Pittsburgh's Bridges March 16, 2017

Copyright © 2017       John F. Oyler

March 16, 2017

Pittsburgh’s Bridges

The Bridgeville Area Historical Society’s February program meeting was an extremely interesting talk by local Civil Engineer Todd Wilson, entitled “The History of Pittsburgh’s Bridges”, which coincidentally is the topic of an Arcadia “Images of America”  book he recently authored.

The speaker began with a drawing of Fort Pitt which clearly showed footbridges across the moat around the fort, confirming that the topic went back at least two hundred and sixty years. By 1818 the first bridge across the Monongahela River was constructed, at the Smithfield Street location which currently is occupied by the historic bridge with that name,

The first Smithfield Street Bridge was a wooden covered bridge built by a well-known engineer, Louis Wernwag and opened in 1818. It was destroyed by the Great Fire of 1845 which burned a third of the city to the ground. John Roebling replaced it with an eight span suspension bridge with short towers. When a dramatic increase in traffic made it obsolete, it was replaced by a lenticular truss bridge designed by Gustave Lindenthal in 1883, the landmark bridge that is at that site today.

Connecting Allegheny City with Pittsburgh produced a similar story on the Allegheny River side. In 1819 a wooden covered bridge was built connecting the public square on the North Side to Sixth Street downtown. Ten years later Roebling built a wooden aqueduct across the Allegheny, bringing the Pennsylvania Main Line Canal into Pittsburgh. He replaced it with a suspension bridge in 1845.

The Pennsylvania Railroad built a wooden bridge across the Allegheny in 1857 as part of their link to Chicago via the Fort Wayne Division. In 1867 it was replaced by a wrought iron lattice work truss, based on the Ithiel Town design pioneered in covered bridges, and in 1904 by the rugged double deck steel truss bridge still in use at that site.

A particularly interesting story was the role played by the Pittsburgh Municipal Art Commission from 1911 to 1939. The Commission’s function is to foster “excellence in design to City property”. It prospered during the City Beautiful era when city fathers advocated bridges with open designs to permit people using them to enjoy the “beautiful vistas that can be seen from structures like the “Three Sisters bridges” over the Allegheny River.

In the1920s it became necessary to replace the existing Allegheny River bridges at Sixth, Seventh, and Ninth Streets, to provide navigational clearance beneath them.

Through truss and cantilever bridges were proposed for their replacements. The Commission however, led by its chief architect Stanley Roush, insisted upon suspension bridges even though there was no suitable anchorage for their heavily loaded cables at either end. The designers, the Allegheny County Engineering Department, responded by utilizing a unique, self-anchored support system which transferred the cables’ loads into massive compressive forces in the bridge deck.

To erect such a bridge would require closing down the river channels and installing falsework to support the deck until the cables were fully strung. The designers countered by utilizing steel eye-bars instead of cable, so the bridge could be erected following the same procedure as a cantilever bridge. The recently completed Oakland Bay Bridge is the latest example of a self-anchored suspension bridge.

In retrospect one must be grateful to the Commission for their stubbornness which eventually produced the iconic Three Sisters Bridges (now renamed for Andy Warhol, Roberto Clemente, and Rachel Carson. Their influence probably peaked with the design of the Sixteenth Street (now David McCullough) Bridge with its grotesque non-functional pillars at each end. Our opinion is that any bridge well designed to perform its required function is inherently artistic.

The Fort Pitt, Fort Duquesne, and Birmingham Bridges are examples of the first extensive use of computer analytical capability to design a multiply redundant bridge. Each is a suspended deck, tied arch bridge in which the very stiff deck support trusses accept the large tension forces from the arch members.

The Tenth Street Bridge, connecting Pittsburgh’s South Side with the Lower Hill District via the Armstrong Tunnel is a lovely conventional suspension bridge designed by George Richardson and opened for traffic in 1933. In many ways its design and erection methods were prototypes for the much longer Golden Gate Bridge whose construction followed four years later.

Richardson is also credited for design of the Liberty Bridge in 1928 and the West End Bridge in 1932. The bridge design output of the Allegheny County Engineering Department in the years immediately after World War I is remarkable. In that era Vernon R. Covell was Chief Engineer and A.D. Nutter, Design Engineer.

Any discussion of Pittsburgh’s bridges would be derelict if it neglected the magnificent cantilever bridge which brought the Wabash Railroad into downtown Pittsburgh. With a clear span of 812 feet, it was the connection between a tunnel through Mt. Washington and the gaudy Beaux Art Terminal in the heart of the Golden Triangle. The bridge was erected in 1904 and demolished in 1948.

Mr. Wilson’s knowledge of his subject was especially impressive. Being a fellow Civil Engineer I was thrilled with the topic; the audience was quite complimentary about his presentation.

In March the Historical Society returns to its “last Tuesday” evening schedule. At 7:30 pm on Tuesday March 28, 2017, Edd Hale will speak on “The Great Castle Shannon Bank Robbery” in the Chartiers Room of the Bridgeville Volunteer Fire Department, on Commercial Street. The public is cordially invited.

Black History Month and Presidents' Day Marcch 6, 2017

Copyright © 2017       John F. Oyler

March 9, 2017

Black History Month and Presidents’ Day

I usually don’t pay much attention to occasions like Black History Month and Presidents Day, but this year I enjoyed special events from both of them on back to back days. On Sunday, February 19, we went to Dormont to the Hollywood Theater to see a classic silent movie, “The Flying Ace”.

The theater is operated by the Friends of the Hollywood Theater, a non-profit organization whose mission is to celebrate cinema and preserve the single-screen theater experience. It began life as a silent movie theater in the 1920s and currently is one of a very few surviving single-screen theaters in this area.

One of their programs is a series of silent movies, with background music specially composed and performed by local pianist Tom Roberts. This month they selected a film made specifically for African American audiences in 1924, directed by an African American director, and featuring an all African American cast. This is an example of a genre completely different from the stereotypical picture of the African American in Hollywood films of that era.

The film itself was completely color blind; it could have been produced with an all-white cast without changing a single scene. It featured a World War I flying ace who had retired to his civilian job as a railroad detective and was presented with a classic case to solve.

Mr. Roberts’ accompaniment was totally appropriate to the plot and complemented the action on the screen perfectly. The music alone was well worth the price of admission. He is indeed a remarkable musician, composer and performer.

If the only objective of the presentation had been to expose a white audience to a hitherto unfamiliar facet of the African American experience a century ago, it would have been a rousing success. Combined with a well-done, entertaining movie, the marvelous musical accompaniment, and the nostalgic neighborhood theater environment, it was an outstanding event.

The next evening we celebrated Presidents Day by going to Carnegie for a very enjoyable concert by the Pittsburgh Civic Orchestra, at the Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall. The program, with one exception, focused on Americana and especially on our nineteenth century heritage.

The exception was the opening number, Bizet’s Carmen Suite #1. This obviously is a feature in the orchestra’s repertoire, providing excellent opportunities for flute, oboe, and trumpet principals to demonstrate their skills. The finale, Les Toreadors, was particularly impressive.

The next selection was Morton Gould’s “American Salute”, a rousing piece incorporating variations on the Civil War song “When Johnny Comes Marching Home”. Local Pirate baseball fans will remember Vince Lascheid playing this melody when second baseman Johnny Ray came to bat years ago.

Mezzo soprano Katharine Soroka then performed five songs from Aaron Copland’s “Old American Songs”. Her powerful, well controlled voice was shown off at its best on “Long Time Ago” and “At the River”. “Simple Gifts” was well done, but an appropriate vehicle for a singer of her caliber. The audience also enjoyed two novelty songs – “I Bought Me a Cat” and “Ching-a-Ring Chaw”.

The Largo from Dvorak’s “New World Symphony” featured the English Horn playing the poignant “Going Home” theme, continuing the Americana mood eloquently. At this point Conductor Warren Davidson handed his baton to Patrick Forsythe, to conduct a powerful rendition of “Battle Hymn of the Republic” and set the scene for the “piece de resistance”, Copland’s “Lincoln Portrait”.

Conductor Davidson returned to the podium and was joined by Andrew Masich, CEO of the Senator John Heinz History Center, for the finale. Written in 1942, “Lincoln Portrait” is a magnificent orchestral work constructed to accompany a recitation of excerpts from various speeches by Abraham Lincoln, concluding with one from the Gettysburg Address. Mr. Masich is the latest in a roster of famous personages to perform this recitation. 

The music was excellent, just the right background for Lincoln’s pronouncements. Copland quoted bits from contemporary folk songs and from Stephen Collins Foster so tastefully that they seemed to be inherent parts of the composition. Nonetheless the eloquence of Lincoln’s statements overpowered the music and reinforced the exalted opinion we all have of our sixteenth president.

All told, it was a fine way to spend a Presidents Day evening. The Civic Orchestra is outstanding – it is difficult to realize that the performers are all volunteers. Ms. Soroka and Mr. Masich each added significantly to the overall event. Maggie Forbes, Executive Director of the Free Library and Music Hall, and everyone else involved in it are to be commended for “a good job, well done”.

We are fortunate to have the opportunity to attend events like these in local community venues. Both of them managed to provide relevance for the holidays they commemorated.

"Downtown" Bridgeville in the 1940s March 2, 2017

Copyright © 2017       John F. Oyler

March 2, 2017

“Downtown” in the 1940s

The Bridgeville Area Historical Society “Second Tuesday” workshop for February focused on “downtown” Bridgeville in the 1940s, an effort to document the businesses, institutions, and residences on Washington Avenue during the War Years.

The facilitator established the mood for the program by reading an eloquent document written by Jane Patton for the Bethany Church Servicemen’s Newsletter in August, 1944. The Newsletter was sent monthly to Bridgeville area servicemen all over the world in an effort to let them know the folks on the Home Front were thinking of them.

In this issue Jane recorded a hypothetical walk up Washington Avenue on a summer Saturday evening, identifying places (Weise’s, the Rankin Theater, etc.) and people (Sam Fryer, Chief Myers, etc.) whom one was apt to encounter on such a venture. Many of the places and people she mentioned were remembered nostalgically by members of the audience.

The format for the discussion was a detailed map of Washington Avenue in 1931, derived from the Sanborn Fire Insurance map for that year. The west side of “Main Street” between Chartiers  and Hickman Streets was easy – the Presbyterian Church, the Manse, Dr. Fife’s house, and the Post Office.

The east side was more difficult. Miss Patton had mentioned Ray Trimmer, and we concluded that his family lived in one of the first two houses close to Chartiers Street. It was agreed that the historic duplex at 745 was occupied by a Franks family in those days. With the exception of Fryer’s Funeral Home, the next five houses remained unidentified. Don Toney suggested we dig out the 1940 Census for help on them. A good suggestion and a project to be implemented before next month’s workshop.

Sam Capozzoli reported that the Socony Mobil gas station on the corner of James Street was owned by John Miller. My brother reminded us that Louie Dernosek’s produce store was in the first building on the other side of James. Then came an electrical repair shop operated by Joe Sarasnick. Then came a small bar run by Al Ross. The L & R Bowling Alleys occupied the large building next door to it. Dr. McGarvey’s house was next, on the corner of Bank Street Extension.

Back on the west side, the original location of E A Motor Company was on the north corner of Hickman Street. We were unable to identify the occupant of the building next to it. Bernhart Motor Company occupied the next building at some point. Then came the large building that eventually housed Capelli’s; in the early 1940s someone reported it was a night club called the Zanzibar.

Pepe’s Bar and Grill was in the next building. Saperstein’s haberdashery was in one of the next two buildings; Bard’s Dairy Store was probably the other one. Then came Weise’s News Stand – a popular hangout for the younger set. Between Weise’s and the Central Restaurant was a small shop that someone suggested handled ladies’ clothing. That took us up to the bridge over the B & M branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad.

Back across the street Bonnett’s Restaurant occupied the building on the north corner of Bank Street Extension. Then came the Rankin Theater, followed by two Harmuth establishments, a ladies clothing store and a butcher shop. I remember Pete Conroy’s barber shop being in that area at some point, but am puzzled about its specific location.

On the other side of the bridge was the C. P. Mayer Building. The Lutz Lumber Company office was in the first storefront, followed by Pete Strasser’s Jewelry Store, and Wilson’s Drug Store, on the corner. On the other side of Washington Avenue, Sarasnick’s Hardware Store was at the bridge; the next five storefronts, up to Station Street are mostly a mystery.

There is general agreement that the store on the corner was originally Butler’s Grocery and eventually Isaly’s. Some folks believe there was an A & P next door to Butler’s, and that Tom Thomas had a restaurant in one of the storefronts.

Time ran out before we were able to cross Station Street – we will pick up there next month, at 7:00 pm on the “Second Tuesday”, March 14. Perhaps some of the questions we uncovered in this first session will have been resolved.

1924 Rail Excursion to California February 23, 2017

Copyright © 2017       John F. Oyler

February 23, 2017

California Here We Come, 1924

In an earlier column I mentioned that Judy Oelschlager Dames had loaned us a family heirloom, the ticket book her mother, Pauline Engel, used when she accompanied Mr. and Mrs. C. P. Mayer on an excursion to Los Angeles in 1924. Miss Engel was serving as Mrs. Mayer’s “companion”; this was an exciting experience for a young lady who had only been in this country four years at the time.

The occasion was the sixth annual convention of the Common Brick Manufacturers’ Association of America, an organization in which Mr. Mayer was a prominent member. It appears that this organization disappeared in the 1930s; The Brick Industry Association may be its descendant.

The “Special Train Trip” began in Chicago at 11:30 pm on Saturday, February 2, 1924. We have no record of how they got to Chicago from Pittsburgh. The “Pennsy” ran nine trains a day on that route, including the world famous “Broadway Limited”. The Limited was an overnight train, arriving in Chicago early in the morning. Perhaps they took that option and spent the day sight-seeing in the Windy City.

From Chicago they took the C., B., & Q. (Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy) Railway to Denver. Miss Engel had compartment C in car X34. Breakfast was served from 7:30 to 9:30 am after a stop in Burlington, Iowa; luncheon from Noon till 2:30 pm following a stop in Creston, Iowa. After stops in Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska, dinner was served from 6:00 to 8:30 pm.

The next morning, the travelers woke up in Denver just in time for breakfast from 7;00 till 8:30 am, following which they were treated to a sight-seeing automobile trip around the Mile High City. Lunch was served at the Albany Hotel, followed by a “Mountain Scenic Drive”, also by automobile. That evening dinner was served in the Tower Room atop Daniels & Fisher Stores, followed by cabaret entertainment.

Then it was back to the rail cars, for an 11:30 pm departure on the Denver and Rio Grande.The next day was spent in the Rocky Mountains with “wonderful scenery on all sides.” Taking time out for meals seemed a great distraction.

Breakfast the next morning found them in Salt Lake City where they were treated to another organized day of seeing the sights, culminating in an organ and choir recital at the Mormon Tabernacle, and an address by the President of the Mormon Church.

That night they transferred to the Southern Pacific at Ogden, Utah, to cross the Great Salt Lake. The booklet suggests that travelers take advantage of moonlight to take advantage of the view. The following day was through Reno, Nevada, over the Sierra Nevada Mountains via Donner Pass, along the rim of American River Canyon, and on to Port Costa, California.

After breakfast, on Friday, they left their train and were provided with “real entertainment” at the Port Costa Brick Works. One wonders what that means. After lunch they crossed San Francisco Bay by boat in time for dinner at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, then returned to Southern Pacific rail cars, with a side trip through Chinatown.

After spending a night and eating breakfast in the railcars, they were treated to a automobile tour through the city. At 1:00 they boarded the train (Southern Pacific) and got on the road. At 4:00 pm they stopped at “Big Trees” briefly to view the redwoods. The next morning they stopped for several hours in Santa Barbara to inspect the old missions and bathing beach there before proceeding on to Los Angeles where they arrived in the late afternoon on Sunday after enjoying “the rural beauty of California”.

The convention opened promptly at 9:30 am on Monday. Daily programs lasted till 12:30 pm, with afternoons and evenings reserved for sight-seeing and entertainment. The first morning was dedicated to welcoming addresses and Association business – Secretary’s and Treasurer’s Reports, Committee Appointments, etc. Tuesday featured a series of fifteen minute talks on a variety of subjects – “Building Good-Will for Brick”, “Newspaper Advertising That Produced Business”, “Tariff Protection for the Brick Manufacturer”, “Standardizing Grades of Brick”, etc. – mostly business related rather than technical.

Wednesday’s subjects included “Does the Association Need a Laboratory?’, “Short Course in Brick-Laying”, “Selling Clay Products”, and an open forum on “ascertaining costs” (dubbed the most important session of the whole gathering).  Thursday it was “Mortar – Its elation to Brick Work”, “New Uses of Brick”, “Brick Salesmanship”, “Dealer Distribution”, etc. Friday was back to business – President’s Address, Election of New Officers, and Committee Reports.

The afternoon schedule is also interesting. On Monday there was an automobile tour to Santa Monica, Venice, and Ocean Park.  Tuesday was a series of visits to Los Angeles brick plants. Wednesday they visited Hollywood and movieland, with a viewing of “Ten Commandments” at the Egyptian Theatre. Thursday featured an automobile tour to Pasadena, with one to Long Beach on Friday, followed by a dinner dance at the Hotel Biltmore.

Saturday the tourists drove to San Gabriel Mission through orange and walnut groves and had lunch at “the famous Mission Inn” in Riverside. As for Sunday, “The officers believe this forenoon should be devoted to attending church”. A list of addresses and service times for eight different denominations was provided.

Sunday evening the tourists boarded the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe for an overnight ride to San Diego. There they enjoyed a morning of sight-seeing before boarding a San Diego and Arizona Railway train in time for lunch. That afternoon they passed through the marvelous Carriso Gorge. The next morning they left their train in Phoenix and travelled 120 miles by automobile to Globe, through the picturesque Arizona landscape, including the Superstition Mountains, Salt River Canyon, and Tonto Cliff Dwellings.

At Globe they rejoined their train, now Southern Pacific, had dinner, and went to bed. The next morning, Wednesday, they were in El Paso, Texas, where they were treated to several tours, including one across the border into Juarez, Mexico. The next morning found them in San Antonio; Friday morning, in Dallas. There their cars were picked up by the Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific Railway for the rest of the journey, through Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, and Illinois and finally back to Chicago early Saturday afternoon, February 23, three weeks after their departure.

I suspect this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the Mayers; it is very difficult to imagine what a thrill it must have been for the young Miss Engel to see so much of this wonderful country of ours (and hers, too,now!). I certainly envy them this opportunity and wish I could jump into my time machine and go back to 1924 and join them.  

Beginnings of the Chartiers Valley Railroad February 16, 2017

Copyright © 2017       John F. Oyler

February 16, 2017

The Beginnings of the Chartiers Valley Railroad

One of my long term projects is to write a chapter about railroads for a book entitled “The Civil Engineering Heritage of Western Pennsylvania”, to be published by the History and Heritage Committee of the Pittsburgh Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

I immediately realized that the beginning of the chapter should be the story of the beginning of the Chartiers Valley Railroad, the first example of railroad engineering in this region. I knew that a group of developers decided to organize a corporation to build a railroad linking Washington, Pa. and Pittsburgh, in 1830. The construction of the National Road, from Cumberland, Maryland, to Vandalia, Illinois had opened up a major transportation artery opening up the Midwest to settlers from the East.

Unfortunately the Road bypassed Pittsburgh, crossing the Monongahela River at Brownsville, then proceeding through Washington before crossing the Ohio River at Wheeling, (then) Virginia. The first attempt to connect Pittsburgh with the Road was the Washington and Pittsburgh Turnpike. As soon as the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad began to lay track in Maryland, it became obvious that a rail link between Washington and Pittsburgh would be far more effective than the Turnpike.

The Washington and Pittsburgh Railroad was organized in Washington in December, 1830 and incorporated by the Pennsylvania Legislature three months later. They hired a local civil engineer, Charles De Hass, to perform a preliminary design of such a railroad and to determine its estimated cost and the revenue it could be expected to generate.

At a time when there were only four railroads in the whole world and the one in this country was only twelve miles long, this assignment required an impressive combination of knowledge, ingenuity, and imagination. Mr. De Hass was obviously the right choice for it. We know nothing of his background or education, but the product of his efforts is proof of his capability.

We have been aware of an article published by the “Jefferson College Times” in 2000 by the Jefferson College Historical Society, in Canonsburg, which described the early days of this railroad. The article describes De Mass’ work and gives a footnote for the source of its information: “’The Chartiers Railway’ and ‘Engineer’s Report,’ Washington Reporter, May 17, 1871. The Reporter reprinted the engineer’s 1830 report in full when the railroad was completed 41 years later.”

In an effort to find a copy of these documents I dispatched emails to everyone I could locate who might have knowledge of this historical society or the old newspaper. I was surprised and delighted to receive a response from a gentleman named Rob Anders, who is Director of Sales and Marketing for the Observer Publishing Company in Washington. He informed me that all of the old copies of the “Reporter” are archived at Citizens Library in Washington, PA, on microfilm and that many of them have been digitized by Google. He also provided me with the link to the May 17, 1871 edition, which included De Mass’ report.

This is indeed a remarkable resource, and the “Engineers’ Report” is a remarkable document. Reading it carefully certainly suggests that Mr. De Mass was an outstanding engineer, who produced an extremely competent engineering report, despite having a minimum of access to the sort of information that became available to civil engineers generations later.

His approach was to survey a route down the Chartiers Valley to the Ohio River, then along the south shore of the Ohio and the Monongahela River to the Monongahela Bridge (now the site of the Smithfield Street Bridge). His judgment that this route should be limited to a grade of 1.5 % (one and a half feet per one hundred feet) and a minimum radius of 385 feet was an impressive prediction of what would be appropriate a century later.

His route was just over thirty two miles long; his estimate of the cost to build it was just over $148,000, roughly $4,625 per mile. This probably is equivalent to $125,000 per mile today, a cost that might be reasonable for a very light duty railroad of the type being built in the mid-1800s. De Hass did a good job of reporting the quantities of excavation and fill, masonry required for retaining walls and viaduct piers, viaducts, sleepers (ties) and rails, and crushed stone ballast.

His unit costs were based on experience with canal construction, the small amount of B & O Railroad construction, and appropriate local experience. For example his cost for viaducts was based on a recent covered bridge over Chartiers Creek in Washington that was built for $300.

Since he didn’t indicate any costs for tunneling we assume the tunnel south of Hill’s Station was not anticipated; apparently he intended to route the railroad around the end of the ridge it currently cuts through.

In addition to surveying and costing his primary route, the engineer also investigated several alternate routes. One alternate followed Scrubgrass Run up over the summit to the beginning of Little Saw Mill Run, then through the West End to the Ohio. The amount of excavation required to obtain an acceptable grade proved to be excessively expense. The same was true of two alternate routes out of Washington to a point about four miles down the chosen route.

The route in the Bridgeville area is not described in much detail. It begins on “Vance’s farm in Allegheny County”, which appears to be on the South Fayette side of Chartiers Creek about halfway between Bridgeville and Mayview, an area known then as Herriotsville. “McDowell’s factory” is two and a third miles farther north, probably at Bowerton, approximately where Vanadium Road crosses the railroad today.

The next referenced location, one and three quarter miles farther north is “a point near Cowan’s”, probably at the north end of Heidelberg. Then a little over two miles north to “a short distance before the mouth of Robinson’s Run” and another two and three quarters miles to “Murphy’s factory”. Looks like we have some work ahead identifying all these landmarks.

The evolution of railroad technology was so primitive at the time that De Hass had to come up with costs for three dramatically different track support schemes. In each case the rail was a small iron bar, lacking the flexural strength to span between sleepers (ties). One approach had wide stone sills under each rail running in the direction of the track. A second method was to support the iron bar on wooden stringers that were then supported at regular intervals by stone blocks. The third design replaced the stone blocks with transverse wooden sleepers. His final estimate was based on the third design, which of course evolved into the standard method as rail production became practical.

Mr. De Hasse then proceeded to analyze the potential traffic and fees that could be generated to pay for building, maintaining, and operating this new transportation mode in the Chartiers Valley. He anticipated cargoes of general merchandise, salt, flour, grain and pork, whiskey, wool, coal, boards and shingles, and the U. S. Mail. All told he forecasted revenue of about $15,000 per year, a very attractive value for potential investors.

All told, his effort was an outstanding example of civil engineering accomplishment at a time when the engineer lacked the information and resources that were available two generations later. One wishes we knew more about the life of this accomplished civil engineer.

Unfortunately the financial and business minds behind the Washington and Pittsburgh Railroad were not as successful at their task as Mr. De Mass was at his. Although the corporation began to acquire right-of-way and perform initial grading in the early years, it took forty years and several reorganizations before the Chartiers Valley Railroad was completed to Mansfield where it could then follow the tracks of the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and St. Louis Railroad to the Ohio and then into Pittsburgh, following De Mass’ original surveyed route.

We are grateful to Mr. Anders for providing us with access to this information and the opportunity to recognize Mr. De Mass’ achievement.

Admiral Wiliam (Bull) Halsey February 9, 2017

Copyright © 2017       John F. Oyler

February 9, 2017

Admiral William (Bull) Halsey

The Bridgeville Area Historical Society welcomed back Dr. Jack Aupperle for its January program meeting. As is its custom, the Society holds its January and February program meetings on Sunday afternoons, to minimize potential winter weather complications for its members.

Dr. Aupperle has a remarkable talent for reviewing current historical books and using their content as a basis for presenting a comprehensive picture of a relevant event or individual. This time it was “Admiral Bill Halsey: A Naval Life” by renowned historian Thomas Alexander Hughes. The speaker drew on Hughes’ biography of the well-known World War II hero to portray Halsey as a legitimate hero, an ordinary man who reacted heroically to great challenges.

Halsey was born in 1882, the son of a career Naval officer whose career was nondescript. He followed his father to Annapolis, where he too graduated in the lower half of his class. Once on active duty, however, he began to show great promise as a Naval officer at a time when the U. S. Navy was in a massive transition from romantic sailing vessels to mechanized fleets akin to floating industrial facilities.

In 1904 while an officer on the USS Missouri he was witness to a frightful example of this transition when a accident with one of her port guns resulted in the death of thirty one officers and men, an experience which haunted him for the rest of his life. From 1907 to 1909 he served as a deck officer on the USS Kansas as part of “the Great White Fleet”, Theodore Roosevelt’s triumphant demonstration of the Navy’s new-found power by its circumnavigation of the globe.

In recognition of his accomplishments Halsey was promoted directly from Ensign to Lieutenant, skipping the rank of lieutenant junior grade, a very unusual honor. When World War I broke out he was promoted to lieutenant commander and commanded a destroyer the USS Shaw so well that he earned the Navy Cross.

In 1934 Admiral Ernest King offered him command of the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga. Captain Halsey accepted, with the provision that he be permitted to learn to fly at Pensacola. At age 52,He became the oldest officer in the Navy to earn his wings. After commanding the Saratoga and then the Pensacola Naval Air Station he was promoted to Rear Admiral in 1938.

In 1940 his carrier division was relocated to Hawaii, and Halsey was promoted to Vice Admiral. In early December 1941 his division, including the carrier USS Enterprise, was transporting aircraft to Wake Island to fend off a potential sneak attack by the Japanese, when they learned that Pearl Harbor was the actual target. Although they missed the opening act of the Pacific War, members of the division soon saw significant action.

In April they rendezvoused with the USS Hornet and provided cover for the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo. In October 1942 Halsey assumed command of all the forces in the South Pacific Command. His first task was salvaging the Allies’ position on Guadalcanal. That was followed by successful campaigns in the Solomon Islands and the Bismarck Archipelago. Halsey’s aggressive use of Naval aircraft was a key factor in their success.

When the war shifted from the South Pacific to the Central Pacific he was given command of the Third Fleet, which operated effectively in campaigns in the Palaus, Leyte, and Luzon. Halsey’s fighting career ended when he stood on the deck of the USS Missouri and witnessed the signing of the articles of surrender that terminated World War II. In 1947 a grateful nation honored him by promotion to (five star) Fleet Admiral, a distinction shared by three of his peers (Nimitz, Leahy, and King).

According to Dr. Aupperle, Halsey’s trademarks were integrity, loyalty to the men who served with him, aggressiveness, and impulsiveness. The latter trait betrayed him occasionally. During the landing on Leyte his decision to pursue part of a retreating Japanese fleet left the invasion uncovered, permitting another part of the enemy fleet to attack it with nearly disastrous consequences.

The speaker summed up his presentation by concluding that we must accept the fact that even our greatest heroes are not entirely perfect. His presentation was informative and entertaining; we look forward to hearing him again in the future.

In the near future, the Society’s next program meeting is scheduled for 1:30 pm, Sunday, February 26, 2017, in the Chartiers Room of the Bridgeville Volunteer Fire Department. Todd Wilson will speak on “Pittsburgh’s Bridges”, the subject of an Arcadia book he recently authored. The public is welcome, as always.

Historic Maps February 2, 2017

Copyright © 2017       John F. Oyler

February 2, 2017

Historic Maps

The most recent addition to the Bridgeville Area Historical Society archives is a collection of four large historical maps of Pennsylvania, donated by Dana Spriggs, a donation greatly appreciated especially by me. Being a Civil Engineer and surveyor and possessing an MOS (military occupational specialty) of cartographic draftsman, I am thrilled by every map I see and particularly old maps of this region.

The first map has a title in French, “La Pensilvanie, en trois Feuilles”. I think “trois Feuilles” refers to its size – three sheets. The print Dana sent is about twenty four inches high by forty eight inches wide; perhaps a sheet is sixteen inches by twenty four inches.

In a different spot a title in English states “A Map of Pennsylvania, exhibiting not only the improved parts of that province, but also its extensive frontiers: Laid down from actual surveys and chiefly from the late map of W. Scull published in 1770.”  It goes on to document the fact that the map was produced for the benefit of the Penn family, proprietors and governors of the province.

Consequently this appears to be a pre-Revolutionary War map of the colony that eventually became the Keystone State. My continued interest in the Mason and Dixon Line immediately prompted me to look for the boundary between Pennsylvania and the Calvert colony of Maryland. Although the surveyors are not credited on this map, the boundary is indeed shown at the proper latitude – 39 degrees, 43 minutes, 20 seconds. It ends at the western border of Maryland; ignoring the additional survey beyond that point.

More significant of course is the fact that the sovereignty of what is now southwestern Pennsylvania is undefined. Also undefined is Pennsylvania’s northern border, the forty second parallel. In fact the map stops well below that latitude.

The map clearly shows Braddock’s Road from (Fort) Cumberland through Great Meadows to Dunbar’s Camp (near Uniontown) and on to “Guest’s” where it forked. One branch went west to Fort Burd and Redstone Creek (Brownsville). The other branch went on to Fort Pitt (designated “formerly Fort Duquesne”, crossing the Youghiogheny north of Connellsville before swinging to the northwest.

Braddock’s Field (“Champ” in French) and the Bushy Run site of Bouquet’s victory are also shown. Chartiers Creek is identified correctly. There is no other indication of life in this area except for a saw mill on what is now Saw Mill Run. The nearest Indian settlements are Sewickley’s Old Town and Chartier’s Old Town, up the Allegheny River near Oakmont.

The second map is entitled “Pennsylvania, entworfen von D. F. Sotzman” with a subtitle “Hamburg bey Carl Ernst Bohn, 1797.” Daniel Friederich Sotzmann was a prominent German mapmaker in the late 1800s; Herr Bohn ran a publishing firm in Hamburg. This map was one of their best-known products.

It is indeed a beauty. The legend (explanation or “erklarung” in German) is full of interesting detail. Roads varying from “Bridle Road” to “County Line” are each shown differently. All manner of colonial era industrial facilities are shown – forge (eisenhammer), grist mill (kornmuhle), saw mill (sagemuhle), etc., as well as Indian towns and Indian paths.

By 1797 Pennsylvania’s boundary disputes had all been resolved; the map shows the boundaries as they exist today, including “the Erie Triangle”, the portion of New York containing Presque Isle that we acquired in return for renouncing our claims to northeastern Ohio. In effect, we traded Cleveland for Erie.

In this part of the state the counties have been organized; the mapmaker calls them grafschafts, the German name for regions that have been the property of counts (grafs). The border between Greene (“Green” on the map) and Washington Counties is an east-west line, close to the irregular border that exists today. “Alleghany” County includes all the land north of the Ohio River and west of the Allegheny, all the way to Lake Erie.

The portion immediately north of the Ohio River and bounded by an east-west line several miles north of Butler is designated “Depreciation Lands”. The Depreciation Lands referred to tracts that were sold to raise money to underwrite depreciation certificates given to Revolutionary War soldiers who had received depreciated currency for pay, primarily men who had served in the Pennsylvania Line or the Pennsylvania Navy.

The rest of northwestern Pennsylvania was designated “Donation Lands”. These were tracts of land ranging from 250 acres to 500 acres that were awarded to Pennsylvanians who remained in the Continental Army or the Navy until the end of the Revolutionary War. Both the Depreciation Lands and the Donation Lands had been acquired from the Iroquois (Six Nations) as a result of the 1784 Treaty of Fort Stanwix. It is interesting that the area currently occupied by the (Seneca) Cornplanter Reservation is outlined on this map.