History of Pittsburgh, (Allegheny County) Pennsylvania United States of America

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Local History Notes:

PITTSBURG, a city, port of entry, and seat of justice of Alleghany county, Pennsylvania, is situated at the confluence of the Alleghany and Monongahela rivers, which here form the Ohio, 357 miles W. from Philadelphia; 477 N. E. by E. from Cincinnati; 1174 E. N. E. from St. Louis, and 2025 miles N. E. from New Orleans. Lat. 40° 32' N., lon. 80° 2' W. The site comprises the triangular plain enclosed by the Alleghany and Monongahela rivers, Grant's Hill, and several other elevations, which terminate the plain on the E. The general outline and many other features of this city bear a striking resemblance to the lower part of New York. Along the Monongahela the streets were laid out at right angles to each other, and extend either parallel or perpendicular to the river. The same plan was also adopted on the Alleghany side, by which arrangement the cross streets meet obliquely a few squares S. from the latter stream. The space included within these limits was found insufficient to meet the requirements of the rapidly increasing population, which soon extended itself to the opposite shores. Here have sprung up several large and flourishing towns, the most important of which are Alleghany City and Manchester, situated directly opposite the junction of the Alleghany river with the Ohio, and Birmingham, on the left bank of the Monongahela. In commercial and social interests all these are identical with the city proper, and we should do Pittsburg injustice not to consider them as a part of the same community. The site of the city is a natural amphitheatre, being environed on all sides by beautiful hills, rising from 400 to 500 feet above the level of the Ohio, and filled with coal, iron, and limestone, the working of which into articles of utility constitutes the chief occupation of the inhabitants. These hills are not, except in a few instances, precipitous, and from their slopes and peaks afford a series of rich and varied landscapes. The scenery is in a most interesting manner strengthened in color by the fertility of the soil, which continues to the very summits. There is nothing of barrenness visible; vegetation in the forests, meadows, fields, orchards, and gardens, exhibits one panorama of abundance and beauty.

Pittsburg is handsomely built, principally of brick, and in the eastern section contains many beautiful residences. Indeed, no more delightful place of residence could be found than this, were it not for the disagreeable inconveniences arising from the use of bituminous coal. From innumerable chimneys are belched forth dense volumes of smoke which fills the air for miles around, soiling the garments of persons in the streets, and discoloring the buildings, giving them a dark and sooty appearance.

Many of the public edifices of this city are splendid specimens of architecture. Of these, however, our limits will permit us to mention only a few. The court house, occupying the summit of Grant's Hill, is a massive stone structure of the Grecian Doric order, 165 feet long and 100 feet deep, adorned in front with a portico. The dome, which is 37 feet in diameter at the base, and 148 feet from the ground, affords a view in the highest degree varied and picturesque. The entire cost of the building was about $200,000. The new custom house, at the corner of Smithfield and Fifth streets, is a very large and costly building of freestone. It is now nearly completed, and contains an apartment for the city post-office, in addition to those appropriated to the business of the United States customs. Pittsburg has one of the finest hotels--the Monongahela House--in the United States, or perhaps in the world. It is a costly brick edifice, square, six stories high, and extends from Smithfield street to Water street, fronting the Monongahela river. Two fine market houses are now nearly completed, one of which is to contain a hall for public use, from 200 to 250 feet long, and about 100 feet wide. There are numerous other buildings deserving of notice, among which is the Pittsburg Theatre, a large edifice, with a very handsome front. The Western Penitentiary of Pennsylvania is located in Allegheny City, fronting on Ohio street. It is an immense stone building, in the ancient Norman style, and cost, at the time of its erection in 1827, $183,000. In front is a fine lawn. The United States Arsenal at Lawrenceville, on the left bank of the Allegheny river, about 2 1/2 miles above Pittsburg, is an elegant edifice of stone, enclosed by spacious and beautifully ornamented grounds.

Pittsburg and its suburbs contain about 90 churches, of which upwards of 50 are in the city proper. Many of these are choice specimens of architectural beauty. The Catholic cathedral, at the corner of Grant and Fifth streets, near the court house, is a magnificent brick edifice, adorned with a lofty spire. St. Peter's church, (Episcopal,) also situated on Grant street, opposite the court house, is a fine Gothic structure, similar to St. Mark's church, Locust street, Philadelphia. Occupying the summit of Grant's Hill, these churches and the court house are imposing objects to one approaching the city from the Ohio. The First Presbyterian church, now being erected of freestone, on Wood street, when completed, will be one of the finest church edifices, it is said, in the United States.

The principal benevolent institutions are the Mercy Hospital, on Locust street; the Western Pennsylvania Hospital, a fine brick edifice, between Fish and Ferguson streets, near Smith street, in the eastern part of Allegheny City, and two orphan asylums.

Among the literary and educational institutions may be mentioned the Theological Seminary of the Associate Reformed Church, founded at Pittsburg in 1828, and the Western Theological Seminary, in Alleghany City, both of which are in a highly prosperous condition. The latter, also established in 1828, under the direction of the Presbyterians, is situated on a prominent elevation commanding a view of the river and surrounding scenery. The edifice is 140 feet long, 50 feet wide, and 4 stories high, with wings three stories high. There are also several literary associations, of less prominence, most of which have fine libraries. The Western University of Pennsylvania, formerly located here, was destroyed by the great fire of 1845, since which it has ceased to exist. Within a few years past, an increased interest has been manifested in the subject of popular education. There are now upwards of 50 schools in the city, and nearly an equal number in the suburbs annually attended by about 12,000 pupils. The periodical press of Pittsburg is remarkable, especially for a city of such recent origin. There are now about 25 offices issuing newspapers and other publications, 11 of which are dailies. Three or four newspapers are also published in Allegheny City.

The commerce of the port is very extensive, and deserving of particular attention. The principal harbor is furnished by the Monongahela river, which has a greater depth of water than the Alleghany. The Ohio is navigable to the confluence of these streams for boats of light draught, except at short periods of very dry seasons, and a few days of the severest winters. It is not navigable, however, for boats of the largest class during any considerable portion of the year. The steamboats, therefore, constructed at Pittsburg, are adapted to the lowest possible draught of water, in order that they may transact business most of the entire year. Communicating with the Ohio and Mississippi valleys by means of the navigable waters of the Ohio river, and connected by railways and canals with the great lakes on the one hand, and with Philadelphia and the Atlantic on the other, Pittsburg is not only the great entrepôt of the entire trade of Pennsylvania with the West, but merchandise to a large amount from New York, destined for the cities along the Ohio and Mississippi, annually passes through this emporium. Besides its other great advantages, Pittsburg is about to derive important benefits from numerous railways which will soon go into operation in various portions of Western Pennsylvania. One of the most important of these is the Pittsburg and Olean railroad, which will communicate with some of the best agricultural counties in the state. To connect with this route, another road is about to be constructed from Buffalo to Olean, thereby connecting the western termini of the Pennsylvania canals with the western termini of the New York canals, and the head of Ohio navigation with the great port at the eastern terminus of navigation on Lake Erie.

The enrolled and licensed tonnage of the district, June 30, 1852, according to the custom-house returns, amounted to an aggregate of 64,156 9/9 4/5 tons, of which 57,782 9/9 3/5 were employed in steam navigation. In steam tonnage, therefore, Pittsburg is the third city in the Union, being surpassed only by New Orleans and New York.

The receipts at Pittsburg by the Pennsylvania railroad, for the year 1851, amounted to 15,259,619 tons, and for 1852, 36,378,281 tons, of which 19,947,103 were dry goods, against 8,578,985 tons of similar commodities the previous year.

