The Allegheny River: Watershed of the Nation – A Review
By
James Wudarczyk - 2005

The Allegheny River: Watershed of the Nation by Jim Schafer and Mike Sajna (University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1992)

“Rivers have served as symbols for the flow of life probably since Homo sapiens developed language and began telling stories.” Thus begins the preface as the reader embarks on a great journey along one of the greatest natural landmarks and resources in Pennsylvania.

Too often we take natural beauty for granted since the hills and rivers are so much part of the landscape. Equally we fail to appreciate the rich history of the Allegheny River. In 2003, 2004, and 2005, the Lawrenceville Historical Society sponsored three riverboat excursions, and the realization hit the participants as to how many stories there were tell in that brief distance between the Point and the 62nd Street Bridge. More astonishingly the river tours made all realize that even over the course of the three tours, the rich heritage of the Allegheny River was hardly tapped. Therefore, we are fortunate that the Schafer-Sajna collaboration gives new dimension to the subject via an easy-to-read well-photographed 300-page book.

Schafer and Sajna managed to conduct a wonderful interview with Captain Frederick Way, one of the greatest riverboat men in modern history whose tie with the rivers spanned more than a half of a century. It should be noted that Way was also an author, and wrote an excellent book on the Allegheny River as part of the American Rivers Series.

They also incorporated more than 150 photographs into the project – some of which are black and white pictures depicting historical subject matter, while others are literally breath-taking color pictures, which successfully capture fleeting moments in time like autumn in the Allegheny National Forest in Warren County, a sunset along the river at Venango, and ice covered trees near Tionesta.

In their historical narrative, the authors trace early explorers on the Allegheny, and even document Smoky Island, a one-time small landmass opposite the Point where the captives from Braddock’s defeated army were taken and horribly tortured to death by the victorious Indians. The book also gives one an appreciation of clean drinking water - a commodity we take for granted- since typhoid fever was an epidemic as late as 1900.

Lawrenceville residents can be assured that there is some mention of our community since the authors discuss the Washington-Gist crossing of the Allegheny, and correctly point out that they sought refuge on Wainwright’s Island, not Herr’s Island which has been incorrectly renamed Washington’s Landing.

Schafer and Sajna also incorporate a photograph of Butler Street in front of the gatehouse of the Allegheny Arsenal. There is also an excellent summary of Major Stephen Long’s expedition on the Missouri, and how the steamboat “The Western Engineer” used in the exploration was launched from the Allegheny Arsenal in 1819. However, serious and casual historians of Lawrenceville will take issue with a couple of statements made in the book. For example, the authors note that the Allegheny Arsenal was built on the site of the former Indian village of Shannopinstown. Although a historical marker designates the foot of the 40th Street Bridge as the site of the Indian village, there is much reason to believe that the marker was placed in the wrong spot. (For more information on this subject refer to “The Search for Shannopinstown” elsewhere on the Lawrenceville Historical Society website.) The book also makes the statement that the grounds of the Allegheny Arsenal were given to city of Pittsburgh in 1909. Actually the federal government retained ownership of the lower grounds until 1926.

In spite of this minor faux pas, The Allegheny River: Watershed of the Nation is an outstanding book of pure artistic and visual beauty.