South Side Flats in Pittsburgh in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Ferry Landing

Three Rivers Heritage Trail

Photographed by Mike Wintermantel

1. Ferry Landing Marker

Inscription. Riverboat pilot Holmes Harger operated a steamboat ferry on 22nd Street. Not only did ferries provide passage across the rivers but the boats also traveled to and from landing sites all along the rivers. Before the ferries, people crossed on foot at fording sites where the water was low enough for safe passage. When the locks and dams were built, the river level was raised and the fords submerged. Captain Holmes Harger was one of the seasoned riverboat pilots who transported passengers, coal, iron, and coke beginning in the 1800s. These early riverboats were powered by men pulling on long wood oars and sweeps. During the Civil War in 1864, Harger's boatmen used their oars for the last time when they left Pittsburgh with two coal boats. This event marked the end of an era of man-powered boats and began a time when only steamboats operated on the region's rivers.
In March of 1896, Captain Harger's side-wheeler ferry boat, the Josephine, caught fire and burned at his ferry landing on 22nd Street. Josephine was built in 1889 at the famous boat-building town of Elizabeth, Pennsylvania.
Today, the boat landing for South Side Riverfront Park still has same naturally sloping ground that Captain Harger used to land his ferries over a century ago.

Erected by Friends of the Riverfront/City of

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Pittsburgh/Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: War, US Civil • Waterways & Vessels. A significant historical month for this entry is March 1896.

Location. 40° 25.94′ N, 79° 58.534′ W. Marker is in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in Allegheny County. It is in the South Side Flats. It can be reached from Three Rivers Heritage Trail. Marker is located in 18th Street Park on Pittsburgh's South Side. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Pittsburgh PA 15203, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American Northeast,

in the Mid-Atlantic,

in the Ohio River Valley,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Northern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France,

the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

and one of the original Thirteen Colonies.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Monongahela's First Lock & Dam (here, next to this marker); Prehistoric Rivers (here, next to this marker); The Workers (within shouting distance of this marker); South Side VFW War Memorial (approx. ¼ mile away); The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, South Side Branch (approx. ¼ mile away); World War I Memorial Honor Roll (approx. ¼ mile away); Immigrant Steel Workers (approx. 0.4 miles away); South Side Vietnam Veterans Memorial (approx. 0.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Pittsburgh.

Also see . . . Holmes E. Harger, Sr. at FindAGrave.com. (Submitted on July 1, 2020, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.)

Photographed by Mike Wintermantel

2. Ferry Landing Marker

Marker is on the right.

Photographed by Mike Wintermantel

3. Ferry Landing Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on February 2, 2023. It was originally submitted on July 1, 2020, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 300 times since then and 13 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on July 1, 2020, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.