The
Monongahela River ( , also known locally as
the Mon ) 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.
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, 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 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
of waterway. The locks overcame a change in elevation of about
.
Briefly linked to the Monongahela Navigation was the Youghiogheny
Navigation, a slack water system of between McKeesport and West
Newton. It had two dam-locks overcoming a change in elevation of
about . 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.
[29349]
Monongahela River in popular culture
- "Monongahela" is uttered in the television show Seinfeld as one of Kramer's famous random expressions. The episode
is the 23rd of the 6th season, "The
Face Painter". The reference occurs around the 4th-5th minute
of the show.
- It is also credited (incorrectly) by Michael Douglas in the
film "Wonder Boys" for washing away his
unsaved book manuscript after Robert Downey Jr. crashes his car
into a bowling alley. (This scene actually took place NW of the
Monongahela River along the Ohio River in Rochester, PA).
- Montana Diaz Herrera/Sally Lerner (Ayda Field) of the
television show Back To You has
trouble pronouncing the name "Monongahela" when she has to mention
it in her weather forecast.
- The Monongahela River was immortalized in the spoken
introduction to actor/comedian Guy Marks'
parody hit "Loving You Has Made Me Bananas" (1968).
- The Monongahela is mentioned in the choruses of The Oak Ridge
Boys' song "Gonna Take A Lot of River" along with the Mississippi
and the Ohio.
- The
Monongahela River was mentioned a number of times in the AMC series
Remember WENN which was set in
Pittsburgh
. Particularly in season 3, episode 14 "And
How" when the world premier of the fictional film Drums Along
the Monongahela is taking place in Pittsburgh.[29350]
Cities and towns along the river
- Sources:
- Allenport,
Pennsylvania
- Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania

- Braddock,
Pennsylvania
- Brownsville, Pennsylvania

- California, Pennsylvania

- Charleroi, Pennsylvania

- Clairton, Pennsylvania

- Coal Center, Pennsylvania

- Donora, Pennsylvania

- Dravosburg, Pennsylvania

- Dunlevy, Pennsylvania

- Duquesne, Pennsylvania

- Elco, Pennsylvania

- Elizabeth, Pennsylvania

- Fairmont, West Virginia

- Fayette City, Pennsylvania

- Fredericktown-Millsboro,
Pennsylvania

- Glassport, Pennsylvania

- Granville, West Virginia

- Greensboro, Pennsylvania

- Hiller, Pennsylvania

- Homestead, Pennsylvania

- Lincoln, Pennsylvania

- McKeesport, Pennsylvania

- Monessen, Pennsylvania

|
- Monongahela, Pennsylvania

- Morgantown, West Virginia

- Munhall, Pennsylvania

- Nemacolin, Pennsylvania

- New Eagle, Pennsylvania

- Newell, Pennsylvania

- North Braddock, Pennsylvania

- North Charleroi, Pennsylvania

- North
Versailles Township, Pennsylvania

- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

- Point Marion, Pennsylvania

- Port Vue, Pennsylvania

- Rankin, Pennsylvania

- Rivesville, West Virginia

- Roscoe, Pennsylvania

- Speers, Pennsylvania

- Star City, West Virginia

- Stockdale, Pennsylvania

- Swissvale, Pennsylvania

- West Brownsville,
Pennsylvania

- West Elizabeth, Pennsylvania

- West Mifflin, Pennsylvania

- Westover, West Virginia

- Whitaker, Pennsylvania

|
Variant names
According to the
Geographic Names Information
System, the Monongahela River has also been known historically
as:
- Malangueulé
- Manaungahela River
- Me-nan-gi-hil-li
- Meh-non-au-au-ge-hel-al
- Mehmannaunringgehlau
- Mehmannauwinggehla
- Mo-hon-ga-ly River
- Mo-hon-galy River
- Mo-hon-gey-e-la River
|
- Mo-hong-gey-e-la River
- Mohungahala River
- Mohunghala River
- Monaung River
- Monaungahela River
- Monna River
- Monnyahela River
- Monona River
- Mononga River
|
- Monongahalia River
- Monongahaly River
- Monongaheley River
- Monongahelia River
- Monongalia River
- Monongalo River
- Mononguhela River
- Mononyahela River
- Muddy River
|
Photo gallery
Image:Monongahela River Pittsburgh.jpg|The
South Tenth
Street Bridge
over the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh
in 2005Image:Monongahela River Fairmont.jpg|The
Monongahela River in Fairmont, West Virginia
in 2006Image:Monongahela River Scene
Pittsburgh PA 1857.jpg|Monongahela River Scene, 1857
Image:Opekiska Lock
and Dam Monongahela.jpg|Opekiska Lock and Dam
on the Monongahela River near Fairmont, West
Virginia
at river mile
115
See also
References
Citations
- Zeisberger, David: David Zeisberger's History of the Northern
American Indians in 18th Century Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania,
page 43. Wennawoods Publishing, 1999, ISBN 1-889037-17-6
- John Gilmary Shea. Relations diverses sur la bataille du
Malangueulé : gagné le 9 juillet, 1755, par les François sous M. de
Beaujeu, commandant du fort du Quesne sur les Anglois sous M.
Braddock, général en chef des troupes angloises. Nouvelle York
: De la Presse Cramoisy, 1860. .
- Ballou's Pictorial, issue of 21 Feb 1857
Other sources
Core, Earl L. (1984), "The
Monongalia River", In: Bartlett, Richard A. (ed),
Rolling
Rivers: An Encyclopedia of America's Rivers, New York:
McGraw-Hill Book Co., pp 149-152.
External links