Crafton Boulevard
| Crafton Boulevard | |
|---|---|
| Neighborhoods | Crafton Heights, Oakwood, Westwood |
| Origin of name | Borough of Crafton |
Crafton Boulevard is named for the borough of Crafton, which in turn is named after the Craft family who owned the land and laid out the town in the 1870s. James S. Craft was an attorney from a New Jersey Quaker family who came to Oakland after the War of 1812. He settled at what is now the corner of Forbes Avenue and Craft Avenue (named after him). After an attack on his cabin one night, he and his wife Emily moved into town to Hand Street (today's Ninth Street). Starting in 1860 he purchased 250 acres in Chartiers Township west of Pittsburgh with the aim to start a town. Soon after the end of the Civil War he built a stone house near the center of this land and lived there until his death in 1870. After his death his two daughters Caroline and Cornelia and his son Charles, a surveyor and civil engineer, laid out the town of Crafton. Two plans of lots were recorded in 1872 and 1873, and Crafton was incorporated as a borough in 1892.[1][2][3][4][5]
The first post office in this area was named Brodhead; see Broadhead Fording Road.
References
- ↑ Ruth Ayers. "What's in a name?: Crafts, Gibsons and Irwins all gave their names to towns: Borough of Crafton was once estate of Pittsburgh lawyer: Pioneers played big part in development of communities." Pittsburgh Press, Oct. 3, 1936, p. 9. Newspapers.com 147045286. [view source] ayers
- ↑ Jean Bryant and Jerry Vondas. "There's a story in every neighborhood." Pittsburgh Press, Mar. 17, 1983, Weekender, pp. D-1, D-4. Newspapers.com 146457070, 146457192. [view source] bryant-vondas
- ↑ J. M. Miller. "The Crafts and Crafton: Interesting story of an old Pittsburgh family and the borough it founded." Pittsburgh Gazette Times, Nov. 16, 1913, fourth section, p. 7. Newspapers.com 85622421. [view source] crafts-and-crafton
- ↑ Betsy Martin. The Story of Crafton: 1740–1992, pp. 24–25, 31–34, 43. Crafton Historical Society, 1992. Historic Pittsburgh 31735055766921. [view source] martin
- ↑ Bob Regan. The Names of Pittsburgh: How the City, Neighborhoods, Streets, Parks and More Got Their Names, p. 39. The Local History Company, Pittsburgh, 2009, ISBN 978-0-9770429-7-5. [view source] regan
