Braddock

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. 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. The mill is still in 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…

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.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Baldwin SHS
  High · Pittsburgh · 2,086 students · 18.6:1 ratio
• Mt Lebanon SHS
  High · Pittsburgh · 1,840 students · 14.6:1 ratio
• Pittsburgh Allderdice HS
  High · Pittsburgh · 1,362 students · 13.1:1 ratio
• Fox Chapel Area HS
  High · Pittsburgh · 1,283 students · 13.6:1 ratio
• Penn Hills El Sch
  Elementary · Pittsburgh · 1,279 students · 13.8:1 ratio
• Plum SHS
  High · Plum · 1,226 students · 17.5:1 ratio
• Shaler Area HS
  High · Pittsburgh · 1,225 students · 11.9:1 ratio
• J.E. Harrison Education Ctr
  Elementary · Pittsburgh · 1,143 students · 15.7:1 ratio