In 1763; King George III granted 3;000 acres of bottomland on the south side of the Monongahela River to Maj. Gen. John Ormsby for his service in capturing Fort Duquesne during the French and Indian War. Just 100 years later; this flat river plain became the center of the �Workplace of the World.� Powerful industrial giants such as B. F. Jones; James Laughlin; and Henry W. Oliver were drawn to the area; making it the heart of the Industrial Revolution. Immigrants came in droves from Germany; Ireland; Scotland; England; and later from central and Eastern Europe. They crowded Carson Street with the sights and sounds of different languages; customs; and fashions. These were the people who made the steel and iron that built America. Pittsburgh�s South Side is their story; a story of glass factories; steel mills; incline planes; trolley cars; saloons; and the crowded row houses where they raised their families.
#1418712 in eBooks 2006-03-08 2006-03-08File Name: B0093X42EK
Review
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. An interesting look into a part of Western Mass historyBy J. SkinnerThose who know something about the histories of Hampden and Hampshire Counties in Massachusetts are sure to be familiar with the Mill River disaster of 1874 and how it shaped the destinies of the towns it affected and those it didnt. as well as the people and families who survived that preventable tragedy. This book offers a quick but well-rounded glimpse into the private lives of one family who attained prominence both before and after the flood nearly ruined them. This collection of photographs makes an excellent companion volume to Elizabeth Sharpes "In the Shadow of the Dam".On a more personal note. I would like to thank Ms. Thibodeau for providing me with what are probably the highest-quality pictures of my great-great-grandfather Thomas Skinner I will ever possess.
