspension of Allegheny Mountains Pittsburgh, navigate bridge western waters

1804 1808 1811

Gateway to the West

Meriwether Lewis may have been the most important traveler to head west from Pittsburgh. Lewis launched a “keeled boat” or barge from Fort Fayette in August 1803, carrying the hopes and dreams of a young nation. It was the start of the epic Lewis and Clark expedition to the Pacific—the greatest in American history. Between 1803 and 1806, the Corps of Discovery claimed and charted a vast new territory, made contact with Indians, discovered scientific wonders, and experienced adventures that captured the world’s imagination. Lewis and Clark opened a doorway of opportunity to the West; many of those who stepped through began their journey here in Pittsburgh.

It was the start of the epic Lewis and Clark expedition to the Pacific—the greatest in American history.

Portrait of Meriwether Lewis, C.B.J. Saint-Memin, 1807. Courtesy of New York Historical Society.

The artist painted Lewis as he appeared at journey’s end. Lewis wears a fur tippet of otter and 100 white weasel skins, a gift from Shoshone chief Cameahwait, Sacagawea’s brother.

12 WESTERNPENNSYLVANIA HISTORY | S P R I N G 2 0 0 9 CHAPTER 1 Christopher Cowan Marshall Elevator Fort Pitt Foundry Bakewell receives builds first rolling Company founded in founded in Strip patents for furniture mill in Pittsburgh Pittsburgh by John District knobs, handles and Marshall glass pressing

1818 1825 1826

Steam Power

There is now on foot a new mode of navigating our western waters.… This is with boats propelled by the power of steam.

Steamboat – Zadok Cramer, 1814 New Orleans, painted on metal, 19th century. Steamboats revolutionized river travel, just as steam engines Museum, Chisholm Photographic. transformed industry. In 1811, Robert Fulton, Robert Livingston, and Nicholas Roosevelt built and launched the New Orleans from Robert Fulton built the nation’s first steamboat, the Clermont, Pittsburgh—the first steamboat on western waters. On its maiden launched in New York in 1807. Fulton adopted Nicholas journey to her namesake city, the boat demonstrated the steam Roosevelt’s sidewheel propulsion method for this boat and the engine’s unprecedented power to propel river crafts both down- and New Orleans and relied on Roosevelt to chart the Ohio and upriver. Journeys by flat or keeled boats that lasted several months Mississippi rivers to determine the feasibility of navigation by now took weeks or even just days by steam. Freight and passengers steamboat. Fulton and Livingston built the New Orleans here, initiating the age of steam. could be moved much more cheaply. Within a decade the steamboat reigned on western waters, and Pittsburgh established itself as both gateway and shipper to the West.

The Point of Pittsburgh, by W.C. Wall, c. 1840. Gift of Emma Zug.

Wall’s painting captures a boat in full steam heading down the Ohio. If you look up the Monongahela River to the right, you see dozens of boats lined up along the wharf, teeming with people and activity, as they visit warehouses to stock up on goods for life in the West.

WESTERNPENNSYLVANIA HISTORY | S P R I N G 2 0 0 9 13 Etna Iron Works is first Elizabeth Wade William Holmes Duff's Business School John Roebling develops manufacturer of iron-pipe (Bessie Bramble) McGuffey develops becomes first business wire cable rope for the west of Alleghenies born, later becomes his Reader college in the U.S. Pennsylvania canal a trailblazing reporter in Pittsburgh 1828 1836 1840 1841

Elevation for the Monongahela Bridge, signed by John A. Roebling, April 1845. John A.Roebling: Gift of Benjamin Thaw.

