Existing comment:
Three Rivers Heritage Trail: Allegheny City:
In the early 1700s, the Allegheny River formed a boundary: lands claimed by European nations were to the east, and lands claimed by Native Americans were to the west.
Near this site in 1783, James Robinson, the first permanent European settler on this side of the river, built a log house and ferry boat landing. Four years later, a new town called Allegheny was laid out as an English village with a town square surrounded by a commons. After the Pennsylvania Canal from Philadelphia was built through the town in 1829, Allegheny evolved from an agricultural village to a thriving industrial city. Red brick cotton mills, an iron works, and other factories lined the riverfront.
After the Civil War, the citizens of Allegheny transformed their village commons into a beautiful, landscaped park system. While Pittsburgh was the "Smoky City," Allegheny was the "City of Parks" with over 100 acres of parklands. The Allegheny Commons became one of the first public parks west of the Allegheny Mountains. Designed in 1869, the park continues to exhibit a beautiful urban landscape design.
Pittsburgh and Allegheny City were twin cities until 1907 when Pittsburgh became the nation's eighth largest city by annexing Allegheny. |