Natrona is an
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
in
Harrison Township,
Allegheny County in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
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, ...
.
It is located in
western Pennsylvania
Western Pennsylvania is a region in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, covering the western third of the state. Pittsburgh is the region's principal city, with a metropolitan area population of about 2.4 million people, and serves as its economic ...
within the
Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area, approximately northeast of
Downtown
''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...
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 ...
. Natrona is situated along the
Allegheny River
The Allegheny River ( ) is a long headwater stream of the Ohio River in western Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York. The Allegheny River runs from its headwaters just below the middle of Pennsylvania's northern border northwesterly into ...
at
Lock and Dam Four, Pools Three and Four between
Brackenridge,
Natrona Heights,
Karns,
Allegheny Township, and
Lower Burrell.
History
The original
village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...
of Natrona – then known as East Tarentum – was built as a
company town
A company town is a place where practically all stores and housing are owned by the one company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schools, markets and re ...
by the
Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Company
Arkema S.A. is a publicly listed, multi-national manufacturer of specialty materials, headquartered in Colombes, near Paris, France. It has three specialty materials segments (or divisions); adhesives, advanced materials and coatings. A furthe ...
in the 1850s. The company began with two
salt well
A salt well (or brine well) is used to mine salt from caverns or deposits. Water is used as a solution to dissolve the salt or halite deposits so that they can be extracted by pipe to an evaporation process, which results in a brine or dry produc ...
s in 1850, and continued operations until 1959. By 1876, the company, which owned the
cryolite
Cryolite ( Na3 Al F6, sodium hexafluoroaluminate) is an uncommon mineral identified with the once-large deposit at Ivittuut on the west coast of Greenland, mined commercially until 1987.
History
Cryolite was first described in 1798 by Danish vete ...
deposits of Greenland, brought the crude mineral to its works in Natrona, where the mineral was pulverized, sifted, heated, reacted with
calcium carbonate and leached to produce pure carbonate of soda (
sodium carbonate
Sodium carbonate, , (also known as washing soda, soda ash and soda crystals) is the inorganic compound with the formula Na2CO3 and its various hydrates. All forms are white, odourless, water-soluble salts that yield moderately alkaline solutions ...
) and aluminate of soda (
sodium aluminate
Sodium aluminate is an inorganic chemical that is used as an effective source of aluminium hydroxide for many industrial and technical applications. Pure sodium aluminate (anhydrous) is a white crystalline solid having a formula variously given as ...
).
Canal
The Pennsylvania Canal once passed through Natrona and nearby communities in the early- to mid-19th century.
Railroads
The
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
had a
train station
A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing suc ...
in Natrona at Vine and Federal streets; its rail line began running through the town in the mid-19th century.
Later, the Pennsylvania Railroad merged with rival
New York Central Railroad
The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midw ...
in 1968 to form the
Penn Central Transportation Company
The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania, New York Central and th ...
. The
Interstate Commerce Commission
The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later trucking) to ensure fair rates, to eliminat ...
required that the ailing
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to December 31, 1968. Founded by the merger of ...
be added in 1969. The
Consolidated Rail Corporation
Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busi ...
replaced the Penn Central Transportation Company and operated freight service through Natrona from 1976 until 1999 when it was divided between two companies. The
Norfolk Southern Railway
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31 ...
then operated trains through the town.
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
has detoured passenger service through Natrona on occasion; its nearest station is
Penn Station Pennsylvania Station is a name applied by the Pennsylvania Railroad to several of its grand passenger terminals.
Pennsylvania Station or Penn Station may also refer to
Current train stations
* Baltimore Penn Station
* Pennsylvania Station (Cinc ...
in
Downtown Pittsburgh
Downtown Pittsburgh, colloquially referred to as the Golden Triangle, and officially the Central Business District, is the urban downtown center of Pittsburgh. It is located at the confluence of the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River whose ...
.
The
West Penn Railways provided electric street car service to Natrona from 1906 until 1937.
Local factories, beginning with the Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Company's Natrona Works, also operated trains through Natrona. As of 2011,
Allegheny Technologies
ATI Inc. (previously Allegheny Technologies Incorporated) is an American producer of specialty materials, the company is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.
ATI produces titanium and titanium alloys, nickel-based alloys and superalloys, grain-or ...
used a track to transport materials between departments at its Allegheny Ludlum
Brackenridge Works
Brackenridge Works is a specialty steel mill facility owned by Allegheny Technologies and operated by its Flat-Rolled Products segment in the Pittsburgh suburbs of Natrona, Pennsylvania in the United States
The United States of Americ ...
.
Mining
The Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Company operated its Natrona No. 1 and Natrona No. 2
bituminous coal
Bituminous coal, or black coal, is a type of coal containing a tar-like substance called bitumen or asphalt. Its coloration can be black or sometimes dark brown; often there are well-defined bands of bright and dull material within the seams. It ...
mines at Natrona.
Geography
Natrona is situated on an
alluvial
Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluv ...
floodplain
A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...
along the
Allegheny River
The Allegheny River ( ) is a long headwater stream of the Ohio River in western Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York. The Allegheny River runs from its headwaters just below the middle of Pennsylvania's northern border northwesterly into ...
.
Education
The
community
A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...
is located within the
Highlands School District
The Highlands School District is a community public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade in Highlands, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. In the 2016–17 school year, Highlands was tied for ...
