Braddock is a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

located in the eastern suburbs of

Pittsburgh 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 ...

Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Allegheny County () is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in Southwestern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,250,578, making it the state's second-most populous county, following Philadelphia Co ...

. It is upstream from the mouth of the

Monongahela River The Monongahela River ( , )—often referred to locally as the Mon ()—is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 15, 2011 river on the Allegheny Plateau in North Cen ...

. The population was 1,721 as of the 2020 census. The borough is represented by the

Pennsylvania State Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered ev ...

's 45th district, the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

' 34th district, and in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

History

Braddock is named for General

Edward Braddock Major-General Edward Braddock (January 1695 – 13 July 1755) was a British officer and commander-in-chief for the Thirteen Colonies during the start of the French and Indian War (1754–1763), the North American front of what is known in Europe ...

(1695–1755), commander of American colonial forces at the start of the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...

. The Braddock Expedition to capture

Fort Duquesne Fort Duquesne (, ; originally called ''Fort Du Quesne'') was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. It was later taken over by the British, and later the Americans, and developed a ...

(modern day

) from the French led to the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

general's own fatal wounding and a sound defeat of his troops after crossing the

on July 9, 1755. This battle, now called the

Battle of the Monongahela The Battle of the Monongahela (also known as the Battle of Braddock's Field and the Battle of the Wilderness) took place on 9 July 1755, at the beginning of the French and Indian War, at Braddock's Field in what is now Braddock, Pennsylvania, e ...

, was a key event at the beginning of the

. The area surrounding

Braddock's Field Braddock's Field is a historic battlefield on the banks of the Monongahela River, at Braddock, Pennsylvania, near the junction of Turtle Creek, about nine miles southeast of the "Forks of the Ohio" in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Here, in 1755, was ...

was originally inhabited by the

Lenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...

, ruled by

Queen Alliquippa Queen Alliquippa or Queen Aliquippa (died December 23, 1754) was a leader of the Seneca tribe of American Indians during the early part of the 18th century. Biography Little is known about Queen Aliquippa's early life. Her date of birth has been ...

. In 1742,

John Fraser John Fraser may refer to: Politics *John Simon Frederick Fraser (1765–1803), commanded the Fraser Fencibles in Ireland and was (M.P.) for Inverness-shire *John James Fraser (1829–1896), 5th Premier of the Canadian province of New Brunswick, 18 ...

and his family established the area at the mouth of Turtle Creek as the first permanent English settlement west of the

Allegheny Mountains The Allegheny Mountain Range (; also spelled Alleghany or Allegany), informally the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada and posed a significant barrier to land travel in less devel ...

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

visited the area in 1753-1754. It was the site of Braddock's Defeat on July 9, 1755. Braddock's first industrial facility, a barrel plant, opened in 1850. The borough was incorporated on June 8, 1867. The town's industrial economy began in 1873, when

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...

built the

Edgar Thomson Steel Works The Edgar Thomson Steel Works is a steel mill in the Pittsburgh area communities of Braddock and North Braddock, Pennsylvania, United States. It has been active since 1875. It is currently owned by U.S. Steel and is known as Mon Valley Works – E ...

on the historic site of Braddock's Field in what is now

North Braddock, Pennsylvania North Braddock is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. North Braddock was organized from a part of Braddock Township in 1897. The borough prides itself in being the "Birth Place of Steel" as the home of Andrew Carnegie's ...

. This was one of the first American steel mills which used the

Bessemer process The Bessemer process was the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass production of steel from molten pig iron before the development of the open hearth furnace. The key principle is steelmaking, removal of impurities from the iron by ox ...

. As of 2010, it continues operation as a part of the

United States Steel Corporation United States Steel Corporation, more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an American integrated steel producer headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with production operations primarily in the United States of America and in several countries ...

. This era of the town's history is depicted in Thomas Bell's novel ''

Out of This Furnace ''Out of This Furnace'' is a historical novel and the best-known work of the American writer Thomas Bell. It was first published in 1941 by Little, Brown and Company. Description The novel is set in Braddock, Pennsylvania, a steel town just ...

