Editing Coraopolis, Pennsylvania (section)

===Early history===
On April 3, 1769, [[Andrew Montour]], an [[Native Americans in the United States|Indian]] [[Language interpretation|interpreter]] who had provided service to [[English people|English]] settlers during the [[French and Indian War]], was granted a [[land patent]] for approximately {{convert|350|acre|km2|1}} of what would later become the borough of Coraopolis and [[Neville Island, Pennsylvania|Neville Island]]. However, there is no evidence that Montour ever lived on this tract. The first permanent white settler in Coraopolis was Capt. Robert Vance, who settled in the vicinity of Montour's tract around 1773, just prior to the beginning of the [[American Revolutionary War|American Revolution]]. Vance, a [[Colony of Virginia|Virginian]], had been a member of the regiment commanded by [[George Washington]] at the [[Braddock expedition]] during the [[French and Indian War]]. For the protection of himself and his neighbors, of whom several arrived within a few years, Vance had a log [[stockade]] built with a stone [[blockhouse]] to protect the area against [[Native Americans in the United States|Indian]] raids. This was known as Vance Fort (or Fort Vance). The site of the fort was around present-day Broadway and Chestnut streets, near Second Avenue. Over time the community grew and developed, and it became known as Middletown in the 1800s, either because it was situated midway between [[Pittsburgh]] and [[Beaver, Pennsylvania]], or perhaps after an early settler named Alexander Middleton who supposedly ran "Middleton's Tavern" in the area.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.coraopolishistory.com/maidencityblog/stuckinthemiddle|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211155054/http://www.coraopolishistory.com/maidencityblog/stuckinthemiddle|url-status=usurped|archive-date=February 11, 2017|title=Coraopolis History Archive|access-date=February 8, 2017}}</ref>

One of the most important early industries in the area was begun by the Watson family, [[English people|English]] [[immigrants]] who arrived in [[United States|America]] in 1830. The Watsons built a [[sawmill]] on the site of the former municipal building on Fifth Avenue. Later, they operated a much larger [[Gristmill|grist mill]] on the river bank at Mill Street, until 1887.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}