The extent of the steamboat commerce carried on through the Ohio, or the entire value of the exports and imports of Pittsburg, we are unable to determine, not having been able to procure statistics upon these subjects. We are assured, however, by intelligent gentlemen of that city, that the trade of 1853 will show an increase of at least 33 1/3 per cent. over that of any previous year. Should this seem exaggerated, some idea of the rapid growth in the river trade may be gained from the fact that during the year 1852 there were constructed at the various yards of Pittsburg no less than 69 steamers, with an aggregate burthen of 15,000 tons, all of which found sufficient and lucrative employment. Statistics also show that as many as one boat a week on the average has been completed at these yards for several years past. Owing to the increased facilities of communication, the trade with the lakes has doubled itself every year since 1844.

The manufactures of Pittsburg are immense. and capable of being extended almost indefinitely. Indeed there is no known limits to the elements necessary to their augmentation. Wood, coal, ores, and agricultural resources, all abound in the utmost profusion and at the greatest possible convenience. According to a memorial presented to Congress on behalf of the ironmasters of Pennsylvania, there were in the city and vicinity, in 1850, 16 establishments for the manufacture of iron, comprising 129 puddling furnaces, 85 heating furnaces, 59 trains for rolling iron, and 246 nail machines. Number of hands employed, 2161. Material annually consumed, 4,152,300 bushels of bituminous coal; 900 cords of wood; 50,366 tons of pig iron; 10,780 tons of bloom, and 4750 tons of scrap iron. Annual produce, 52,932 tons, consisting of bar, rod, hoop, bailer, and sheet iron sheet steel, bar steel, nails, spikes, rods, shafts, anchors, and axles. All these works are operated by steam-power. Among the above, the rolling-mill of G. & J. H. Shoenberger may be mentioned as one of the most extensive. It comprised 14 puddling furnaces, 12 heating furnaces, 5 trains for rolling, 50 nail machines, and consumed annually 410,000 bushels bituminous coal, 5000 tons pig iron, and bloom and scrap 1000 tons each--producing 5500 tons of manufactured iron. Gaff Lindsay & Co., Lyon, Shorb & Co., and Bailey, Brown & Co., also have large establishments, each producing from 4000 to 5000 tons of manufactured iron annually.

There were also in Pittsburg, in 1850, 80 large foundries and several smaller ones, with a capital of $2,000,000, yielding goods to the value of $2,000,000 annually; 33 manufactories of glassware, 8 of which produced flint glass annually amounting to $400,000; 5 white-lead factories, turning out 150,000 kegs, worth $200,000; 5 large cotton factories, and a number of smaller ones--capital, $1,500,000, yielding goods to the value of about $1,600,000 yearly; 1 copper-rolling mill and 1 copper-smelting establishment, annually producing $400,000 worth of various kinds of copper. Besides these, there were 7 vial furnaces, 2 extensive manufactories of locks, coffee-mills, scales, &c., and several for the production of various articles of steel manufacture, such as springs, saws, axes, anvils, and vices; and others for making gun-barrels and agricultural utensils. About 12,000,000 bushels of coal were annually consumed, and an equal quantity exported to neighboring markets, furnishing employment to 4000 persons. By the census of 1850, there were 819 manufactories in Pittsburg, and 120 in Alleghany city, employing 10,253 hands, and producing goods to the value of $11,883,427. There is, however, but little room to doubt that this is greatly understated. All statistics since compiled show very different results; and it is not improbable that the manufactures of 1853 will exceed $25,000,000. In 1840 there were in operation in Pittsburg and Alleghany city 32 furnaces and forges, with a capital of $1,437,000; the total capital then employed in manufactures was stated at $2,784,594.

There are 4 banks in Pittsburg, the condition of which, in November, 1852, was as follows:--Bills discounted, $3,670,248; specie and treasury notes, $495,433; due by other banks, $743,726; notes sad checks of other banks, $122,309; real estate and personal property, $114,669; bonds and mortgages, and other securities, $78,727; stocks, $500; total resources, $6,010,769.

Pittsburg communicates with Alleghany city by means of three substantial bridges on piers and one wire suspension-bridge, and by a suspension-bridge and steam-ferry with Birmingham. Water of the purest quality is introduced from the Alleghany river. The reservoir, occupying an eminence N. E. of the court house, has a greater elevation probably than that of any similar reservoir in America, being 396 feet above the level of the Ohio. It is of great capacity, and supplied by steam-power. Gas, manufactured from bituminous coal, is furnished at a comparatively trifling cost, for lighting the city. The Alleghany cemetery, on the Alleghany river, 2 miles above Pittsburg, is one of the most beautiful places of the kind in the world. It comprises 110 acres, tastefully adorned, and enclosed by a wall of stone masonry.

Pittsburg is divided into 9 wards, and Alleghany City into 4, each town being governed by a mayor and common council.

History: Fort Du Quesne, a French trading post, erected in 1754, formerly occupied the site where Pittsburg now stands. In 1758 an English expedition marched against this post, which was then regarded by the youthful Washington as the key of the West. An advanced detachment under Captain Grant having encamped on what is still known as Grant's Hill, was attacked and defeated by a party of French and Indians. But on the approach of General Forbes, with a force of 6200 men, the disheartened garrison set fire to the fort and descended the Ohio. The victorious troops, on entering, November 25th, by general acclamation called the place Pittsburg, in honor of Pitt, then prime minister. Pittsburg was founded in 1765. It became a county town in 1791, was incorporated a borough in 1804, and chartered as a city in 1816. April 10th, 1845, a great fire consumed a large part of the town, causing a destruction of property to the amount of $9,000,000. Notwithstanding this terrible calamity, the city has continued to increase in wealth and population almost beyond parallel. Population in 1810, 4768; 1820, 7248; 1830, 12,542; 1840, 21,115--Alleghany City, 10,089--Birmingham, 1554; city proper, in 1850, 46,601--Alleghany City, 21,261--Birmingham, 3742. By a local census, in January, 1853, Pittsburg and its suburbs contained a population of 110,241.

Biographies:

John Carson Febiger, naval officer, was born in Pittsburg, Pa., Feb. 14, 1821; grandson of Gen. Christian Febiger, "Old Denmark," of the army of the American Revolution. He entered the U.S. navy as midshipman from Ohio, Sept. 14, 1838, and was on board the Concord of the Brazil squadron when that vessel was wrecked in 1843 on the eastern coast of Africa. He was promoted passed midshipman. May 20, 1844; lieutenant, April 30, 1853; commander, Aug. 11, 1862; captain, May 6, 1868; commodore, Aug. 9, 1874; rear-admiral, Feb. 4, 1882, and was retired on his own application, July 1, 1882. He was on the Germantown in the East Indies, 1858-60, on the sloop Savannah, 1861-62; and commanded the Kanawha in the Western Gulf blockading squadron, 1862, and vessels in the Mississippi squadron. 1862-63. He was assigned to the command of the Mattabeset of the North Atlantic squadron, 1864, taking part in the defeat of the Confederate ram Albemarle and capture of her tender, the Bombshell, in Albemarle sound, N.C., May 5. 1864, and receiving the commendation of Captain Melancton Smith and Rear-Admiral S. P. Lee for his gallantry and skill in the engagement. He commanded the Ashuelot in the Asiatic squadron, 1866-68; was inspector of naval reserve lands 1869-72; served on the examining board, 1874-76, and was commandant of the Washington navy yard, 1876-80. He died at Londonderry, near Easton, Md., Oct. 9, 1898.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Adolph Martin Foerster, composer, was born at Pittsburg, Pa., Feb. 2, 1854; son of Emil and Elise (Noll) Foerster, and grandson of Martin Foerster, M.D., of Pittsburg, Pa. His father was a well known Painter of portraits and landscapes. Adolph's early musical instruction was received from his mother and from Jean Manns of Pittsburg. He studied at the Leipzig conservatory of music, 1872-75, and on returning to America taught music for a year at the Fort Wayne, Ind., conservatory of music, and after that time in his native city. He became especially prominent as a composer, his productions including orchestral and chamber music, as well as works for solo instruments and the voice. His orchestral compositions were repeatedly played by the orchestras of Theodore Thomas, Anton Seidl and Walter Damrosch. Among his more important orchestral works are: March-Fantasie; Thusnelda; The Falconer, Suite No. 1; Festival March; Dedication March, written for the inauguration of Carnegie music hall, Walter Damrosch, conductor; Prelude to Goethe's Faust, prize corn position of the Pittsburg art society; Suite ,No. 2; two dramatic arias for soprano and orchestra: Love Song and Hero and Leander; and Sigrid, a symphonic poem. His other compositions include a Trio, opus 29; First piano quartet, opus 21; and Two Concert Etudes, opus 37; Suite, opus 46, for the piano; Four Songs, opus 39; Among Flowers, opus 28 (11 songs); and many others.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

