Monongahela River

The Monongahela River served as one of many river highways to the western territories. With few overland roads west of here, most settlers rafted north on the Monongahela River to Pittsburgh, then down the Ohio River in search of new opportunity. As a land speculator, Albert Gallatin hoped to prosper from his river location and the nearby town of New Geneva that he established, but nineteenth-century canals and roads bypassed this area and dashed his dreams of riches. Today the westward view no longer looks upon the wilderness Gallatin knew, but upon the industry he envisioned.

Greensboro, Pennsylvania · United States