Bridging Connections Within days of Pittsburgh’s Great Fire, engineer John Roebling began developing plans for a new suspension bridge across the Monongahela River to link the booming Fire offered an opportunity to John A. industrial center of Birmingham (now the South Side) with the commercial warehouses Roebling. On April 10, 1845, a massive blaze along the wharf. The suspension bridge, designed and built in nine months, stood for destroyed much of Pittsburgh along the almost 40 years, proving the strength and durability of Roebling’s wire cable rope. The Monongahela River. The covered wooden Smithfield Street Bridge, still in use today, replaced it. Monongahela Bridge—the city’s first and oldest span—burned in less than 10 minutes. Roebling, a Prussian immigrant, had come to Western Pennsylvania in 1831 with a degree in

civil engineering. Roebling proposed a wire “Puddling Iron” detail from “Views about rope cable suspension bridge. He had Pittsburg, Pennsylvania,” wood engraving perfected his rope while working for the by Charles Stanley Reinhart, 1871. Courtesy of The Hillman Company. Pennsylvania Canal and had used it for a canal aqueduct he built across the Allegheny River. Pittsburgh mills attracted skilled workers His wire rope was untested on heavy, load- from Germany and the British Isles. Trained bearing bridges, but his design successfully in the craft system they provided the talent proved its strength. The bridge established that drove the iron and glass industries. Roebling’s reputation and launched his career. Pittsburgh became home to the first iron rolling mill in the nation in 1819, as well as the first two glass He became most famous for the design and factories west of the Alleghenies in 1797. building of the Brooklyn Bridge.

… bustle of the town of Pittsburgh … the coal smoke View of Pittsburgh, Pa., 1849, Edwin Whitefield. The Hillman Company. reminds me of England. – Richard Cobden, 1835

As early as 1815, travelers to the region remarked on Pittsburgh’s smoky veil—generated by coal-fired factories and home heating furnaces. With an abundance of raw materials and access to growing western markets, Pittsburgh became the West’s great provider, shipping a huge array of iron tools, nails, and pipe as well as glass and timber for building. The borrowing of ideas from industry to industry fueled the development of new machinery and industrial processes. By 1840, Pittsburgh had no peer in the glass industry, and just a decade later it also had earned the moniker “Iron City.”

14 WESTERNPENNSYLVANIA HISTORY | S P R I N G 2 0 0 9 CHAPTER 1 Great Western Iron Rodman hollow casting William Kelly claims Stephen Foster composes Company first to make process perfected at he invented the Oh Susanna – it iron rails west of Fort Pitt Foundry Bessemer process becomes a national hit Alleghenies

1842 1847 1848

Stephen Foster, 1826–1864

His powerful, yet simple songs still resonate today. Stephen Foster, the “Father of American Music,”grew up in Pittsburgh, the son of a Scots- Irish businessman. He likely received some formal training from Henry Kleber, a German immigrant who impacted Pittsburgh culture as a performer, composer, music merchant, and teacher. Foster worked Portrait of Stephen C. Foster, by George at his craft, publishing his first song at age 18. As the first professional Lafayette Clough, songwriter in this nation, he blended the country’s multi-ethnic c. 1865. Courtesy of Carnegie Museum sounds into a new form of American music. of Art, Pittsburgh, photo The minstrel stage both popularized and circulated Foster’s music. Richard Stoner. Songs such as “Oh Susanna,” performed first in 1848, became national hits as well as “My Old Kentucky Home” (1853) and “Jeanie With the Light Brown Hair” (1854). Foster also arranged instrumental parlor music and later, school songs and hymns. Though he died penniless at the age of 38, he lives on through the uniquely American music he created.

Roebling’s span across the Monongahela is reproduced in the Innovators exhibition. Photograph Heather Mull.

Visitors to Pittsburgh in the 1850s remarked on the energy of the city and its people—the din of factories that drove industrial development. Ideas flourished in this environment of hard working, largely immigrant, craftspeople. In the decades ahead, an abundance of riches would pour from the earth—coal and then oil and natural gas—creating new opportunities and providing capital to invest in industry and ideas. On the eve of the Civil War, Pittsburgh stood poised to grow from an enterprising commercial city into an industrial giant—America’s steel and glass capital.

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