McKeesport, Pennsylvania
| McKeesport, Pennsylvania | |
|---|---|
| City | |
McKeesport City Hall, built circa 1890
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| Nickname(s): Tube City | |
 Location in Allegheny County and state of Pennsylvania |
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| Coordinates: 40°20′38″N 79°50′56″W / 40.34389°N 79.84889°WCoordinates: 40°20′38″N 79°50′56″W / 40.34389°N 79.84889°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Pennsylvania |
| County | Allegheny |
| Settled | 1795 |
| Incorporated (borough) | September 3, 1842 |
| Founded by | John McKee |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Michael Cherepko |
| Area | |
| • Total | 13.9 sq mi (36 km2) |
| • Land | 12.9 sq mi (33 km2) |
| • Water | 1 sq mi (3 km2) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 19,731 |
| • Density | 1,400/sq mi (550/km2) |
| Time zone | EST (UTC-4) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-5) |
| Zip Code | 15132 |
| Area Code | 412 |
| Website | www.mckeesport-pa.gov |
McKeesport is a city in Allegheny County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania; it is situated at the confluence of the Monongahela and Youghiogheny rivers and is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The population was 19,731 at the 2010 census. By population, it is Allegheny County's second-largest city, after Pittsburgh.
Settled in 1795 and named in honor of John McKee, its founder, McKeesport remained a village until 1830 when coal mining began in the region. Large deposits of bituminous coal existed.
McKeesport was incorporated as a borough in 1842 and as a city in 1891. Its population grew steadily until the mid-20th century, when it peaked in the 1940s. The city's population in 1900 was 34,227; in 1910, 42,694; in 1920, 45,975; and in 1940, 55,355. The decrease in the population since the 1940s is attributable to the general economic malaise that descended upon the region when the steelmaking industry moved elsewhere. The major employer was the National Tube Works, a manufacturer of iron pipes, which once employed 10,000 men. McKeesport was the site of the first G. C. Murphy five-and-ten-cent store.
John McKee, an original settler of Philadelphia and son of David McKee, built a log cabin near the confluence of the Monongahela and Youghiogheny rivers, the site of present-day McKeesport. After taking over his father's local river ferry business, he devised a plan for a city to be called McKee's Port. John set out his proposal in the Pittsburgh Gazette, as part of a program under which new residents could purchase plots of land for $20.00 (a lottery was used to distribute the plots to avoid complaints from new land owners concerning "inferior" locations).
Around the time of the French and Indian Wars, George Washington often came to McKeesport to visit his friend, Queen Alliquippa, a Seneca Indian ruler. After being settled by the McKee family in 1795, McKeesport began to grow in 1830 when coal mining began. The first schoolhouse was built in 1832, with James E. Huey as its schoolmaster (Huey Street in McKeesport is named for him). The city's first steel mill was established in 1851.
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