Bigham House located at 655 Pennridge Road in

Chatham Village Chatham Village is a community within the larger Mount Washington neighborhood of the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and an internationally acclaimed model of community design. It is roughly bounded by Virginia Avenue, Bigham Street, Woodruff S ...

, in the

Mount Washington Mount Washington is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at and the most topographically prominent mountain east of the Mississippi River. The mountain is notorious for its erratic weather. On the afternoon of April 12, 1934, ...

neighborhood of

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, was built in 1849. This was the former house of

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

lawyer

Thomas James Bigham Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

(1810-1884), and was "purportedly a station on the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...

." These days, this

Classical Revival Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

house is part of

and is used as a community clubhouse known as Chatham Hall.

is on the National Register of Historic Places and is a National Landmark District, and this house was individually added to the

List of Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmarks Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation (PHLF) Historic Landmark plaque program was begun in 1968 in order to identify architecturally significant structures as well as significant pieces of Pittsburgh's local heritage throughout Allegheny Cou ...

in 1990. Bigham, known as "the Sage of Mt. Washington," served for many years as representative and senator in the

Pennsylvania legislature The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times (1682–1776), the legislature was known as the Pennsylvani ...

. Also a newspaperman, he headed for a time the ''

Commercial Journal __NOTOC__ The ''Commercial Journal'' was a mid-19th century newspaper in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Beginnings The paper was founded as the ''Spirit of the Age'' by J. Heron Foster, J. McMillin and J. B. Kennedy on 19 April 1843, w ...

'' and helped found the ''

Pittsburgh Commercial The ''Pittsburgh Commercial'' was a morning daily newspaper published from 7 September 1863 to 14 February 1877 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was outspokenly Republican in its political commentary. Its succession of chief editors included Thom ...

''.

References

{{Pittsburgh Houses in Pittsburgh