Editing North Braddock, Pennsylvania (section)

==History==

===Origins===
In 1742, a Scottish trader named [[John Fraser (frontiersman)|John Fraser]] from eastern Pennsylvania acquired land at the location of the current Edgar Thomson Steel Works from [[Queen Aliquippa]] and the [[Lenape]] people. Fraser settled his family on the location, and in 1753 [[Christopher Gist]] and [[George Washington]] met with Fraser while delivering messages from Governor [[Robert Dinwiddie]] of [[Virginia]] to [[France|French]] commanders at Fort LeBoeuf, in present-day [[Waterford, Pennsylvania|Waterford]]. Dinwiddie demanded the French commanders withdraw from western Pennsylvania. Fearing that a conflict was on the horizon, Fraser returned to Philadelphia in 1754.

In 1755, General [[Edward Braddock]] and British troops left Virginia and used Fraser as the guide with General Washington as the aide on the expedition. The objective of the expedition was to expel the French at [[Fort Duquesne]]. It was on July 9, 1755, when the British troops arrived at Fraser's cabin to be met with gunfire from the French troops. During the battle Braddock was wounded, dying on July 13, 1755, in nearby [[Uniontown, Pennsylvania|Uniontown]]. The area where Braddock was shot became known as [[Braddock's Field]]. Historical markers identify the site on present-day Jones Avenue across from Benjamin Fairless School. Braddock's Battlefield History Center commemorates this battle.<ref>{{cite web|title=Braddock's Battlefield History Center|url=http://www.braddocksbattlefield.com/|access-date=November 25, 2013}}</ref>

===Whiskey Rebellion===
During the late 18th-century farming was prevalent in the North Braddock area with the nearby [[Monongahela River]] used for trade. [[Whiskey]] became a very profitable product to trade, with much being sent to the [[New Orleans]] area. In 1794 a whiskey tax was created, drawing in protest over 8,000 settlers from [[western Pennsylvania]] to the North Braddock area, as part of the [[Whiskey Rebellion]]. The angry settlers would not disperse easily, and President Washington led an army to suppress the rebellion.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

===Wallace Mansion===
The British commander of [[Fort Pitt (Pennsylvania)|Fort Pitt]], Captain Edmondstone, had signed a grant of {{convert|328|acre|km2}} of land from [[George III|King George III]] of Great Britain to Peter Rowletter. Once the [[French and Indian War]] was over, Rowletter sold the land to Pittsburgh judge George Wallace, who bought around {{convert|328|acre|km2}} of land, including part of Braddock's Field, on March 4, 1791. Here Wallace built a mansion as his summer home. Later the [[Marquis de La Fayette]] visited the country as the Guest of the Nation, and while doing so he stopped by Judge Wallace's mansion on May 28, 1825. After Wallace's death the home was left to his nephew who lost the property to a sheriff sale. The Wallace mansion would be used as a boarding school called the Edgeworth Ladies Seminary during the 1830s.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

===Coal and steel===
In 1835 the first [[coal mine]] opened between the hills near Sixth Street. During the 19th century the railroad industry was expanding across the country. [[Andrew Carnegie]], with the increasing demands in steel for the railroad, began to build his first [[steel mill]] in 1872, named for [[John Edgar Thomson]], the president of the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]]. By 1873 the demand for steel for the railroad had decreased, and the construction of the mill was halted. Good news came though when Carnegie secured a $2 million loan and finished the steel mill to roll its first steel under the supervision of superintendent William R. Jones. The mill would go on to expand, and in 1880 the first [[blast furnace]] was used at the [[Edgar Thomson Steel Works]].{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

===Incorporation===
During 1897, [[East Pittsburgh]] tried to annex the land around the mill of North Braddock, known as Bessemer, that was part of Braddock Township. Residents of Shady Park village (3rd ward) and of Wolftown (1st ward) came together to hold meetings on stopping East Pittsburgh from annexing the land near the mill known as Braddock's Field. William Yost serving as North Braddock's attorney petitioned the Quarter Sessions of Allegheny County that Shady Park and Wolftown would join as one town, also incorporating Braddock's Field. During the meetings 317 of 510 property owners signed an agreement helping Judge Kennedy make his ruling to form a new town. On Monday, April 26, 1897, North Braddock was incorporated as a borough. Judge Kennedy of the Quarter Sessions Court of Allegheny County made the ruling and ordered the decree for the new borough. The first election of officials was to be held on May 18, 1897. The winners of the election included the burgess Henry Anderson, councilmen Joseph Wallace, John Walberg, John Maxwell, WJ Vance, Thomas Clark, J Grant Anderson, Fred Edwards, tax collector John Hutzen, and school directors Jones, Johnson, Scott, Colmey, Crossey, and Anderson.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

North Braddock celebrated its borough centennial with a festival of events in June 1997.
[[File:North Braddock Centennial.jpg|right|thumb|North Braddock Centennial Book (1997)]]