Railroads helped shape southwestern Pennsylvania during the 1850s
One hundred and fifty years ago, the early 1850s brought an eventful start for railroads in southwestern Pennsylvania and their role in economic history.
A key date was Dec. 10, 1852, when cross-state service was begun between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. It marked completion of the final section of the tracks through Greensburg.
There was not a single mile of trackage in this region when the 1850s began.
As early as 1826, the Baltimore & Ohio planned to come into this section of the state, but by the time the B&O was ready to build westward in 1840, the Pennsylvania had plans as well.
Considerable opposition to the B&O came from the National Pike and Fayette County, as well as some influential Pittsburgh interests.
The first operative railroad was the Pennsylvania & Ohio, over which the initial train ran July 19, 1851, from Allegheny City to Rochester along the east side of the Ohio River. That line eventually led to Cleveland and a merger with the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago.
Construction of the Pennsylvania Railroad, begun in eastern Pennsylvania in 1847, was completed from the east to Beatty station, two miles west of Latrobe, by December 1851.
From Pittsburgh, the track reached Turtle Creek at that time, leaving a gap in Westmoreland County.
By July 5, 1852, the line extended from Turtle Creek to Radebaugh station, west of Greensburg, well before Jeannette's being.
The section from Radebaugh through Greensburg to Beatty was of challenging and quite expensive construction, involving tunnels in Greensburg (later removed) and massive fills both east and west.
Actually, grading through the Greensburg locale had begun as early as 1849 but took three years to complete.
The reason the Greensburg route was chosen was the large degree of investment from that community. Among alternates was the railroad chief engineer's suggestion from Blairsville to Pittsburgh via "the Crabtree bottoms, north of Greensburg and just south of Murrysville."
Herman Haupt, who as a later Civil War general headed Union military railroad construction, supervised completion of the line between the Allegheny Mountains and Pittsburgh.
The first railroad engine to enter Westmoreland County did so July 5, 1852, traveling from Pittsburgh to Radebaugh station. To accomplish that, the locomotive was assembled in Pittsburgh from parts brought by boat. It was a celebrated event, and many residents of the county and elsewhere rode their horses and carriages to Radebaugh to witness it.
Partial east-west rail service was inaugurated 10 days later with stagecoaches used to transport passengers between Radebaugh and Beatty.
By Nov. 29, a locomotive came through the Radebaugh tunnel, eased gently over fresh fill toward downtown Greensburg, through the then Main Street tunnel, and over more fills on the east end of town.
Then came the Dec. 10 start of regular service. The only exception was that the Allegheny Portage Railroad was used to go over some mountains between Johnstown and Altoona until that problem was solved in 1854.
The fare between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh was $9.87 1/2. The trip with wood-burning locomotives took 20 hours at first but was shortened considerably by Horseshoe Curve.
One highly visible and immediate impact of the railroad was the development of several new towns along the line. Among them: Irwin, Manor, Latrobe, Derry and New Florence in Westmoreland County alone.
When the tracks started operation, the Irwin site was a forest of white oak timber. The first house within the future borough confines was built in 1854. By 1864, Irwin had three hotels, including the Guffey House, which "commanded a beautiful view of the railroad and coal works."
When construction began, there was only a single house and barn in what became Latrobe. An area of bottom land along Loyalhanna Creek, the property was largely covered by oak and hickory trees and thick undergrowth. Oliver J. Barnes, an engineer with the railroad, acquired the land and laid out the town.
There was nothing in Derry until 1852, when the first buildings there were erected by the railroad. It soon became an important location as the freight business developed, for the overhaul, inspection, weighing in and reconfiguration of cars. In addition, there was a complete wrecking crew. For trains from the west, locomotives were added there for the trip over the mountains.
Construction of the railroad in the Derry Township area in the summer of 1852 was enlivened by Irish national rivalry among workers from that country.
Just a month after through service started, the first coal mines in the Irwin area began shipping coal to eastern cities. Mining companies began operation along the route from Larimer to Manor, the first coal carload from Westmoreland Coal's Shady Grove mine in Irwin to Philadelphia.
That was even before the locomotives used coal. The wood-burning engines obtained fuel along the way, as farmers piled wood at key points along the railroad and receipts were left for the farmers to collect from the railroad.
This 1850s review will be further detailed in a subsequent column.
THIS DATE IN HISTORY
On Oct. 13, 1781, the Washington County seat town of Washington was laid out.
The U.S. Weather Bureau was established in Pittsburgh in 1870.
World Series history in Pittsburgh figured strongly on this date in 1903 and 1971. The Pirates in 1903 lost the deciding game of the first ever Series that year to the Boston Red Sox, 4-3. In 1971, the first Series night game was played in Pittsburgh.
In 1933, a fire destroyed the Hurst High School fieldhouse in Westmoreland County's Mt. Pleasant Township, including the athletic school bus and band and football equipment. Loans of gear by several other high schools enabled the team to play the rest of the season, which extended to about Thanksgiving.
Another school fire on this date in 1986 hit a dormitory at California University of Pennsylvania.
In 1962, President John F. Kennedy completed a tour of the area, including speeches in Pittsburgh, Greensburg and Washington. It was his last visit.
The new highway, U.S. 119, past the then Volkswagen plant in Westmoreland County, opened in 1977.
HIGHEST STATE MOUNTAIN
Although Mt. Davis in Somerset County is known to be the highest point in Pennsylvania, this fact was not discovered until 1921, when the U.S. Geological Survey established its crest as 3,213 feet above sea level.
Previously, it was believed that Bedford County's Blue Knob, at 3,136 feet, was the tops.
Then known as Negro Mountain, Mt. Davis was renamed by the county commissioners in honor of John N. Davis. Owner of the land at the top of the mountain, Davis was a pioneer farmer, land surveyor and educator.
CREEK ALMOST DRIED UP
Concern over rainfall and water levels this year was a bit different than a problem in 1875.
Ten Mile Creek in Greene County had a virtually nonexistent water level from using it to moisten the clay to make bricks for building construction at Waynesburg College.
That year, college president Alfred B. Miller and some of the students began the brickmaking process to build Miller Hall, which became the main college building.
Clay was obtained from a campus site and another nearby point. Three kilns were constructed on campus to "burn the brick." They were able to produce as many as 4,000 bricks daily, during which time the boys hauled "hundreds of barrels of water," almost exhausting the creek.
Masons then erected the structure as funds were available, but it was not completed until more than a decade later.
CROGHAN TRADING "KING"
George Croghan was "king of the traders" in southwestern Pennsylvania during the mid-1700s.
An Irish Episcopalian, he came to Pennsylvania in 1741 and shortly extended his operations from the Harrisburg area to what became his western headquarters at the mouth of Pine Creek on the Allegheny.
There, in what became Etna, he had several log buildings, a boat yard and fenced fields for raising corn and pasturing his packhorses.
In the late 1740s, he extended his operations down the Ohio River into West Virginia and Kentucky.
He had more than 25 employees, some of which manned his various trading posts, and more than 100 packhorses to transport his goods. Croghan later was in partnership with his brother-in-law, William Trent, among others.
SPORTS HISTORY
Some collegiate sports briefs:
