Preface:
Preface
This little book will interest the Pittsburgher of 1916 chiefly because the parts and pieces of which it is made were written by men who were living here or who passed this way in 1816.
The three newspapers of the day—the Gazette, the Mercury, and the Commonwealth—have furnished, though somewhat sparingly, the items of local news. They have also furnished advertisements—these in greater abundance and variety.
The men who were the tourists of the day in America, traveling by stage, wagon, boat, or on horseback, often made Pittsburgh a stopping place in their journey. Many of them wrote books, in which may be found two or three pages, or a chapter, on the city as it appeared at that time. It is from these books that the section "Impressions of early travelers" has been gathered. The date given with these extracts is the date of publication, but the period referred to in every case is between 1815 and 1817.
In addition to these gleanings from contemporaries, a number of paragraphs from various histories of the city have been included.
The sketches that have thus been bought together do not form a systematic or well proportioned description of the city; yet they may help, through their vivid pictures and first-hand impressions, to give some idea of life in Pittsburgh a century ago.
Table of Contents
Page
The New City 7
Impressions of Early Travelers 13
United States Census 20
Business and Industries 21
Traveling Eastward 26
Taverns 30
Steamboats and River Traffic 31
Ferries and Bridges 40
The Newspapers 42
Churches 44
Schools 48
Libraries 50
The New Books of 1816 51
The Theatre 52
The Morals Efficiency Society of 1816 55
Fourth of July, 1816 55
Police 55
Eagle Fire Company 56
Water-Supply 56
Banks 57
Post-Office 59
The Suburbs 60
Courts 61
County Elections 61
The State Legislature 62
Slavery 63
Advertisements from the Newspapers of 1816 64
1816 75