''. Braddock is also the location of the first of Andrew Carnegie's 1,679 (some sources list 1,689)

public libraries A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also civil servants. There are five fundamenta ...

in the US, designed by

William Halsey Wood William Halsey Wood (April 24, 1855 – March 13, 1897) was an American architect. Early life Wood was the youngest of four sons born to Daniel Halsey Wood and Hannah Lippincott Wood. Shortly after his birth in 1855, the family relocated from ...

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Braddock Library included a tunnel entrance for Carnegie's millworkers to enter a bathhouse in the basement to clean up before entering the facilities (which originally included billiard tables). An addition in 1893, by Longfellow, Alden and Harlow (Boston & Pittsburgh, successors to

Henry Hobson Richardson Henry Hobson Richardson, FAIA (September 29, 1838 – April 27, 1886) was an American architect, best known for his work in a style that became known as Richardsonian Romanesque. Along with Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, Richardson is one ...

), added a swimming pool, indoor basketball court, and 964-seat music hall that included a Votey pipe organ. The building was rescued from demolition in 1978 by the Braddock's Field Historical Society, and is still in use as a public library. The bathhouse has recently been converted to a pottery studio; the music hall is currently under restoration. During the early 1900s many immigrants settled in Braddock, primarily from Croatia, Slovenia, and Hungary. Braddock lost its importance with the collapse of the steel industry in the United States in the 1970s and 1980s. This coincided with the crack cocaine epidemic of the early 1980s, and the combination of the two woes nearly destroyed the community. In 1988, Braddock was designated a financially distressed municipality. The entire water distribution system was rebuilt in 1990-1991 at a cost of $4.7 million, resulting in a fine system where only 5% of piped water is deemed "unaccounted-for.". From its peak in the 1920s, Braddock has since lost 90% of its population.

John Fetterman John Karl Fetterman (born August 15, 1969) is an American politician who is the United States senator-elect from Pennsylvania. A member of the Democratic Party, he has also served as the 34th lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania since 2019. Fet ...

, mayor of Braddock from 2006 until his 2019 inauguration as

Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania The lieutenant governor is a constitutional officer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The lieutenant governor is elected for a four-year term in the same year as the governor. Each party picks a candidate for lieutenant governor independently o ...

, launched a campaign to attract new residents to the area from the artistic and creative communities. He also initiated various revitalization efforts, including the nonprofit organization Braddock Redux. Fetterman appeared in various media to discuss his vision of Braddock's needs, including

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

, ''

The Colbert Report ''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December 18, 2014, for 1,447 episodes. The show focuse ...

'' on Comedy Central,

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...

CNBC CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Business Channel) is an American basic cable business news channel. It provides business news programming on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk sho ...

, and ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. In the UK, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' and the BBC have reported on him. He has also had his own episode on

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...

's original series '' A Day in the Life''. Since 1974, Braddock resident

Tony Buba Anthony E. "Tony" Buba (born October 20, 1943) is an American filmmaker. He is primarily known for his documentaries about his hometown Braddock, Pennsylvania and the nearby Pittsburgh. Life Tony Buba was born in 1943 as first child of Edward Bu ...

has made many films. One of his earlier films is ''Justice League'' centering on the borough and its

industrial decline Deindustrialization is a process of social and economic change caused by the removal or reduction of industrial capacity or activity in a country or region, especially of heavy industry or manufacturing industry. There are different interpre ...

, including ''Struggles in Steel.'' In September 2010, the IFC and Sundance television channels showed the film ''Ready to Work: Portraits of Braddock'', produced by the Levi Strauss corporation. This film interviews many of the local residents and shows their efforts to revitalize the town.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the borough has a total area of , of which is land and (13.85%) of which is water. Its average elevation is above sea level.

