Allegheny County, Pennsylvania

Allegheny County, Pennsylvania

Allegheny County was officially created on September 24, 1788, from parts of Washington and Westmoreland counties. The word Allegheny is of Lenape origin, with uncertain meaning. It is usually said to mean ‘fine river’, but sometimes said to refer to an ancient mythical tribe called ‘Allegewi’ that lived along the river before being destroyed by the Lenape. The area developed rapidly in the 1800s to become the nation’s prime steel producer.

About Allegheny County, Pennsylvania in brief

Summary Allegheny County, PennsylvaniaAllegheny County is located in the southwest of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2019 the population was 1,216,045, making it the state’s second-most populous county, following Philadelphia County. Allegheny County was officially created on September 24, 1788, from parts of Washington and Westmoreland counties. The county originally extended north to the shores of Lake Erie; it was reduced to its current borders by 1800. The word Allegheny is of Lenape origin, with uncertain meaning. It is usually said to mean ‘fine river’, but sometimes said to refer to an ancient mythical tribe called ‘Allegewi’ that lived along the river before being destroyed by the Lenape. The area developed rapidly in the 1800s to become the nation’s prime steel producer; Pittsburgh gained the label of the ‘Steel Capital of the World’ in 1913. In 1913 the county’s 125th anniversary was celebrated with a parade consisting of 30 paddleboat boats from Monongahela Wharf down the Ohio to Ohio to the flag of the Steel City City City of Park City, the ship of the flag; the flag was flown by the flagman of the ship Midland City, and the ship was the flagwoman of the City of Pittsburgh. The current county seat, Pittsburgh, was established in 1791 and became the county seat in 1792. The city is now home to the Pittsburgh Steel Company, one of the largest steel companies in the world. The Allegheny River runs through the center of the county, and is the source of the city’s nickname, the “Pittsburgh River” The county was named after the Allegheny river, which is a tributary of the Ohio River, and was once known as the “Pennsylvania Turnpike” It is also the site of the famous Allegheny Falls, which was built in the late 1800s on the banks of the river and is now known as “The Pittsburgh River”.

The county’s name comes from a Lenape word, ‘allegheny’, which means ‘fine’ or ‘frivolous’ The county is named after an ancient Lenape tribe that lived in the area before being wiped out by the Shawnee. In 1749, Captain Pierre Joseph Céloron de Blainville claimed the Ohio Valley and all of western Pennsylvania for Louis XV of France. Both the French and the British desired control over the local rivers, so they sent troops to expel the French from their posts. The French learned of the plan and sent an army to capture the fort, which they then resumed building with increased fortification, renaming it Fort Duquesne. It was recaptured in 1758 by British forces under General John Forbes; he had it destroyed after its capture. The British then built a new, larger fort on the site, including a moat, and named it Fort Pitt. In the 1790s, a whiskey excise tax was imposed by the United States federal government. This started the so-called Whiskey Rebellion when the farmers who depended on whiskey income refused to pay.