By Matthew Cumberledge, GCHS Executive Director
The Monongahela River, a beautiful and scenic waterway that snakes its way for over 130 miles of the Trans-Allegheny Region, served as a major highway for the native inhabitants of this region going all the way back to the first human inhabitants that hunted mammoths, mastodons and other large game some ten thousand years ago.
The Mon has always been, and will always be a key factor in the civilization and economics of this region. The first Europeans to cross the Allegheny Mountains were fur traders and explorers who found the Monongahela River to be a barrier in the expansion of trade with the natives. These early travelers would have crossed the Mon in methods much the same as their Native American friends – on basic flat boats and log hewn canoes. There were many military expeditions into the region in these early years especially leading up to the French and Indian War. George Washington, sent by the colonial Governor of Virginia, explored the ‘Forks of the Ohio’ where the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers meet to form the Ohio by flat boat. As tensions developed between the French and English, ferries appeared, crossing the Monongahela to aid in the colonial defenses of the region.
As time progressed, after the French and Indian War and into the second half of the 18th century, settlement came closer to the Monongahela River as pioneers came to the area from eastern Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland. From that the foundations were laid for the ultimate organization of Fayette, Greene and Washington counties. The eastern banks of the Mon were the first to see settlement, but as populations grew, it wasn’t long before the area that is now Greene County saw the sprouting of cabins and crops along the western frontier.
Many early settlers on both sides of the river began establishing independently operated ferries. Eventually, nearly every community along each side of the river would have a small ferry to transport goods and people from one bank to the other. The earliest ferries were very crude, mostly consisting of canoes and flat boats. The earliest definitively-known river crossing was established in 1775 by Michael Bresap between what is now Brownsville and West Brownsville in Fayette and Washington counties respectively. Bresaps operation lasted well into the 19th century, at least as late as 1845.
Though these seemingly insignificant and nearly forgotten river crossings have not survived well in the historical record, their very presence made it possible to lay the ground work for transportation and commerce throughout the entire Monongahela River valley. It wouldn’t be until well into the second half the 19th Century that the first attempts were made at crossing the mighty Mon with a bridge, thus rendering ferries as the only way possible to cross the river until then.
Throughout the history of the region, there were untold numbers of ferries both small and large that connected the people on the east and west banks of the river. The earliest ferries stories can only be told through brief glimpses and hints in notes and journals and occasionally in legislative acts of the State of Pennsylvania. The industrial revolution would change that once and for all.
With many industries blossoming into successful and mighty fixtures along the Mon, the need for more substantial access across the river became apparent. In some cases, the early flat boat operations expanded and became more substantial boats to meet the needs of ever increasing industrial development. Some of these lasted well into living memory. It would take a book to properly chronicle the history of all of these ferries, but we can focus on a few that have been instrumental in linking Greene, Washington and Fayette counties together.
In 1814 the first ferry to cross the river between two small settlements on the Monongahela River that would later become Crucible in Greene County and Arensburg in Fayette County was built. When first established, the ferry was little more than a simple flat boat but coal and steel would change that. The Crucible Steel Company would operate a paddleboat, much like the ones that would be seen traveling up and down the Mississippi River reminiscent of tales told by Mark Twain. By the 1950’s, a cable ferry named the Nekoda, owned and operated by the Mitchell Family, crossed the river. This would be the last ferry to service any portion of Greene County. In 1952, Margaret Mitchell inherited the ferry, and operated it herself well into the 1970’s. A major flood in 1985 made sure the ferry stayed out of business when it was washed into the river. It sat there for many years, decaying in the river waters until sometime in the late 90s or early 2000s, when it was raised and towed away to Engle’s Holiday Harbor. There it would become two salvage/dive barges. Ms. Mitchell lived to the age of 104 years, and for a brief eight days claimed the title of oldest living resident in Greene County Pennsylvania.
1917 was the big year for Nemacolin- the town was founded and a wooden and steam powered ferry was constructed to haul materials from the Buckeye Coal Company mine across the river to Ronco. Legend has it that the steel cable used to move the ferry back and forth across the river had to be replaced every 45 days to keep the ferry operational due to its heavy use. On December 20, 1924 a new ferryboat was launched to replace the former wooden structure that had sunk in the river. Another new steel ferryboat arrived on June 12th 1931; this would be the last ferry to cross the river at this location. It was built by Midland Barge Company and boasted a carrying capacity of 14 tons to facilitate the heavy vehicles that were now reliant on the ferry to transport materials back and forth from the mine. The Buckeye mine operated this ferry until January 1, 1949, then selling it into private ownership and operation.
Perhaps the best remembered ferry in the region, and the one most recently in operation, was the Fredericktown Ferry, known affectionately as Fred. It was a well-used access point across the Mon for residents of Greene, Washington and Fayette counties, greatly shortening the drive time to get from Fredericktown to locations in Fayette County. The first known instance of a ferry crossing the river from Fredericktown to La Belle was in 1790. It was a pulled flat boat, a common site at many points up and down the Monongahela River. The last ferryboat however, was a steel hulled cable-driven ferry built by Hillman Barge Company weighing in at 35 tons. Measuring 60 feet in length, the ferry could carry up to 8 vehicles and at one time was making as many as 250 trips back and forth across the river every day. Sadly, this would be the last operational ferry in the region, ceasing operations in 2013 due to heavy financial burdens and a new bridge built within a short driving distance. In 2015 the ferry was sold to a ship yard in Allegheny County and now serves as a work barge. At the time of its demise, Fred was one of only 30 operating cable-driven ferries in America.
The closure of the Fredericktown ferry was the end of an era in southwestern Pennsylvania. Long gone are most of the mines, mills and other industrial sites that fueled the advancement of this system of river navigation. Many of us look back with fond memories of driving on the ferry ramp, having a pleasant chat with the operator and floating across the river, while looking at barges and just taking a quick break from the work commute. Though now gone, many of these ferries will live on in our minds as the first major development in linking all of our communities together on either side of the Monongahela River.