The Industrial Development of the Allegheny Valley of Western Pennsylvania

Abstract

T w nHE Allegheny Valley, a part of the industrialized valleys of western Pennsylvania, is the most important industrialized area north of Pittsburgh. The valley, which has approximately 60,000 workers in manufacturing plants, is in sharp contrast to the uplands where agriculture, foresting, and extensive stretches of waste land prevail. However, the industrial activities of this region are frequently disregarded when considering western Pennsylvania as an industrial unit. This is due primarily to three factors, first, the towns are principally one industry developments, second, no cities are large enough to appear in the United States Census of Manufacturing, and third, of the three major valleys, Monongahela, Ohio, and Allegheny, the latter has the least industrialization. The statistical information in this report is taken largely from the Pennsylvania Industrial Directories from 1916 to 1942, and the publications of the Bureau of Business Research, University of Pittsburgh. The modern Allegheny can be divided into three industrial sections. The lower part from Kittanning to Pittsburgh is highly industrialized with the production of iron and steel, machinery, aluminum, plate glass and other heavy products. The cities of this section have had their greatest increase in population since 1870. Their growth is directly associated with the development of Pittsburgh as the nation's leading steel center. The central district of the Allegheny between Kittanning and Franklin is sparsely populated and has little industrial development, principally because of the narrowness of the valley bottom. From Franklin to the headwaters the exploitation of petroleum and lumbering and their allied industries is of primary importance.