Quote:
Originally Posted by mrherodotus
The reason there's a city here is simple. The location commands control of the Ohio River, the only river that ran from relatively close to the eastern establishments in the 1700s, to well into the interior. In an era where water transportation ruled, this made it a no brainer for a military facility, and then a settlement to grow up around it.
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Yes, initially due to its militarily-strategic position. Proximity to eastern establishments had little to do with it though, since the Appalachians rendered that proximity meaningless at the time. There was very little connection to the eastern seaboard at the time.
It was THE key location to control the Ohio Valley and thus expansion into the west, which the French were attempting to gain a firm stronghold on by building forts from Erie (Fort Presque Isle), down the French Creek (Fort LeBoeuf) to the Allegheny River at Franklin (Fort Machault) and at Pittsburgh (Fort Duquesne) and along the Ohio River (Shenango Town), in order to claim the territory.
Once the French & Indian War and later Indian Wars ended, Pittsburgh became a water transportation hub to reach the Ohio Valley/Mississippi, and then due to its proximity to the nation's coalfields... iron, glass, steel, etc.
So, due to the insane topography, a city shouldn't really be built where Pittsburgh is. But a city HAD to be built where Pittsburgh is. Because of, as you said, military/transportation... and also industrial manufacturing due to coal.