California Boatyards

California Boatyards
Location California Area Public Library
Wood Street
California, Pennsylvania
Coordinates 40°04′05″N 79°53′21″W / 40.0681°N 79.88921°W / 40.0681; -79.88921Coordinates: 40°04′05″N 79°53′21″W / 40.0681°N 79.88921°W / 40.0681; -79.88921
PA marker dedicated June 18, 1994[1]

The California Boatyards was a boatyard in California, Pennsylvania along the Monongahela River.[1]

From the beginning on the California, Pennsylvania in the 1780s, California was the site of logging and had sawmills.[2] The sawmills were later used to support the shipbuilding industry.[2] The boatyards, which were active from 1852 to 1879, were best known for the construction of steamboats used for western trade along the Ohio River.[1] During the active period, 131 boats were built, with 74 in the 1850s alone.[1] The boatyards ceased operation in 1879 when the Pittsburgh, Virginia and Charleston Railway acquired the riverside for a right-of-way.[1]

In June 18, 1994, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission erected a historical marker at the California Area Public Library, a former railroad passenger station near the former location of the boatyards.[1]

The marker was sponsored by the Monongahela River Bluffs Association.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "California Boatyards - PHMC Historical Markers" (Database search). Historical Marker Database. Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
  2. 1 2 Parker, Arthur (1999). "Some Upper Valley Towns". The Monongahela: River of Dreams, River of Sweat. Canada: Penn State University Press. p. 103. ISBN 9780271018751.
  3. ↑ "Remembering the Past". California, Pennsylvania. Arcadia Publishing. 2003. p. 32. ISBN 9780738511542.
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