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Any account of the history of Clairton, however brief, should he prefaced with what is known of the district, from the earliest times, and thus, even though by torturous stages, lay the broad foundation on which the narrative is to be constructed. It is realized that there are many gaps and that much of fact has not been uncovered, which permits of later revision with the additions as such facts are ascertained.

With three or more miles of river-front the site can thus be definitely located on the east, and with that established, we may go on to add that the high plateau on which the city lies, is broken or bounded by several valleys which again in a general way serve to mark its boundaries. On the south what is known as “Connelly’s Hollow” forms quite a ravine, extending from the river northwestward until it reaches the level of what is known as the Ridge Road. Next will come Peters Creek Valley, much wider than the first and providing a wide alluvial valley through which the stream has meandered in past ages according to its whim. At the north end of the city are three narrow valleys which converge at the river named New England, Muttontown and “Stravegut.” To the west of the city, lies Scotia Hollow which leads across the ridge into the adjoining town of West Elizabeth, and which it is said derives its name from an old recluse named Scotia, who lived in a cave somewhere along the route.

The Monongahela River having an elevation of some 750 feet above sea level, the residential and business section of Clairton lies some 200 feet higher. In the days of the red man it must have been a favorite place. The high levels permitted a view of the river for miles; the soil was tillable, and game from the woodland and fish from the river and the level shores of the river margin attest to this as well as the higher ground, on which have been discovered several mounds, of which more will be noted later. And that this was the scene of prehistoric occupancy is attested by much evidence including the unearthing of the bones of these early denizens on the hills above Elrama some years ago by Mr. Fisher, the archaeologist. These ancient sites of habitation are also confirmed by well-indicated paths which lead from one community to another; from the hills on the east side of the river; to Chartiers Creek; to Washington County and Green County sites, and on to the West Virginia and Ohio points which are more noted. The crossing at the south end of Clairton was without doubt used by the red man, which took him at once up the hollow or to the heights of what is now Newtown in Clairton. This crossing, the Indian name having been lost, was later known as the Bridendall or Breitenthal, which betrays the information that not all of the early settlers were of Scotch or Irish origin, for this word is German which suggests the presence of that nationality, and this seems quite logical since there was a Rhodes family on each side of the river, and there may have been others whose names index their nationality. The crossing at the foot of Maple Avenue must have been a favorite in crossing to those towns east of the river and a short cut to other settlements on the Youghiogheny. Just west of Clairton at Large, has been found ample evidence of occupancy by the Aborigines, as will be developed later. So the evidence is general that strange feet were want to tread the confines of Clairton long before the advent of the white man.

Those hardy and adventurous pioneers who began to cross the mountains westward near the middle of the 18th century were to meet with the remnants of this people and with persistent effort eventually succeed in ex­pelling them from their lands and arrogating it to themselves. Though there is no record of such conflicts having occured in the immediate vicinity of Clairton, history records many in the surrounding community. It may be that some later investigator will discover and note such as will be of interest to and rightly belong in such a narrative.

In printed histories, the statements are frequently repeated that one Zadock Wright, a Virginian and teamster for Braddock’s Army when it went to the Battle of the Monongahela, witnessed the defeat and cutting his horses loose,  lost no time in getting away. On his retreat he saw some land which pleased him, so made application to the Virginia authorities, and was granted 440 acres on a Virginia Certificate, the tract known as “Wrightsburg” on Peters Creek. This man Wright is said to have been the first resident. There are some unexplained angles to the story, one of which is how he came to see the land unless he forsook the beaten path of the retreating army, which is assumed to have been, in defeat, the route they took to the scene of battle, and that was: to cross the Monongahela River twice and passing the site of Connellsville, reach safety in the mountains back of Uniontown, where General Braddock was buried. This tract of land later became the homestead of the Bedell family, in whose possession it is today. As was the custom of the time each patent for land was given a name, and as we proceed this will be noted in the case of grants in which the site of Clairton, as we know it today, will be given; not that they are so important to us of this day, but to preserve them for ready reference for those who may, in the future desire the information for a specific purpose. To that end we note:

Before proceeding with a narrative of the town and its development, it might be proper here to note something of the earlier residents, some of whom remain at this time. Mention was made of the Dean place which specialized in truck gardening and was locally famous for strawberries and other small fruits. Just north of the Deans was the Wylie farm, the house located about where the gasoline station now stands at the foot of St. Clair Avenue. The barn, half-stone and half-frame, stood diagonally across State Street. There was a spring-house of stone supplied by a spring on the west side of State Street which, walled up, can still be seen next to the Frank Arch property. When the open hearth was built the water from this spring was piped across the railroad to the west side of the open hearth building and this was the main source of drinking water for the men for many years, until the efforts of Mr. L. W. Unger and Mr. I. A. Nicholas resulted in a series of wells drilled in the plant for drinking fountains.

The Clairton community has been represented in every war in which the United States has been engaged, first, in the French and Indian hos­tilities, though then part of Virginia, they stood as a bulwark between the settlements and the Indians. It is no boast, but the force which went down to Gnaden-Hutton, Ohio, where they massacred 96 peaceful Christian Indians, sparing neither man, woman nor child. They tied them together two and two, killed them with the hatchet, scalped them and then barri­cading the doors, set fire to the houses and burned them. A Capt. William­son, in charge, was later exonerated for the act, the men voting unani­mously to carry out the act. From this safe distance with the moderating influence of time we may feel that retribution overtook them at the later defeat at the hands of the Indians when many of those who took part were killed and Capt. Crawford was burned at the stake. Of those who took part, in the Revolution, surrounding cemeteries give ample proof as well as in the War of 1812. Again the community had representation in the Mexi­can War, and increasing more in the War of the Rebellion. In the Spanish-American War there were numerous men saw action, some of which reside in the city today, and of World War I and World War II, we are well aware the part that Clairton played. Reference to some of these men will be made in the course of the record, but many more who defended the land of their adoption or of their birth, though filling heroes’ graves, will go unnoted because the records are not available.

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