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Pittsburgh: A Sketch of Its Early Social Life
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Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #71653.
About this book
Charles W. D. Pittsburgh’s “Pittsburgh: a sketch of its early social life” is a scholarly survey of the city’s formative years, first published in November 1915. The work opens with a broad geographic and historical framing, noting Pittsburgh’s rise after the French and Indian War and its position on the main highway to the Mississippi Valley. From there the author launches into a detailed chronological outline, beginning with the “Formative Period” and moving through chapters on county formation, early settlement, and the emergence of civic institutions. The introductory passage emphasizes how frontier lawlessness, Indian conflict, and the Whiskey Insurrection delayed the development of education and organized religion, while later sections trace the arrival of schools, churches, and the first Masonic lodge, illustrating the town’s gradual transition from a rugged outpost to a structured community.
The narrative is written in a measured, academic tone typical of early‑20th‑century historical writing, with a focus on documentary detail and a steady, descriptive style. Its language reflects the period’s penchant for exhaustive context, offering dense information on land surveys, county reorganizations, and social customs. Readers who enjoy meticulous local histories, early‑American frontier studies, or the social‑cultural evolution of a city will find this volume rewarding. It especially appeals to scholars, genealogy enthusiasts, and anyone interested in how law, religion, and fraternal organizations shaped the early character of Pittsburgh.
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The place sprang into prominence after the conclusion of the French and Indian War, and upon the improvement of the military roads laid out over the Alleghany Mountains during that struggle. Pittsburgh was located on the main highway leading to the Mississippi Valley, and was the principal stopping place in the journey from the East to the Louisiana country. The story of its early social existence, interwoven as it is with contemporaneous national events, is of more than local interest.
C. W. D.
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, November, 1915.
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