Government and politics

Surrounding and adjacent neighborhoods

Braddock has two land borders, with

North Braddock North Braddock is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. North Braddock was organized from a part of Braddock Township in 1897. The borough prides itself in being the "Birth Place of Steel" as the home of Andrew Carnegie's ...

from the north to the southeast, and Rankin to the northwest. Across the

to the south, Braddock is adjacent to

Whitaker Whitaker (also Whittaker) is a surname of English and Scottish origin, meaning the white acre, also spelled "Whittaker" and " Whitacre." Notable people with the surname include: People with the name * The Whitaker iron family - a family important ...

and

West Mifflin West Mifflin is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, located southeast of downtown Pittsburgh. The population was 20,313 at the 2010 census. It is named after Thomas Mifflin, 1st Governor of Pennsylvania, signer of the Un ...

Demographics

Condemned houses in Braddock, Pennsylvania

2020 census

''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.'' According to the

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is a demographics survey program conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the decennial census, such as ancestry, citizenship, educati ...

in 2020, Braddock has an employment rate of 34.2%, a median household income of $23,050, 3.7% of the population has no health care coverage, with 10.7% of the population possessing a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

or higher.

Education

Woodland Hills School District is the local school district.

In popular culture

* A&P's first

supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earli ...

opened in Braddock in 1936. *

George A. Romero George Andrew Romero (; February 4, 1940 – July 16, 2017) was an American-Canadian filmmaker, writer, editor and actor. His ''Night of the Living Dead'' series of films about an imagined zombie apocalypse began with the 1968 film of the ...

's 1978 horror film ''

Martin Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austr ...

'' takes place in Braddock and was largely filmed there. *Parts of the 1996 TV film ''

The Christmas Tree A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen pinophyta, conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, or an artificial tree of similar appearance, associated with the celebration of Christmas. The custom was further developed in earl ...

'', Sally Field's TV directorial debut, were shot in the Braddock Carnegie Library. * Levi Strauss & Co., the maker of Levi's jeans, chose the borough for its "youth" commercial campaign, which was televised in late 2010 and 2011. *The 2010 film ''

One for the Money "One for the Money" is an English-language children's rhyme. Children have used it as early as the 1820s to count before starting a race or other activity. The full rhyme reads as: One for the money, Two for the show; Three to make ready, And f ...

'' used the shuttered

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) is a $23billion integrated global nonprofit health enterprise that has 92,000 employees, 40 hospitals with more than 8,000 licensed beds, 800 clinical locations including outpatient sites and do ...

facility in Braddock as the "Trenton Police Headquarters". * Thomas Bell's historical novel ''

'' is set in Braddock during the 1890s to the 1930s. *''

Out of the Furnace ''Out of the Furnace'' is a 2013 American crime drama film directed by Scott Cooper, from a screenplay written by Cooper and Brad Ingelsby. Produced by Ridley Scott and Leonardo DiCaprio, the film stars Christian Bale, Casey Affleck, Woody ...

'', a film starring

Christian Bale Christian Charles Philip Bale (born 30 January 1974) is an English actor. Known for his versatility and physical transformations for his roles, he has been a leading man in films of several genres. He has received various accolades, including ...

released in 2013, was shot in Braddock. *Helen Campbell's novel '' Turnip Blues'', detailing the lives of Depression-era immigrants, is set in Braddock. * Episode 1 of '' OtherLife'' is set there. * Episode 1 of the TV series '' Mindhunter'' is set in Braddock.

Notable people

* Thomas Bell – novelist; set ''

'' in Braddock *

– filmmaker *

John Clayton John Clayton may refer to: Arts and entertainment Writing *John Clayton (architect) (died 1861), English architect and writer *John Bell Clayton and Martha Clayton, John Bell Clayton (c. 1907–1955), American writer *John Clayton (sportswriter) ( ...

– sportswriter and NFL analyst * Henry Clay Drexler – recipient of the

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps' second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is eq ...

and

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

* Matthew A. Dunn – former member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

– former mayor of Braddock, candidate for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, and United States Senator-elect *

Gisele Barreto Fetterman Gisele Barreto Fetterman (née Barreto Almeida; born February 27, 1982) is a Brazilian-born American activist, philanthropist and nonprofit executive. She is a founder of the non-profit Freestore 15104 and a co-founder of the non-profits For ...

