Editing Crafton, Pennsylvania (section)

==History==
Prior to European colonial usurpation, the area was inhabited and controlled by the [[Seneca people|Seneca Indians]]. It is believed the legendary chief of the Seneca, [[Cornplanter]], called the area ''Killemun''. But even before the Seneca came, the Crafton/Ingram area was inhabited. In her 1993 historical account, local historian and Crafton-native, Betsy Martin, writes that, “[[Tumulus|Burial mounds]] from a much earlier [[Adena culture|pre-Columbian Adena Culture]] were found farther down the [Chartiers] creek toward the ‘Rocks’ in the vicinity of the Fall Hole…”<ref>Martin, Betsy. ''The Story of Crafton: 1740-1992''. The Crafton Historical Society. Crafton, Pennsylvania. 1992.</ref> It is likely Martin is referring to a mound site near the junction of the Creek with the [[Ohio River]], a site which underwent excavations in 1896 by the [[Carnegie Museum of Natural History|Carnegie Museum]]. The excavation unearthed at least 33 burials, all “Early Woodland Adena in affiliation.”<ref>Weed, Carol S. “PREHISTORIC CONTEXT STUDY (CHAPTER THREE) IN SUPPORT OF DATA RECOVERY AT SITE 36AL480, LEETSDALE, ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.” U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Pittsburgh District. 14 October 2004. [https://web.archive.org/web/20201019200441/https://www.lrp.usace.army.mil/Portals/72/docs/Leetsdale%20Archaelology%20Data/Chapter%203%20-%20Prehistoric%20Context.pdf?ver=2017-12-19-132148-817]</ref> The Indians who built the mounds are believed to be [[Algonquin people|Algonquin]]. While there is no way of knowing exactly which mounds Martin is describing, the reality is that such ancient interment mounds and early-indigenous habitation sites were strewn across the entire Chartiers Valley region, including Crafton/Ingram. Throughout the 20th Century, however, most of the sites were destroyed as a result of industrial development and building construction.

For obvious reasons, the [[Chartiers Creek]] was the dominant geographical feature during the premodern era, winding a northwesterly path to its terminus in the Ohio River at [[McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania|McKees Rocks]]. By 1749/1750, The French, under the aegis of King Louis XV, were staking land claims throughout the creek valley and surrounding forested hills and open meadows. George Washington passed through the area for the first time in 1752, along with his guide, Christopher Gist.

Crafton is named after James S. Craft, a frontier [[attorney at law|attorney]] who was granted land near the "forks of the [[Ohio River|Ohio]]" in present-day [[Oakland (Pittsburgh)|Oakland]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.craftonhistoricalsociety.org/walking_tour.htm |title=Crafton Historical Society |access-date=July 8, 2010}}</ref> The sale of this land part financed purchases of land in the [[Chartiers Creek|Chartiers valley]]. Charles Craft, son of James, divided the land into lots on the death of his father and submitted it to the Allegheny County Courthouse as Crafton. Following a period of building, the borough was incorporated on January 8, 1892, with Charles as the first [[Burgess (title)|burgess]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Martin|first=Betsy|year=1992|title=The Story of Crafton: 1740–1992|url=https://historicpittsburgh.org/islandora/object/pitt:31735055766921|publisher=Crafton Historical Society|pages=43–44}}</ref>

Crafton was linked to downtown Pittsburgh by [[tram|trolley]] in 1896. The service ended when the [[Fort Pitt Bridge]] was built without trolley tracks.