With the completion date of the Great Allegheny Passage set for November 11, 2011, Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area is making plans to more fully use one of their historic sites along the trail which will, in turn, encourage visitors to take advantage of all the trail has to offer.

The creation of the Great Allegheny Passage – a system of trails connecting Pittsburgh to Washington D.C. - began in 1986, and now stretches more than 300 miles. Rivers of Steel was integral to the creation of a 9-mile segment of the Great Allegheny Passage, the Steel Valley Trail, which connects the cities of Pittsburgh and McKeesport. The Pump House, located on the trail segment in Munhall, is the site of the infamous Battle of Homestead, considered one of the most dramatic conflicts in American Labor history. Today the Pump House, now owned by Rivers of Steel, is the only brick structure that remains of United States Steel’s Homestead Works. 

“The Pump House is a great venue along the Steel Valley Trail,” said August R. Carlino, CEO and President of Steel Industrial Heritage Corporation, the entity that administers Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area. “It has been used by visitors as a learning place for the history of the 1892 Lockout and Strike and has served as a convenient trailhead for bicyclists and hikers.”

Other public use plans for the Pump House include partnering with a bicycle rental company to develop the space into a weekend outfitter, the creation of a community market at the site and continuing to encourage the use of the space around the Pump House by the public to picnic along the Monongahela River, utilize the outdoor walking labyrinth, take advantage of the historical items and information, and public restrooms. Its location provides an important opportunity to interpretively connect the past with the present.  

“It’s a perfect example of preservation and sustainability working together. The same natural resources that brought the steel industry here years ago are now being reclaimed for recreation and future opportunities,” Baraff said. “Trail riders from all over the world will start descending on this area.”

A 2008 economic impact study of the Great Allegheny Passage in Pennsylvania puts the annual number of visitors to the trail at more than 800,000.

“It is a place where people come to watch the trains pass by. It has become a place of contemplation and, to a degree, meditation, with the installation of the labyrinth. And it is used for other events, including plays, lecture programs and school field trips. In all, the Pump House has become a centerpiece of not only telling the story of the Homestead Works and surrounding communities, but an integral component of connecting people to the Monongahela River and the Great Allegheny Passage,” said Carlino. 

For more information visit:  www.riversofsteel.com.

Spring 2011