Did you know you can:

• see where your ancestors lived around here nearly 150 years ago? There are maps showing where people lived in Burrell, and Allegheny Townships--in 1857, '67, and '76
• look at where all the Indian villages were around here? For instance, you can find where the one behind Stewart Elementary School in Lower Burrell is located.
• discover what people in the Burrell and New Ken areas made in 1860? For one thing, there were 99, 979 lbs of butter churned by Burrell residents that year.
• read the detailed accounts a Civil War Veteran wrote about Parnassus?
• learn that the average 1872 MONTHLY salary for a male teacher in Burrell was $40 and 40 cents
• women were paid 40 cents less), the cost-per-pupil there per month was 98 cents, and 376 students attended daily, on average?

Now you can, courtesy of Dr. Reid Stewart. He is the author and compiler of a new book that covers much of Northern Westmoreland County called, History of Old Allegheny Twp, Westmoreland County PA, From Prehistoric Times to 1876. Reid, a native Burrell-resident whose ancestors were early pioneers in Burrell and Allegheny Twps., has put together quite a collection of records, stories, pictures and more. He traces the history and makeup of the people living in the land between the Kiski River, the Allegheny River, and Puckety Creek. That's essentially today's Burrell, New Ken-Arnold and Kiski Area School Districts. Until 1852, all that area was a part of the old Allegheny Township; Burrell was formed out of it then, and in turn later split into Upper and Lower Burrell in the late 1870s.

Reid and Alice Stewart

History of Old Allegheny Twp. incorporates original texts with original artwork by Reid's wife, Alice, and Stewart has nicely woven the diverse information together with a running narrative he has written. And giving the book a nice local touch is his extensive understanding and knowledge of local details of the Alle-Kiski region. Stewart's work is important because it documents things he says, right there in the text--not just the name of the original primary source, but also in many cases, a copy of the ACTUAL records. Finding that original material would have meant trips to state and county storage archives. That keeps you from having to wonder how the original read. Some of these resources have been around in different forms on the Internet or in genealogical resource materials found in local museums and libraries. But you couldn't find these in one place until now…sort of a one-stop history resource.

In a sense, the systematic documenting of Burrell and Allegheny Twp. history has been a work in progress with Reid for at least 50 years. It was only natural; his Stewart ancestors came to the area in 1804 and bought a farm that stretched roughly from Seventh Street in New Kensington, near Martin School, to Kinloch. Stewarts also lived and owned farms in the area where the Lower Burrell McDonald's is to the edge of the Donnell Plan; this land also has a school on it today, appropriately enough named "Stewart Elementary," after Reid's family. And his early relatives married into many of the other prominent families here. This all explains why and how this is his 37th publication…he would've had a difficult time NOT being a Treasure Chest of History!

At one point in the 1970s, John D. Zimmerman, an Allegheny Twp. farmer and historian at Weinel's Crossroads came to him and asked him to put together a history. Dr. Stewart, a full-time Pastor at the time, just didn't have the time then. But after he retired, he took some Interims, filling in at the pulpit for churches. "Then my health broke, and I had to just settle down and do the history," Reid says. "This was all going to get lost if someone didn’t do it. I've been collecting stuff most of my life, but I began to put it together in earnest two years ago. This stuff will be lost in another generation. I had to make it available for people to use."

The spiral-bound book comes in two flavors you could call "lite" and "heavy." The "lite" edition is 227 pages and includes the entire narrative with numerous records, examples and pictures. For example, it lists 1801 prices of foods. Did you know for 40 to 60 cents you could buy a turkey? That's per turkey, not per pound! With other pricelists in the book you can even track turkey price increases, Stewart pointed out. Now as a kid, I would have LOVED just exploring all the neat stuff inside, with all the pictures of forts and Indian villages around here. Just those chapters alone would have fascinated me! (yes, I was a nerd and easily amused--hey! It was the 70s!) But it is written for adults, particularly those who are life-long residents. I think you'll find particular attention given to places that you may remember from 25 years ago or more, such as schools, homes and churches.

And for the discriminating history geeks like me, may I recommend the "heavy" Compilation edition, with 550 pages total. The 250 extra pages in this edition contain 43 different appendices, which include original tax, church, death and marriage records, as well as patron lists (lists of who bought what at local general stores in the early 1800s; think about that the next time you use a grocery card). And, there are 75 pgs of family genealogies with rough family trees of early pioneer families in the area. Genealogists, people with several generations of roots in the area, researchers, students and teachers will find this a GOLDMINE! Or, even if you are merely just curious, you'll be interested in this expanded edition. Dr. Stewart has saved us all immeasurable hours on the road and in musty archives poking around dusty, moldy books (hmm, guess maybe he helped our health too.)

Other chapters on things such as canals and roads, natural resources and legends and stories of the area hold a lot of interesting material as well:

- the story of the first use of natural gas in iron and steel manufacturing in America, perhaps in the world, that occurred in Allegheny Twp. just across the river from Leechburg. - a map 1857 of showing the residences of all householders in Burrell and Allegheny Twp. - the story of the slave that died here after making his way North via the Underground Railroad, which came through here. - pictures, plans and photos of grist mills that used to be here and no longer are. - an 1855 Allegheny Twp. Teachers' Association which laid out the philosophy of education here. Stewart came on it by accident. "He does that, he falls upon a lot of things that way," said his wife, Alice.

You can get History of Old Allegheny Twp, Westmoreland County PA, From Prehistoric Times to 1876 through the Allegheny Township Historical Society by calling Mary Jane Gruber, Society President at: (724) 845-7325. Or, reach them by mail at:

Allegheny Township Historical Society, 136 Community Building Road, Leechburg, PA 15656.

The cost is $20 for the History alone, and the Compilation edition is $40.

You should check this out. There so much interesting information in there: the nine schools of Burrell (only Martin is still around, but not the same building); school desks made from Apple branches; Gladeview School that was where McDonald's is today. And those old maps are so interesting--I even found a J. Garrett on there near the Kiski River! But my relatives are from the South... and I'm not really that old...

In our video version, Dr. Stewart and I travel to some places in the Burrell area that are no longer there, some mentioned in this article. See it all at alle-kiskitoday.com It's coming soon!

Jeff