Braddock, Pennsylvania

Braddock is a borough located in the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, upstream from the mouth of the Monongahela River. The population was 1,721 as of the 2020 census, a 91.8% decline since its peak of 20,879 in 1920.

History

Braddock is named for General Edward Braddock (1695–1755), commander of American colonial forces at the start of the French and Indian War. The Braddock Expedition to capture Fort Duquesne (modern day Pittsburgh) from the French led to the British general's own fatal wounding and a sound defeat of his troops after crossing the Monongahela River on July 9, 1755. This battle, now called the Battle of the Monongahela, was a key event at the beginning of the French and Indian War.

The area surrounding Braddock's Field was originally inhabited by the Lenape, ruled by Queen Alliquippa.

In 1742, John Fraser and his family established the area at the mouth of Turtle Creek as the first permanent English settlement west of the Allegheny Mountains. George Washington 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 built the Edgar Thomson Steel Works on the historic site of Braddock's Field in what is now North Braddock, Pennsylvania. This was one of the first American steel mills which used the Bessemer process. As of 2010, it continues operation as a part of the United States Steel Corporation. This era of the town's history is depicted in Thomas Bell's novel '' Out of This Furnace''.

Braddock is also the location of the first of Andrew Carnegie's 1,679 (some sources list 1,689) public libraries in the United States, designed by William Halsey Wood of Newark, New Jersey, and dedicated on March 30, 1889. The Carnegie Free Library of Braddock 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), 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 underwent extensive restoration and musical performances will be presented in 2025.

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". As of the early 2020s, Braddock's population is approximately 90% reduced from a peak of about 20,000 in the 1920s.

John Fetterman, mayor of Braddock from 2006 until his 2019 inauguration as Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania, 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. In the 2022 midterms, Fetterman became the first US Senator from Pennsylvania to hail from Braddock, and the second member of Congress, after Matthew A. Dunn.

Since 1974, Braddock resident Tony Buba has made many films. One of his earlier films is ''Justice League'' centering on the borough and its industrial decline, 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 borough has a total area of , of which is land and (13.85%) of which is water. Its average elevation is above sea level.

Braddock has two land borders, with North Braddock from the north to the southeast, and Rankin to the northwest. Across the Monongahela River to the south, Braddock is adjacent to Whitaker and West Mifflin.

Demographics

2020 census

According to the American Community Survey 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 or higher.

Government

The borough is represented by the Pennsylvania State Senate's 45th district, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives' 34th district, and in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Education

Woodland Hills School District is the local school district.

Media

*The 2010 film '' One for the Money'' used the shuttered University of Pittsburgh Medical Center facility in Braddock as the "Trenton Police Headquarters".
*'' Out of the Furnace'', a film starring Christian Bale released in 2013, was shot in Braddock.
*Parts of the 1996 TV film '' The Christmas Tree'' were shot in the Carnegie Free Library of Braddock

Notable people

* Thomas Bell – novelist; set '' Out of This Furnace'' in Braddock
* Andrew J. Boyle – U.S. Army lieutenant general
* Tony Buba – filmmaker
* John Clayton – sportswriter and NFL analyst
* Henry Clay Drexler – recipient of the Navy Cross and Medal of Honor
* Matthew A. Dunn – former member of the United States House of Representatives
*John Fetterman – former mayor of Braddock, former Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania, and United States Senator from Pennsylvania
*Gisele Barreto Fetterman – former Second Lady of Pennsylvania
* LaToya Ruby Frazier – artist; 2015 MacArthur Fellow
* James Samuel Gallagher – former member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
*Joseph M. Gaydos – former member of the United States House of Representatives
* Vernon Irvin – Chief Marketing Officer for XM Satellite Radio
* Captain Bill Jones – first superintendent of the Edgar Thompson Works under Andrew Carnegie
* Melville Kelly – former member of the United States House of Representatives; established the ''Braddock Leader'' newspaper
*Billy Knight – former Pittsburgh Panther and NBA player and executive
* Sean Lomax – professional whistler
* John Maisto – former ambassador to Venezuela, Nicaragua, and the Organization of American States
* Tom Major-Ball – music hall performer and father of British Prime Minister John Major
* Joseph A. McDonald – steel industry executive
* Art Pallan – radio celebrity
*George Peppard – 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 to lose his life in an aircraft accident
* Lauren Tewes – actress best known for playing Cruise Director Julie McCoy on ''The Love Boat''

In popular culture

* A&P's first supermarket opened in Braddock in 1936.
* George A. Romero's 1978 horror film ''Martin'' takes place in Braddock and was largely filmed there.
* 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.
* Thomas Bell's historical novel '' Out of This Furnace'' is set in Braddock during the 1890s to the 1930s.
* The 2022 feature film '' Dear Zoe'' is primarily set in Braddock.

See also

* Braddock's Battlefield History Center

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

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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