Monongahela River

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For other uses, see Monongahela (disambiguation).

Coordinates: 40°26′30″N 80°00′58″W / 40.44167°N 80.01611°W

The Monongahela River (pronounced /məˌnɒŋɡəˈheɪlə/, also known locally as the Mon /ˈmɒn/) is a river on the Allegheny Plateau in North-Central West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. At Pittsburgh, it meets the Allegheny River to form the Ohio River.

1 Etymology
2 Geography
3 History
4 Monongahela River in popular culture
5 Cities and towns along the river
6 Variant names
7 Photo gallery
8 See also
9 References
- 9.1 Citations
- 9.2 Other sources
10 External links

Etymology

The word "Monongalia" is a Latinized version of the Native American word "Monongahela," which means "falling banks," in reference to the geological instability of the river's banks. Moravian missionary David Zeisberger gave this account of the naming: In the Indian tongue the name of this river was Mechmenawungihilla (alternatively spelled Menawngihella), which signifies a high bank, which is ever washed out and therefore collapses.

Monongalia County, West Virginia and Monongahela, Pennsylvania are named after the river.

Geography

The Monongahela is formed by the confluence of the West Fork River and the Tygart Valley River at Fairmont, West Virginia. The river is navigable its entire length with a series of locks and dams that maintain a minimum depth of 9 feet (2.7 m) to accommodate coal-laden barges. In Pennsylvania, the Monongahela is met by two major tributaries: the Cheat River, which joins at Point Marion, and the Youghiogheny River, which joins at McKeesport.

History

The Monongahela Valley was the site of a famous, if small, battle that was one of the first in the French and Indian War (Braddock Expedition). It resulted in a sharp defeat for British and Colonial forces against those of the French and their Native American allies.

The Monongahela Valley was the site of the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794.

In 1817, the Pennsylvania legislature authorized the Monongahela Navigation Company to build 16 dams with bypass locks to create a river transportation system between Pittsburgh and West Virginia. Originally planned to run as far south as the Cheat River, the system was extended to Fairmont, and bituminous coal from West Virginia was the chief product transported downstream. After a canal tunnel through Grant's Hill in Pittsburgh was completed in 1832, boats could travel between the Monongahela River and the Western Division Canal of Pennsylvania's principal east-west canal and railroad system, the Main Line of Public Works. In 1897, the Federal government took possession of the Monongahela Navigation through condemnation proceedings. Later, the dam-lock combinations were increased in size and reduced in number. In 2006, the navigation system, operated by the U.S. Corps of Engineers, had nine dam-locks along 128.7 miles (207.1 km) of waterway. The locks overcame a change in elevation of about 147 feet (44.8 m).

Briefly linked to the Monongahela Navigation was the Youghiogheny Navigation, a slack water system of 18.5 miles (29.8 km) between McKeesport and West Newton. It had two dam-locks overcoming a change in elevation of about 27 feet (8.2 m). Opening in 1850, it was destroyed by a flood in 1865.

During the 19th century, the Monongahela was heavily used by industry, and several U.S. Steel plants, including the Homestead Works, site of the Homestead Strike of 1892, were built along its banks. Following the killing of several workers in the course of the strike, anarchist Emma Goldman wrote: "Words had lost their meaning in the face of the innocent blood spilled on the banks of the Monongahela."

Two ships in the United States Navy have been named Monongahela for the river.

The river was the site of a famous airplane crash that has become the subject of numerous urban legends and conspiracy theories. Early in the morning of January 31, 1956, a B-25 bomber en route from Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada to Olmsted Air Force Base in Pennsylvania crashed into the river near the Glenwood Bridge in Homestead, Pennsylvania. All six crewmen survived the crash but two later succumbed to exposure and drowned. Despite the relative shallowness of the water, the aircraft was never recovered. [1]