Broadhead Fording Road

From Pittsburgh Streets
Broadhead Fording Road
Neighborhood Fairywood
Origin of name Daniel Brodhead and a ford of Chartiers Creek

Broadhead Fording Road is named for Colonel Daniel Brodhead (1736–1809) and a fording (i.e., a ford) of Chartiers Creek that was near this location.[1]:9–11 During the Revolutionary War, Brodhead was the American commander of the Western Department from 1779 to 1781, with his headquarters at Fort Pitt.[2][3]:90–91,95–97[4][5] After the war, he was appointed surveyor general of Pennsylvania in 1789 and served in that position for eleven years.[3]:90–91,95–97 A post office named Brodhead (or Broad Head) in his honor was established in 1857 on the east bank of Chartiers Creek near today's Thornburg Bridge (Steubenville Pike).[6][7][1]:23 When the railroad station in modern Crafton opened in 1865, it was at first called Brodhead Station, but it was soon renamed Crafton Station (see Crafton Boulevard).[8][7][1]:29–31 The post office was moved and renamed Crafton in 1881.[1]:35

An earlier commander at Fort Pitt, General Edward Hand (eponym of Hand Street, today Ninth Street), established a smallpox hospital, the first federal hospital in the United States, at this location on Chartiers Creek in 1777.[2][1]:9–11

Brodhead Road, which today runs between Robert Morris University and Monaca, originally extended all the way to Fort Pitt. This road was built by General Lachlan McIntosh, Brodhead's predecessor at Fort Pitt, to supply Fort McIntosh (on the site of today's town of Beaver), but it was subsequently used by Brodhead and gained his name.[3]:86,237[9]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Betsy Martin. The Story of Crafton: 1740–1992. Crafton Historical Society, 1992. Historic Pittsburgh 31735055766921. [view source]martin
  2. 2.0 2.1 Leland D. Baldwin. Pittsburgh: The story of a city, pp. 94–95. University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, 1937. HathiTrust 001263101. [view source]baldwin
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Joseph H. Bausman. History of Beaver County, Pennsylvania: And its centennial celebration, vol. 1. Knickerbocker Press, New York, 1904. Historic Pittsburgh 01hc06126m; Internet Archive historyofbeaverc01baus. [view source]bausman
  4. Boyd Crumrine. History of Washington County, Pennsylvania: With biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, pp. 88–101. L. H. Everts & Co., Philadelphia, 1882. Historic Pittsburgh 00hc17099m; Internet Archive historyofwashing00crum. [view source]crumrine
  5. Annie Clark Miller. Early Land Marks and Names of Old Pittsburgh: An address delivered before the Pittsburgh Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution at Carnegie Institute, Nov. 30, 1923, p. 22. Pittsburgh Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution, 1924. Historic Pittsburgh 00awn8211m; Internet Archive earlylandmarksna00mill. [view source]miller
  6. S. N. & F. W. Beers. Map of Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Smith, Gallup & Hewitt, Philadelphia, 1862. LCCN 2012592151; 1862 layer at Pittsburgh Historic Maps (https://esriurl.com/pittsburgh). [view source]beers
  7. 7.0 7.1 J. M. Miller. "The Crafts and Crafton: Interesting story of an old Pittsburgh family and the borough it founded." Pittsburgh Gazette Times, Nov. 16, 1913, fourth section, p. 7. Newspapers.com 85622421. [view source]crafts-and-crafton
  8. Ruth Ayers. "What's in a name?: Crafts, Gibsons and Irwins all gave their names to towns: Borough of Crafton was once estate of Pittsburgh lawyer: Pioneers played big part in development of communities." Pittsburgh Press, Oct. 3, 1936, p. 9. Newspapers.com 147045286. [view source]ayers
  9. Lois Mulkearn and Edwin V. Pugh. A Traveler's Guide to Historic Western Pennsylvania, pp. 126–127. University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, 1954. Historic Pittsburgh 31735057894978. [view source]mulkearn-pugh