Thanks to octogenarian John Poellot and his precocious nephew Jimmy Patton, we have a detailed knowledge of Bridgeville in 1859 – a dozen houses, a grist mill, three farms, a doctor’s office, a hotel, Hugh Morgan’s store, and one hundred residents. By 1901, when the community was incorporated as a Borough, the area between the two crossings of Chartiers Creek had been transformed into a prosperous town boasting well over two thousand inhabitants. Recently, compliments of “Newspapers.com”, we have become aware of a tool that helps us map this remarkable transformation – the “Mercantile Appraiser’s List”, an annual tabulation of…

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In honor of Bridgeville’s quasquicentennial (125th) anniversary next year it is appropriate for us to review our compilation of local history and fill in some gaps. We have frequently mentioned various members of the Murray family and their significant contribution to our heritage but never focused a column on them; this week we will make up for that omission.  James Gailey Murray grew up on a farm in the early eighteenth century, then entered the mercantile trade in Allegheny City, on Pittsburgh’s North Shore. Based on that experience he opened a general store in Sodom (Clifton) which he operated successfully….

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As I threatened last week, this column is a report on our visit to Chautauqua this summer. In addition to “settling in” to our new summer house inside the Institution, we were treated to a wonderful variety of experiences – high level lectures, concerts, classes, and memorable social occasions – all against a backdrop of beautiful weather. Coupled with the environment of the Institution grounds, it made one think of Camelot. Each week during “the season”, the Institution presents a series of lectures on specific themes, featuring prominent expert speakers in the 4,400 seat Amphitheater. The “Amp” is a covered…

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Forty-five years ago our family acquired a summer cottage at Conneaut Lake; my recollections of the first weekend we spent there are still extremely strong. Each child had his/her own bedroom and access to a bathroom with a tub; Nan and I slept in the kitchen but had our own (shower-equipped) bathroom. Our first summer was spent “settling in” and equipping the cottage with our specific needs. The cottage served us well for three and a half decades and is the scene of many happy memories. This month our extended family is repeating this experience, twenty-first century style, at Chautauqua….

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Once again, I have decided to pontificate on something I really don’t understand. The recent chaos associated with the Administration’s threats and ultimate dramatic expansion of our tariffs has forced me to do some reading on three semi-related topics – the Federal deficit, our trade balance deficit, and tariffs. I think it is appropriate for me to record several relevant bits of information that I have obtained.  One analyst chose to describe our current situation as a major inflection point in our perception of the “World Order”. He subdivided the period since the end of World War II into two…

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Each year I eagerly look forward to the middle of July and the presentation of programs related to the Whiskey Rebellion at our local historical venues. In the past I have greatly enjoyed events in Washington, Pa.; at the Oliver Miller Homestead; and at Woodville. This year’s program at Woodville featured a debate on the Rebellion involving three of my favorite persons – Rob Windhorst, Clay Kilgore, and Brady Crytzer. Brady was selected to be the moderator for the debate, with Rob representing the perspective of the Federal government and Clay that of the local farmers involved in the protest….

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The John B. Higbee Glass Company is a small, but important part of Bridgeville’s heritage. Some of the very first artifacts collected by the Bridgeville Area Historical Society two decades ago were pieces of Higbee tableware. As the years passed our collection grew slowly. Three years ago, in an effort to generate an interest in Higbee Glass, I published a column reporting the initiation of the J. B. Higbee International Glass Collectors Association (JBHIGCA) and drafted all the members of my extended family into the association. My ineffectiveness exploiting social media has been confirmed by the underwhelming response to this…

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Ninety and four! By the time you are reading this, Good Lord willing and the creeks don’t rise, I will be celebrating the ninety-fourth anniversary of my birth, an event I certainly never expected to occur. In 1931 the life expectancy for a male baby was sixty-seven years. As I was growing up, I became comfortable with the concept that one’s ordained life span was “three score and ten”. Consequently, the last twenty-four years have been an unanticipated bonus for me. Whenever I ponder why I have been gifted with this longevity, I vacillate back and forth between two extremes…

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In the past nine years I have gradually become comfortable with the solitary life of a widower, a pleasant life consisting of regular routines interrupted occasionally by minor adventures – lunch with friends, dinner at Beth’s with her family, Historical Society programs, etc. Late last month I was blessed with a visit by my daughter Sara, her husband Jim, and their son Ian. What a difference! Suddenly my house was full of activity and all manner of interesting things were occurring. Every day was an adventure.   On Sunday we went to the Benedum Theater to see the Pittsburgh Civic Light…

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For its final presentation of its 2024/2025 program series the Bridgeville Area Historical Society invited Tom McMillan to discuss “The Year That Made America: From Rebellion to Independence, 1775-1776”, which just happens to be the title of a book he recently published. Mr. McMillan is an old friend of the Historical Society. A few years ago he visited the History Center seeking information on his family (his mother was a Murray) and was rewarded by learning that his grandmother (daughter of William Webb Murray) is actually pictured in our book Bridgeville. Mr. McMillan recently retired after an impressive career as a sports…

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