For centuries, the land at the forks of the Ohio was known to the Native Americans of Western Pennsylvania, but it wasn’t until 1753 that a British Officer Named George Washington surveyed the land for Gov. Dinwiddie of Virginia. He described what he found as “well timbered” and convenient for building. With that, the first community at the modern-day site of Pittsburgh was established. Over the next two and a half centuries, Pittsburgh changed from a small settlement in the Pennsylvania wilderness to a city that has flourished because of, and continues to be identified by, it’s surrounding rivers. The Allegheny, the Monongahela and the Ohio Rivers have played an inimitable role in the industrial growth of America as they provided for the movement of coal, lumber and steel for the Pittsburgh region and beyond. Through historic photographs from the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh’s Rivers highlights the immeasurable contributions these three rivers have made to the area both economically and socially.
© Daniel J Burns 2008