Redstone Creek
Encyclopedia
Redstone Creek is a historically important widemouthed canoe
and river boat-navigable brook
-sized tributary
stream of the Monongahela River
in Fayette County, Pennsylvania
. The creek is 28.4 miles (45.7 km) long, running from headwaters on Chestnut Ridge north through the city of Uniontown
and reaching the Monongahela at Brownsville
. Located in a 1/4-mile-wide valley with low streambanks, the site was ideal for ship building in a region geologically most often characterized by steep-plunging relatively inaccessible banks — wide enough to launch and float several large boats, and indeed steamboats after 1811, and slow-moving enough to provide good docks and parking places while craft were outfitting.
Brownsville, at the mouth of Redstone Creek, was a dynamic industrial town that eclipsed Pittsburgh in size before the 1850s. It was the center for a dynamic watercraft
building industry, including the first paddlewheel steamboat
s on the vast network of inland rivers to reach New Orleans and, later, the upper navigable part of the Missouri
. Flatboat construction is documented at the site from 1782, and the Braddock Expedition
established a supply base (blockhouse
) on the stream's south bank which the French destroyed after first taking Fort Necessity in 1754. The creek hosting this important activity played a critical role in the transshipment of goods and settlers in the Mississippi Basin, as it enabled the other industries in and around Brownsville to outfit and equip the settlers headed west.
Nestled in the foothills on the west side of the mountains, Brownsville was a gateway funneling settlers to the Ohio Country
, the lands of the Louisiana Territory
, and did so until well after 1853 when the newfangled railways reached the Missouri River at Kanesville, Iowa (one Emigrant Trail
s destination of the town's flatboats), the far west
and the Oregon Country
for the town astride the shortest, if not the easiest, land route across the great barrier to east-west traffic presented by the Allegheny Mountains
.
The first Europeans arrived in the 1710s as traders. Michael Bezallion was the first to describe the forks of the Ohio in a manuscript in 1717, and later that year European traders established posts and settlements in the area.
Europeans first began to settle in the region in 1748, when the first Ohio Company
, an English land speculation company, won a grant of 200000 acres (809.4 km²) in the upper Ohio Valley. From a post at present-day Cumberland, Maryland
, the company began to construct an 80 miles (128.7 km) wagon road to the Monongahela River
chief named Nemacolin and a party of settlers headed by Capt. Michael Cresap
to begin widening the track into a road following mostly the same route as an ancient Indian trail
and flats at Redstone Creek, the earliest point
and shortest distance the choices a wagon road descent could follow (later in the war, fortified as Fort Burd, now Brownsville
) was one of several possible destinations.
In the 1740s the government purchased (ca. 1744) trans-Allegheny lands from Native American tribes, giving England a competing claim on the lands of the Ohio Basin. Around 1748 the Ohio Company
was formed and began explorations and planning of ways and means of exploiting the rights they'd purchased. In 1750, the company hired Chief Nemacolin, a Delaware Indian
, and a Virginia farmer and owner of a land grant in West Virginia.
Canoe
A canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...
and river boat-navigable brook
Brook
-Places:*In the United Kingdom:**Brook, New Forest, Hampshire**Brook, Test Valley, Hampshire**Brook, Isle of Wight**Brook, Kent**Brook, Surrey**Brook, Carmarthenshire*In the United States:**Brook, Indiana-People:...
-sized tributary
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
stream of the Monongahela River
Monongahela River
The Monongahela River is a river on the Allegheny Plateau in north-central West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania in the United States...
in Fayette County, Pennsylvania
Fayette County, Pennsylvania
Fayette County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the2010 census, the population was 136,606. The county is part of the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area....
. The creek is 28.4 miles (45.7 km) long, running from headwaters on Chestnut Ridge north through the city of Uniontown
Uniontown, Pennsylvania
Uniontown is a city in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh and part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. Population in 1900, 7,344; in 1910, 13,344; in 1920, 15,692; and in 1940, 21,819. The population was 10,372 at the 2010 census...
and reaching the Monongahela at Brownsville
Brownsville, Pennsylvania
Brownsville is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, officially founded in 1785 located 35 miles south of Pittsburgh along the Monongahela River...
. Located in a 1/4-mile-wide valley with low streambanks, the site was ideal for ship building in a region geologically most often characterized by steep-plunging relatively inaccessible banks — wide enough to launch and float several large boats, and indeed steamboats after 1811, and slow-moving enough to provide good docks and parking places while craft were outfitting.