.
Highlands High School and Highlands Middle School are located in Natrona Heights.
Air pollution
Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different types ...
levels (particularly
chromium
Chromium is a chemical element with the symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in group 6. It is a steely-grey, lustrous, hard, and brittle transition metal.
Chromium metal is valued for its high corrosion resistance and hardne ...
) measured in Natrona area schools are among the worst in the United States.
Usage in popular culture
''Knightriders''
The film ''
Knightriders
''Knightriders'' is a 1981 American drama film written and directed by George A. Romero and starring Ed Harris, Gary Lahti, Tom Savini, Amy Ingersoll, Patricia Tallman, and Christine Forrest. It was filmed entirely on location in the Pittsbu ...
'' (
1981
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
) by
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 ...
starring
Ed Harris
Edward Allen Harris (born November 28, 1950) is an American actor and filmmaker. His performances in ''Apollo 13'' (1995), ''The Truman Show'' (1998), ''Pollock'' (2000), and '' The Hours'' (2002) earned him critical acclaim and Academy Award n ...
used scenes shot on Garfield Street in Natrona (1980) for the movie. Most of the film was shot in nearby
Fawn Township.
''Striking Distance''
![Allegheny River Lock and Dam No](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Allegheny_River_Lock_and_Dam_No.4.jpg)
Also, the film ''
Striking Distance'' (
1993) starring
Bruce Willis
Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero a ...
and
Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker (born March 25, 1965) is an American actress and television producer. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including six Golden Globe Awards and two Primetime Emmy Awards. ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 1 ...
uses a sequence where boats jump over the dam at Natrona; the Tarentum Bridge can be seen just above the dam over
Jacks Island, although the structure was added there later through editing. The bridge is officially named the ''
George D. Stuart Bridge'' (part of
Pennsylvania Route 366
Pennsylvania Route 366 (PA 366) is a state highway located in Allegheny and Westmoreland Counties in Pennsylvania. The western terminus is at PA 28 in Tarentum. The eastern terminus is at PA 66 in Murrysville. The last 1/2 mile of the Red ...
) and actually located about
downstream
Downstream may refer to:
* Downstream (bioprocess)
* Downstream (manufacturing)
* Downstream (networking)
* Downstream (software development)
* Downstream (petroleum industry)
* Upstream and downstream (DNA), determining relative positions on DNA ...
spanning the river between
Tarentum Tarentum may refer to:
* Taranto, Apulia, Italy, on the site of the ancient Roman city of Tarentum (formerly the Greek colony of Taras)
**See also History of Taranto
* Tarentum (Campus Martius), also Terentum, an area in or on the edge of the Camp ...
and
New Kensington
New Kensington, known locally as New Ken, is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. It is situated along the Allegheny River, northeast of Pittsburgh. The population was 12,170 at the 2010 census.
History
Like much of Westmoreland Cou ...
.
Notable people
*
Leon Czolgosz
Leon Frank Czolgosz ( , ; May 5, 1873 – October 29, 1901) was an American laborer and anarchist who assassinated President William McKinley on September 6, 1901, in Buffalo, New York. The president died on September 14 after his wound became ...
, the assassin of U.S. President
William McKinley
William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...
in 1901, spent part of his teenage years working at a glass factory located in the town.
[ Rauchway, Eric (2004). "Murdering McKinley: The Making of Theodore Roosevelt's America" (paperback ed). Hill and Wang. .]
*
Evelyn Nesbit
Evelyn Nesbit (born Florence Evelyn Nesbit; December 25, 1884 or 1885 – January 17, 1967) was an American artists' model, chorus girl, and actress. She is best known for her years as a young woman in New York City, particularly her inv ...
, American artists' model, chorus girl, and actress. She is best known for her years as a young woman in New York City, particularly her involvement in a deadly love triangle between railroad scion
Harry Kendall Thaw
Harry Kendall Thaw (February 12, 1871 – February 22, 1947) was the son of American coal and railroad baron William Thaw Sr.. Heir to a multimillion-dollar fortune, the younger Thaw is most notable for murdering the renowned architect Sta ...
and architect
Stanford White
Stanford White (November 9, 1853 – June 25, 1906) was an American architect. He was also a partner in the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, one of the most significant Beaux-Arts firms. He designed many houses for the rich, in additio ...
.
See also
*
Environmentalism
Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seek ...
– Natrona has a
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...
Superfund
Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the United States Environmental Pro ...
site
*
Samuel Kier
Samuel Martin Kier (July 19, 1813 – October 6, 1874) was an American inventor and businessman who is credited with founding the American petroleum refining industry. He was the first person in the United States to refine crude oil into la ...
operated salt and oil wells in the 19th century at Natrona.
*
*
Natrona Bottling Company – a local manufacturer of soft drink beverages
*
Rachel Carson
Rachel Louise Carson (May 27, 1907 – April 14, 1964) was an American marine biologist, writer, and conservationist whose influential book ''Silent Spring'' (1962) and other writings are credited with advancing the global environmental m ...
lived in nearby
Springdale during her youth.
References
External links
Natrona Comes Together AssociationCommunity Revitalization Plan for Natrona
{{authority control
Pittsburgh metropolitan area
Company towns in Pennsylvania
Unincorporated communities in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Unincorporated communities in Pennsylvania