Pittsburgh stands at the point where the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers come together to become the Ohio River. It is the second most populous city in Pennsylvania, after Philadelphia, and the metropolis of the western part of the state. George Washington visited the Pittsburgh area in 1753 on an expedition dispatched by the governor of Virginia. He reported that the site was well suited for a fort. The French thought so as well, and built Fort Duquesne there in 1754.The first community of settlers was established in 1764 and took the name Pittsburgh. A town was laid out in 1784. That year, Pittsburgh received a charter as a borough and became a city in 1816. Possession of Pittsburgh was disputed between Virginia and Pennsylvania, but the dispute was resolved in Pennsylvania’s favor by a joint commission in 1785.The many steel mills and other industrial concerns in Pittsburgh once produced so much smoke and soot that the city earned the title “Smoky City.” Efforts to clean up the air began in 1941 and stringent regulations on air pollution, combined with a decline in the industries that produced it, has resulted in Pittsburgh now having air that is clean and healthful.
