Murdoch Street
| Murdoch Street | |
|---|---|
| Neighborhoods | Squirrel Hill North, Squirrel Hill South |
| Origin of name | Murdoch family |
Murdoch Street first appears in the 1890 Hopkins atlas. Most of the property on both sides of the street was owned by members of the Murdoch family.[1]
John Murdoch (1780–1827) and his wife Elizabeth Campbell Murdoch (1780–1835) left Ireland and came to Pittsburgh in 1826 with their children.[2][3] They bought a 71-acre farm on Squirrel Hill, later enlarged to over 100 acres.[2][3] John established a nursery, called Hedgerow Farm Nursery, and after his death the business was continued by two of his sons, William (1801 or 1807 – 1897) and James (1815 – ca. 1893).[2] Another of John's sons, John, Jr. (1802–1882), later established another nursery nearby.[4][5][3]
A map of Allegheny County from 1851 shows "W. & J. Murdoch's P. H. F. Nursery" south of Wilkins Avenue, where Murdoch Road is today.[6] An 1862 map shows "Wm. & Jas. Murdock (Pittsburg Hedge Farm & Nursery)" there and, to the south, "J. Murdock Jr. (Pittsburg Nursery)," approximately where modern Murdoch Street crosses Darlington Road.[7]
William and James established a store on Smithfield Street.[2] After James' death and William's retirement, the store and nursery business passed to James' sons, A. M. and J. B. Murdoch.[4][2]
After the retirement of John, Jr., his nursery business was taken over by a partnership of his sons, John R., Alexander, James, and David, the firm being named John R. & A. Murdoch.[4][5] They also had a shop on Smithfield Street.[5]
The Murdoch Farms Plan, laid out in July 1915, separated Murdoch Street into two disconnected pieces.[8] The northern part was renamed Murdoch Road in 1933.[9]
See also
- Murdoch Street (disambiguation), for other streets that have had this name
References
- ↑ Atlas of the City of Pittsburgh, vol. 4. G. M. Hopkins & Co., Philadelphia, 1890. http://historicpittsburgh.org/maps-hopkins/1890-volume-4-atlas-pittsburgh; included in the 1890 layer at Pittsburgh Historic Maps (https://esriurl.com/pittsburgh). [view source] hopkins-1890-vol-4
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "Gathered to rest." Pittsburg Press, Aug. 5, 1897, p. 9. Newspapers.com 141930459. [view source] gathered-to-rest
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 John Murdoch, Jr. and Robert Jameson Jones. "Historical Society notes and documents: The Murdoch family." Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine, vol. 48, no. 1, Jan. 1965, pp. 109–115. https://journals.psu.edu/wph/article/view/2740. [view source] murdoch-family
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "David B. Murdoch." The Death Roll. Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette, Sept. 7, 1899, p. 4. Newspapers.com 85602348. [view source] david-b-murdoch-obit
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 History of Pittsburgh and Environs, [vol. 4?] (biographical), p. 47. American Historical Society, New York and Chicago, 1922. Google Books 1M8wAQAAMAAJ, 5so0AQAAMAAJ, 98l140mUH4kC, v6QUAAAAYAAJ, VvkMAAAAYAAJ; HathiTrust 011262563; Internet Archive historyofpittsbu05flem, historypittsbur00socigoog. [view source] history-pgh-environs-4
- ↑ Sidney & Neff and S. McRea. Map of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, with the Names of Property-Holders. Philadelphia, 1851. LCCN 2012592150. [view source] sidney-neff
- ↑ S. N. & F. W. Beers. Map of Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Smith, Gallup & Hewitt, Philadelphia, 1862. LCCN 2012592151; https://collections.lib.uwm.edu/digital/collection/agdm/id/31783; 1862 layer at Pittsburgh Historic Maps (https://esriurl.com/pittsburgh). [view source] beers
- ↑ "Murdoch Farms Plan: 14th Ward Pittsburgh Pa." Laid out July 1915; recorded Feb. 21, 1916, Plan Book 27, pp. 68–71. Allegheny County Recorder of Deeds 3783161. [view source] murdoch-farms-plan
- ↑ "An ordinance changing the names of certain avenues, streets, roads and ways in the City of Pittsburgh." Pittsburgh city ordinance, 1933, no. 121. Passed May 29, 1933; approved May 31, 1933. Ordinance Book 45, p. 241. In Municipal Record: Minutes of the proceedings of the Council of the City of Pittsburgh: For the year 1933, appendix, p. 72, City Printing Co., Pittsburgh (Internet Archive Pghmunicipalrecord1933). Reprinted in the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, June 3, 1933, p. 13 (Newspapers.com 523406708); and in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 5, 1933, p. 25 (Newspapers.com 89887815), and June 6, p. 23 (Newspapers.com 89888832). [view source] ordinance-1933-121
