Uptown in Pittsburgh in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Ormsby River Farms
Three Rivers Heritage Trail
Photographed by Bernard Fisher, May 30, 2021
1. Ormsby River Farms Marker
Inscription.
Ormsby River Farms. Three Rivers Heritage Trail. Homestead Farms, owned by Major John Ormsby, was a huge tract of nearly 3,000 acres that included Pittsburgh's South Side and Mt. Washington neighborhoods. Major Ormsby acquired part of this land from England as payment for military service during the French and Indian War. He purchased the remainder of the land tracts through Indian trading. Ormsby's son-in-law Nathaniel Bedford laid out a town plan within Homestead Farms. He called it "Birmingham" after the British industrial city where he was from, and he named the streets after female members of his family, Jane, Sidney, Sarah, Mary and Josephine. The Borough of Birmingham later became part of the South Side.
After the Major died in 1804, his descendants continued to build beautiful riverside mansions between 21st Street and 26th Street. In front of these manor houses, extending down the gentle slope to the river's edge, were rose gardens, forests and meadows. The country scene changed when the railroad and industrial development transformed the South Side riverfront during the early the 20th century.
(captions) , A fisherman casts his line into the Monongahela River in front of the Ormsby Farms. The trees along the river were huge, boats could be dock beneath their exposed roots. Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania , Grant's Hill was blasted away and the rocks and earth were carted off to fill the stream valleys. The site is known today as Grant Street. , In 1790, farms with log or wood houses lined the Monongahela River along today's South Side. Across the river, Pittsburgh was little more than a river village. Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania
Homestead Farms, owned by Major John Ormsby, was a huge tract of nearly 3,000 acres that included Pittsburgh's South Side and Mt. Washington neighborhoods. Major Ormsby acquired part of this land from England as payment for military service during the French & Indian War. He purchased the remainder of the land tracts through Indian trading. Ormsby's son-in-law Nathaniel Bedford laid out a town plan within Homestead Farms. He called it "Birmingham" after the British industrial city where he was from, and he named the streets after female members of his familyJane, Sidney, Sarah, Mary and Josephine. The Borough of Birmingham later became part of the South Side.
After the Major died in 1804, his descendants continued to build beautiful riverside mansions between 21st Street and 26th Street. In front of these manor houses, extending down the gentle slope to the river's edge, were rose gardens, forests and meadows. The country scene changed when the railroad and industrial development transformed the South Side riverfront during the early the 20th century.
(captions)
A fisherman casts his line into the Monongahela River in front of the Ormsby Farms. The trees along the river were huge, boats could be dock beneath their exposed roots. Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania
Grant's Hill was blasted away and the rocks and earth were carted off to fill the stream valleys. The site is known today as Grant Street.
In 1790, farms with log or wood houses lined the Monongahela River along today's South Side. Across the river, Pittsburgh was little more than a river village. Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania
Erected by Friends
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of the Riverfront, DCNR, Steel Industry Heritage Corporation, City of Pittsburgh, PHMC.
Location. 40° 26.076′ N, 79° 59.084′ W. Marker is in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in Allegheny County. It is in Uptown. It is on Three Rivers Heritage Trail 0.8 miles east of Grant Street, on the left when traveling east. Not accessible by motorized vehicle. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Pittsburgh PA 15219, 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
Photographed by Bernard Fisher, May 30, 2021
2. Three Rivers Heritage Trail/Great Allegheny Passage
Credits. This page was last revised on February 2, 2023. It was originally submitted on June 1, 2021, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 450 times since then and 26 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on June 1, 2021, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.