James Reid Lambdin, portrait painter, was born in Pittsburg, Pa., May 10, 1807; son of James and Prudence (Harrison) Lambdin; grandson of Daniel and Margaret (Hopkins) Lambdin and of Jonathan and Frances (Spencer) Harrison, and a descendant of Daniel Lambdin, of Maryland. He received his art instruction from Thomas Sully, in Philadelphia, Pa., and in 1825 opened a studio in Pittsburg, Pa., and engaged in portrait painting. He was married, Sept. 11, 1828, to Mary, daughter of George and Eleanor (Connor) Cochran, of Pittsburg. He visited the large cities between Pittsburg and Mobile, Ala., and painted many portraits after 1832. He also established a museum of art and antiquities in Louisville, Ky., where he resided several years. He settled in Philadelphia, Pa., in 1837, where he painted portraits and was professor of fine arts in the University of Pennsylvania. He painted portraits of every President of the United States from John Quincy Adams to James A. Garfield, nearly all of which were painted at the executive mansion. He presided over the convention of American artists at Washington in 1858, and was appointed by President Buchanan one of the U.S. art commissioners. He was an officer of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and president of the Artists' Fund society. He died in Philadelphia, Pa., Jan. 31, 1889.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

George Beamish McElroy, educator, was born in Pittsburg. Pa., June 5, 1824; son of Samuel and Anne (Beamish) McElroy, who came from Ireland in 1821 and settled in Pittsburg, Pa., and were among the founders of the First Methodist Protestant church in that city. In 1840 he began to study for the ministry under the Rev. George Brown. He was licensed to preach, June 5, 1842, and was ordained deacon and elder in 1845. He was married, July 22, 1851, to Mary Good of Johnstown, Pa., where he was then stationed. In 1852 he was elected instructor in the preparatory department, Madison college, Uniontown, Pa., where he pursued a full classical course and was graduated A.B. and A.M. in 1853. In 1853 he was elected to the chair of natural science and mathematics, resigning the next year, but resuming the chair under the presidency of the Rev. George Brown. He was principal of the North Illinois institute, Henry, Ill., 1857-62; county superintendent and principal of city schools, Henry, Ill., 1862-64; principal of Allegheny seminary, Sharpsburg, Pa., 1864-66; professor of mathematics and astronomy at Adrian college, Mich., 1866-98; vice-president of the college, I867-71; president, 1873-79; Amos professor of systematic theology, 1877-98; president pro tempore, 1879-81, and dean of the school of theology, 1882-98. He was elected secretary of the board of trustees of Adrian college in 1867 and a trustee in 1870, and was made professor emeritus of mathematics in 1898. He attended the ecumenical conference of Methodism, London, England, in 1881.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor