Editing Allegheny River (section)

==History==

In the latter half of the 17th century, control of the river [[valley]] passed back-and-forth between [[Algonquian languages|Algonquian]]-speaking [[Shawnee]] and the [[Iroquois]]. By the time of the arrival of [[French colonial empire|French colonialists]] in the early 18th century, the Shawnee were once again in control and formed an alliance with France against attempts by colonists from [[British North America]] to settler across the [[Allegheny Mountains]]. The conflict over the expansion of Anglo-American settlement into the Allegheny Valley and the surrounding [[Ohio Country]] was a primary cause of the [[French and Indian War]] in the 1750s.<ref name=MacCorkle>{{cite web |last=MacCorkle |first=William Alexander |title=The historical and other relations of Pittsburgh and the Virginias |url=http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=pitttext;cc=pitttext;idno=00aee8941m;node=00aee8941m%3A1.3;frm=frameset;view=image;seq=11;page=root;size=s |work=Historic Pittsburgh General Text Collection |publisher=University of Pittsburgh |access-date=September 12, 2013}}</ref> During the war, the village of [[Kittanning (village)|Kittanning]] – the principal Shawnee settlement on the river – was completely destroyed during the [[Kittanning Expedition]], which saw 300 [[Provincial troops in the French and Indian Wars|provincial troops]] from the [[Province of Pennsylvania]] brutally attack the settlement.

After gaining control of the area in the 1763 [[Treaty of Paris (1763)|Treaty of Paris]], the British kept the area closed to Anglo-American colonists, in part to repair and maintain relations with the Native Americans. After the [[American Revolutionary War]], the entire river valley became part of the new [[United States]], and U.S. settlers forcibly displaced the region's indigenous population. During the 19th century, the river became a principal means of navigation in the upper Ohio valley, especially for the transport of coal. Although the building of the railroads lessened the importance of the river somewhat, the lower river (navigable as far as [[East Brady, Pennsylvania|East Brady]], Pennsylvania through locks) has continued to serve as a route of commercial transportation until the present day. In 1859, the first U.S. petroleum was drilled north of the river at [[Titusville, Pennsylvania|Titusville]]. One of the underlying premises of the [[Genesee Valley Canal]] was its connection to the river, opening a trade route from [[Rochester, New York|Rochester]], New York to the west. The advent of the railroads obviated any interest Pennsylvania might have had in participating to improve navigation on the river. The canal was closed in 1877 and the right-of-way sold to the [[Genesee Valley Canal Railroad]].
[[File:Cornplanter.jpg|thumb|upright|Seneca Chief [[Cornplanter]]]]

In 1965, the completion of the federally sponsored [[Kinzua Dam]] for [[flood]]-control in northwestern Pennsylvania east of Warren created the long [[Allegheny Reservoir]], known as Lake Perfidy among the Seneca, part of which is included in the [[Allegheny National Recreation Area]]. The dam flooded parts of lands deeded "forever" to the [[Seneca Nation of Indians]] by the 1794 [[Treaty of Canandaigua]], and lands given to [[Cornplanter]] and his descendants. The event was described in the [[Johnny Cash]] song "As Long as the Grass Shall Grow" from the 1964 album ''[[Bitter Tears: Ballads of the American Indian]]'', which focused on the history of and problems facing Native Americans in the United States.

The construction of the dam and the filling of the Allegheny Reservoir also necessitated the elimination of the small village of [[Corydon, Pennsylvania|Corydon]], which was located at the confluence of Willow Creek with the Allegheny River; and the small village of [[Kinzua, Pennsylvania|Kinzua]], which was located at the confluence of Kinzua Creek with the Allegheny River. All residents of both villages were forced to move.
[[File:USACE Kinzua Dam upriver.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Kinzua Dam]] and [[Allegheny Reservoir]]]]

Many prominent individuals opposed the construction of the dam at that time because of the damage it would do to Seneca lands, including Pennsylvania Congressman [[John P. Saylor]] of [[Johnstown, Pennsylvania|Johnstown]], and [[Howard Zahniser]], executive director of [[The Wilderness Society (United States)|The Wilderness Society]] and native of Tionesta—a small settlement located along the Allegheny River several miles downstream from Warren. During the campaign for the [[1960 United States presidential election]], [[John F. Kennedy]] assured the Seneca Nation that he would oppose the dam if elected. However, he failed to follow through on his pledge upon becoming president.

In 1992, {{cvt|86.6|mi}} of the Allegheny River was designated [[National Wild and Scenic River|Wild and Scenic]]. This designation comprises three segments of the river located in [[Warren County, Pennsylvania|Warren]], [[Forest County, Pennsylvania|Forest]], and [[Venango County, Pennsylvania|Venango]] counties.<ref>[https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/allegheny/recarea/?recid=81938 Allegheny Wild and Scenic River] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616232748/https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/allegheny/recarea/?recid=81938 |date=June 16, 2018 }} – Allegheny National Forest. Retrieved June 16, 2018.</ref>