Brownsville, at the mouth of Redstone Creek, was a dynamic industrial town that eclipsed Pittsburgh in size before the 1850s. It was the center for a dynamic watercraft
Watercraft
A watercraft is a vessel or craft designed to move across or through water. The name is derived from the term "craft" which was used to describe all types of water going vessels...
building industry, including the first paddlewheel steamboat
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
s on the vast network of inland rivers to reach New Orleans and, later, the upper navigable part of the Missouri
Missouri River
The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
. Flatboat construction is documented at the site from 1782, and the Braddock Expedition
Braddock expedition
The Braddock expedition, also called Braddock's campaign or, more commonly, Braddock's Defeat, was a failed British military expedition which attempted to capture the French Fort Duquesne in the summer of 1755 during the French and Indian War. It was defeated at the Battle of the Monongahela on...
established a supply base (blockhouse
Blockhouse
In military science, a blockhouse is a small, isolated fort in the form of a single building. It serves as a defensive strong point against any enemy that does not possess siege equipment or, in modern times, artillery...
) on the stream's south bank which the French destroyed after first taking Fort Necessity in 1754. The creek hosting this important activity played a critical role in the transshipment of goods and settlers in the Mississippi Basin, as it enabled the other industries in and around Brownsville to outfit and equip the settlers headed west.
Nestled in the foothills on the west side of the mountains, Brownsville was a gateway funneling settlers to the Ohio Country
Ohio Country
The Ohio Country was the name used in the 18th century for the regions of North America west of the Appalachian Mountains and in the region of the upper Ohio River south of Lake Erie...
, the lands of the Louisiana Territory
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America of of France's claim to the territory of Louisiana in 1803. The U.S...
, and did so until well after 1853 when the newfangled railways reached the Missouri River at Kanesville, Iowa (one Emigrant Trail
Emigrant Trail
The Emigrant Trails were the northern networks of overland wagon trails throughout the American West, used by emigrants from the eastern United States to settle lands west of the Interior Plains during the overland migrations of the mid-19th century...
s destination of the town's flatboats), the far west
Far West
Far West most frequently refers to the American Old West.Far West may also refer to:* "Far West", a common colloquial term for a distinct area of the far Western United States* Far West, Missouri...
and the Oregon Country
Oregon Country
The Oregon Country was a predominantly American term referring to a disputed ownership region of the Pacific Northwest of North America. The region was occupied by British and French Canadian fur traders from before 1810, and American settlers from the mid-1830s, with its coastal areas north from...
for the town astride the shortest, if not the easiest, land route across the great barrier to east-west traffic presented by the Allegheny Mountains
Allegheny Mountains
The Allegheny Mountain Range , also spelled Alleghany, Allegany and, informally, the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the eastern United States and Canada...
.
History
Europeans first began to settle in the region in 1748, when the first Ohio Company
Ohio Company
The Ohio Company, formally known as the Ohio Company of Virginia, was a land speculation company organized for the settlement by Virginians of the Ohio Country and to trade with the Indians there...
, an English land speculation company, won a grant of 200000 acres (809.4 km²) in the upper Ohio Valley. From a post at present-day Cumberland, Maryland
Cumberland, Maryland
Cumberland is a city in the far western, Appalachian portion of Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Allegany County, and the primary city of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2010 census, the city had a population of 20,859, and the metropolitan area had a...
, the company began to construct an 80 miles (128.7 km) wagon road to the Monongahela River
Lenape
The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...
chief named Nemacolin and a party of settlers headed by Capt. Michael Cresap
Michael Cresap
Michael Cresap was a frontiersman born in Maryland. He was the son of the pioneer Thomas Cresap. He spent part of his adult years in the Ohio Country as a trader and land developer. He led several raids against Indians whom he believed were hostile to white settlement. Logan of the Mingo Indians...
to begin widening the track into a road following mostly the same route as an ancient Indian trail
Ford (crossing)
A ford is a shallow place with good footing where a river or stream may be crossed by wading or in a vehicle. A ford is mostly a natural phenomenon, in contrast to a low water crossing, which is an artificial bridge that allows crossing a river or stream when water is low.The names of many towns...
and flats at Redstone Creek, the earliest point
Redstone Old Fort
Redstone Old Fort or Redstone Fort or Fort Burd on The Nemacolin Trail was the name of the French and Indian War era wooden fort built in 1759 by Pennsylvania Militia Colonel James Burd to guard the ancient Indian trail's river ford on a mound overlooking the eastern shore of the Monongahela River...
and shortest distance the choices a wagon road descent could follow (later in the war, fortified as Fort Burd, now Brownsville
Brownsville, Pennsylvania
Brownsville is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, officially founded in 1785 located 35 miles south of Pittsburgh along the Monongahela River...
) was one of several possible destinations.
In the 1740s the government purchased (ca. 1744) trans-Allegheny lands from Native American tribes, giving England a competing claim on the lands of the Ohio Basin. Around 1748 the Ohio Company
Ohio Company
The Ohio Company, formally known as the Ohio Company of Virginia, was a land speculation company organized for the settlement by Virginians of the Ohio Country and to trade with the Indians there...
was formed and began explorations and planning of ways and means of exploiting the rights they'd purchased. In 1750, the company hired Chief Nemacolin, a Delaware Indian
Lenape
The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...
, and a Virginia farmer and owner of a land grant in West Virginia.