Existing comment:
The Allegheny Portage Railroad and the Nation:
Improved transportation and communication thrust the previously isolated rural areas served by the Public Works, especially the Allegheny Portage Railroad, into the mainstream of nineteenth-century America. As western Pennsylvania grew in population, it also grew in awareness of national issues, trends, and culture.
The Nation:
1828: Andrew Jackson is elected President of the United States, ushering in the "Age of the Common Man."
1837: The Panic of 1837, brought on by western land speculation and crop failures, delivers a serious blow to both the growing national economy and the Portage Railroad. Hard times are experienced by many during this first great depression in America.
1840: William Henry Harrison is elected President but dies of pneumonia one month later, becoming the first president to die in office. His body is carried over the Portage Railroad enroute to North Bend, Ohio for burial.
1845-1848: Daring land deals and victory in the Mexican War lead to America's annexation of the Oregon Country, and Texas, California, and the Southwest.
1848-1850: Zachary Taylor, the hero of the Mexican War, is elected President. Following his sudden death in 1850, Taylor's body, like that of William Henry Harrison before him, is transported by the Portage Railroad enroute to Louisville, Kentucky for burial. An elaborate funeral procession is held in Johnstown with Taylor's horse "Old Whitey" leading the cortege.
1850: After months of bitter debate and talk of Southern secession, Senator Henry Clay negotiates a settlement between free and slave states with The Compromise of 1850. The collapse of the Union and civil war is averted for another decade.
1853: Congress authorizes a survey to define a transcontinental railroad route.
Culture and Reform:
1831: The Liberator, a weekly newsletter dedicated to the immediate abolition of slavery, is published. Abolitionist societies spring up in cities and towns throughout the Northern states.
1835: As many as 5,000 temperance societies exist in the United States with a membership of more than one million, and all believe in the "ruination" caused by alcohol.
1842: British author, Charles Dickens, tours the United States and travels the Portage Railroad, recording his impressions in American Notes.
1850-1852: Jenny Lind, known as the "Swedish Nightingale" for her beautiful soprano singing voice, tours the United States with manager P.T. Barnum. Her travels take her across the Allegheny via the Portage Railroad.
1853: Harriet Beecher Stowe publishes Uncle Tom's Cabin, which becomes a powerful weapon for abolition. In 1841, she too travels the Public Works, including the Allegheny Portage Railroad.
Allegheny Portage Railroad Milestones:
1824: Surveys of possible transportation routes over the Allegheny Mountains are initiated.
1826-1831: Construction of the "Public Work" is authorized by the Pennsylvania state legislature in 1826. The route for the Allegheny Portage Railroad is established in 1831.
Early 1830s: Tavernkeeper Samuel Lemon constructs the Lemon House at the head of Inclined Plane Number 6.
1834: The Allegheny Portage Railroad officially opens on March 18.
1842: Wire rope is introduced by John Roebling, who later becomes famous as the builder of the Brooklyn Bridge. Roebling's wire rope is safer and stronger than the hemp ropes originally used on the inclined planes.
1854: Use of the inclined planes on the Allegheny Portage Railroad is discontinued as a public transportation system.
1857: The Public Works are purchased by the Pennsylvania Railroad for $7,500,000. |