The Story of the Turtle Creek Valley: a Pictorial History

1 The Story of the Turtle Creek Valley: A Pictorial History Louis Chandler "Turtle Creek" - Acrylic Painting by Local Artist and Historian Kathleen Ferri December 2015 2 Preface Professor Gordon Wood, a distinguished historian, once pointed out that unlike so many cultures of the old world, Americans do not have a single unifying religion, nor do we have centuries of a cultural tradition. There are only two things that unite us: our language and our history. And we must constantly fight to preserve both. This is an attempt to preserve the local history of a time and place worth remembering. In these pages the reader will find pictures of local history. The aim is to provide a brief history, lavishly illustrated. It is hope the pictures will carry the story, as only historic photographs can. The story of the Turtle Creek Valley is a story that needs to be set down, and this may well be a first step. Louis Chandler, Ph.D. Monroeville, 2015 3 Acknowledgments The author wishes to thank the following for their contribution to this work: Jim Sutherland, a Westinghouse engineer who understands the value of history; Kathleen Ferri whose unique art reflects her love for her community; Roy Jobe whose enthusiastic support for local history prompted this initiative; Henry Bowden, local historian, Turtle Creek, for reading the manuscript and providing suggestions. As a pictorial history relies so heavily on the selected photographs to tell the story, the author is especially grateful to: Andrew Capets, local historian, Trafford, Pa.; the Roy Jobe photo collection; collection of the George Westinghouse Museum; the Westinghouse Company photographers; collection of Cyrus Hosmer, III; Robert S. Dorsett, a talented amateur photographer; the photo archives of the Monroeville Historical Society; and the photo archives of the Pitcairn Historical Society. Louis A. Chandler, Ph.D. Monroeville, 2015 4 The Story of the Turtle Creek Valley: A Pictorial History Louis Chandler By the 1800s Pittsburgh was well on its way to becoming the industrial powerhouse of the nation. The abundant coal seams in the hills of western Pennsylvania, along with extensive waterways set the stage for industrial development. The forges and foundries of a vibrant iron industry were growing rapidly; by 1850 the city was poised on the Age of Steel. With the coming of the railroads, the final piece was put into place to create an industrial giant. It was in that time and place that the towns along the valley east of Pittsburgh, such as Turtle Creek, would be called upon to play their part in the industrial revolution. Into this Valley “Turtle Creek” is said to have been derived from a name used by the Native American Delaware tribes to describe the slow moving river. And that name was picked up by the first white fur traders who came to the area in the 1600s. One of the first of those white traders was John Fraser. Fraser was a fur trader licensed by the Province of Pennsylvania for its western frontier, an interpreter with Native Americans, a guide and lieutenant in the British army, and a land speculator. In 1753 he moved to the mouth of Turtle Creek were he built a log cabin, to serve as a trading post with the Indians. There he aided George Washington and his guide Christopher Gist, during Washington's early diplomacy with the French. Fraser's Turtle Creek cabin was burned down in 1755. The Edgar Thompson Works of US Steel in North Braddock is located at the site of Fraser’s trading post; it’s said that remnants of the old cabin were unearthed when the steel mill was being built. Another of the early settler of the Turtle Creek area was Mrs. Martha Miers (Myers) who moved to the area about the time the British first took possession of the territory. Martha Miers was the wife of Eli (Eliezer) Miers of Bedford (Pennsylvania). Eli Miers served in the French and Indian War under Col. Bouquet when General Forbes’ British army marched towards Pittsburgh in 1758. He died in Bedford at age 55 in 1765, and when, a few years later, the William Penn family opened a land office, the Widow Miers purchased some 350 acres of land in Western Pennsylvania “situated on both sides of the Turtle Creek, and the great road leading from Ligonier to Pittsburgh.” In 1769, at 54 years of age, this pioneer grandmother moved her family west to start a new life on the frontier. 5 For travelers, the Miers’ place must have been conveniently located, since she had only been there a year or so when she had her first important guest. George Washington, in his dairy of November 1770, mentions stopping to dine at the “Widow Miers on Turtle Creek” on one of his journeys through the area. It soon became obvious that Martha Miers’ location, near the Turtle Creek and along the route to Pittsburgh, gave her the opportunity to provide food and shelter to travelers on their way west, and in 1774 she opened “Miers’ Wayside Inn.” The Inn, about 10 miles east of Pittsburgh, was a natural way-station for the growing stagecoach trade, and it was to become a regular stop on the National Road, and later on the Greensburg Pike. The Wayside Inn was to flourish for many years becoming a landmark in the Turtle Creek Valley. Lifelong resident Frank Muir remembered growing up in Turtle Creek in the early days. “I can see the town of my boyhood days...I can now see Hutch Huffman, Bo Wiley or John Johnston as they flourished their long whips and urged J. C. Hexlep’s horses as they hauled the grocery wagon to and fro in the old town. And Al Glunt – who with his merry cry of ‘fine day to all’ regardless of what the weather was as he performed the same service for Morgan Semmens. And Billy Cashdollar who served his employer and community well by driving Finley McIntosh’s team; and Bill Barclay as he drove the Coal Company’s team of four or six mules hauling material for the mines. And I see Pete Rubash passing with a load of coal with his fine team of horses and sons Joe and Ernie riding with him. How I did envy these men who earned a livelihood by performing a service which seemed to me a continual round of pleasure. And now as I stroll along the old coal road…the journey brings back many people. At Hunter’s Crossing I think of those who used to congregate there on long summer evenings and discuss current events. The Aments, McKeags, Clines, Billy Wiley, Jack Mower, the Zischkaus’. And in those days there was no greater pleasure to many of these boys than to go with John Shaner and his excellent dogs on one of his many ‘coon hunts. As I walk further up the track, I think of Captain Jobe and his boys and I well remember what a stir was created when he first built his planning mill, and how it raised the industrial importance of our town in my mind when it began to blow its starting and stopping whistle at morning, noon, and night.” 6 "...J.C. Hexlep's horses hauled the grocery wagon to and fro in the old town." Even as they were replaced by automobiles, horses and buggies continued to be seen on the streets. 7 Dr. Edward A Hoffman and his family shown here on a Sunday outing in their surrey. Jobe's Funeral Home began as a livery and boarding stable business in Turtle Creek. 8 Railroad Days In the 1850s the modern industrial age came to the Turtle Creek Valley with the coming of the Railroad. The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) had begun in the eastern part of the state in 1849 and immediately expanded westward towards Pittsburgh. The coming of the railroads ushered the industrial age into the Turtle Creek Valley. By the close of 1851, The PRR was able to provide through service between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, all of which was by rail except for a gap of 27 miles (between Greensburg and Latrobe) and Turtle Creek, where stagecoaches were still being used. That final gap closed on Dec. 10, 1852, when an all-rail route was established. Initially, the trip took 13 to 17 hours, and three trains per day made the run. At about this time, The PRR extended its local service from Pittsburgh to East Liberty and then continued to Wilkinsburg and on to other communities to the east of the city. The first local train ran from Pittsburgh to Brinton, just west of East Pittsburgh, in December of 1851, and in the same month, an excursion train made the run to Turtle Creek. Regular passenger service followed, and a year later the first train from Pittsburgh to Wilkinsburg was making a daily run with a roundtrip fare of 34 cents. In 1865 coal was mined for the first time in the Turtle Creek Valley. The burgeoning railroads immediately saw the potential for shipping coal to the growing iron and steel plants around Pittsburgh, and new tracks were laid servicing the mines at Rose Hill, Lenhart, Hall’s Station, and West Wilmerding. 9 In the 1860s coal was being mined in the Turtle Creek Valley. The railroads quickly saw the potential for shipping coal to feed the hungry iron and steel plants. But the PRR was not the only railroad to play a role in the transportation history of the valley. While the PRR spread its network along the Mon Valley and to the East, The Union Railroad took a north-south route that was to cross through Monroeville along the western edge of the community on its way to Carnegie Steel and the other mills in the Mon Valley.

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