– Second Lady of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

LaToya Ruby Frazier LaToya Ruby Frazier (born 1982) is an American artist and professor of photography at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. From Braddock, Pennsylvania, Frazier began photographing her family and hometown at the age of 16, revising the socia ...

– artist; 2015 MacArthur Fellow * James Samuel Gallagher – former member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

Joseph M. Gaydos Joseph Matthew Gaydos (July 3, 1926 – February 7, 2015) was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Gaydos was the first Slovak American to serve in the United States Congress. Early life and education Gayd ...

– former member of the United States House of Representatives *

Vernon Irvin Vernon L Irvin (born near Pittsburgh) currently works as EVP and Chief Revenue Officer at Everbridge one of the fastest growing publicly traded Saas companies in the world. Irvin was formerly President of the Government, Education, Medium & Small B ...

– Chief Marketing Officer for

XM Satellite Radio XM Satellite Radio (XM) was one of the three satellite radio (SDARS) and online radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Holdings. It provided pay-for-service radio, analogous to subscription cable television. Its s ...

* Captain Bill Jones – first superintendent of the Edgar Thompson Works under

* Melville Kelly – former member of the United States House of Representatives; established the ''Braddock Leader'' newspaper *

Billy Knight William R. Knight (born June 9, 1952) is an American former professional basketball player and executive. Playing with the Indiana Pacers in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and later the National Basketball Association (NBA), he w ...

– former Pittsburgh Panther and

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

player and executive *

Sean Lomax Sean Alan Lomax (born 1960) is an American professional whistler. A Three-time winner at the International Whistlers Convention, Lomax quit his day job in 2005 to tour in Cirque du Soleil's '' Corteo''. Life and career Lomax grew up in Braddoc ...

– professional whistler * John Maisto – former ambassador to

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

, and the

Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 April ...

* Tom Major-Ball - music hall performer and father of British Prime Minister

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament ...

John Major, ''The Autobiography'', HarperCollins (1999), pp. 2-3. *

Joseph A. McDonald Joseph A. McDonald (December 6, 1866 – July 15, 1930) was a significant figure in the development of the Northeastern U.S. steel industry. As Superintendent (construction), superintendent of the Ohio Works of the Carnegie Steel Company, in Yo ...

–

steel industry Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant t ...

executive * Art Pallan – radio celebrity *

George Peppard George Peppard (; October 1, 1928 – May 8, 1994) was an American actor. He is best remembered for his role as struggling writer Paul Varjak in the 1961 film '' Breakfast at Tiffany's'', and for playing commando leader Col. John "Hannibal ...

– lived and worked in Braddock as a radio announcer in his early career * James L. Quinn – former member of the United States House of Representatives * Frank S. Scott – first enlisted member of the

United States armed forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

to lose his life in an aircraft accident *

Lauren Tewes Cynthia Lauren Tewes () is an American actress. She played Julie McCoy on the television drama anthology series ''The Love Boat'', which originally aired on ABC from 1977 to 1986. Early years Tewes was born in Braddock, Pennsylvania, of Germ ...

– actress best known for playing Cruise Director Julie McCoy on ''

The Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy/drama television series that aired on ABC from 1977 to 1986; in addition, four three-hour specials aired in 1986, 1987, and 1990. The series was set on the luxury passenger cruise ship MS ''Pac ...

References

External links

2005 ''Pittsburgh City Paper'' feature story about Braddock including history, interviews with residents and a controversial highway project''Pittsburgh City Paper'' feature story about Braddock's urban decay, and the recent influx of artists drawn to the city by mayor John Fetterman
* ttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jul/15/us-mayor-postcode-tattoo Article in the UK's ''Guardian'' newspaper about mayor John Fettermanbr>The Battle of the Monongahela
which took place in Braddock in 1755 {{authority control 1867 establishments in Pennsylvania Boroughs in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Company towns in Pennsylvania Pennsylvania populated places on the Monongahela River Pittsburgh metropolitan area Populated places established in 1742