Elizabeth

Elizabeth

Elizabeth

Elizabeth, a borough in Allegheny County, is located about 15 miles south of the city of Pittsburgh on the eastern bank of the Monongahela River.  It borders Forward Township to the south and south east, and across the river, West Elizabeth and Jefferson Hills.

The borough was originally formed as a town in 1787 by Samuel Mackay and Colonel Stehpen Bayard, whose wife, Elizabeth, is the namesake of the area.  This Pittsburgh suburb was one of the first seven townships organized by Allegheny County, along with Moon, St. Clair, Mifflin, Versailles, Plum and Pitt.  The original area was the entire triangle of land between the Monongahela and Youghiogheny Rivers.  This included parts of Forward, Lincoln, Port Vue, Liberty, Glassport and Mckeesport. In 1834, a charter was issued incorporating the toen of Elizabeth into a borough.  1869 saw Forward and Lincoln townships separated from the borough.

The keelboat, used for the first legs of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, was built in Elizabeth in 1803… a claim that is disputed by the city of Pittsburgh.

The 1800s saw industries such as glass and safe making, steamboat and ship building move into the area.  There were also 2 coal inclines in 1876, the O’Neil and Co. and the Lobb’s Run inclines.

Elizabeth was crucial to America’s defense during the Cold War as it was the location of the Nike anti-aircraft missile site from 1956 to 1963.

The Oldest Cemetery, or “The Old Graveyard, is located on Bayard street.  It’s first burial was recorded in 1774 and it contains the grave site of Elizabeht Mackay Bayard, the town’s namesake.

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