Crafton High School - Ginkgo Yearbook (Crafton, PA)

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A Brief Histor of Crafton Peters Chartiers, a French half-breed, was the first white man to explore the region about Crafton. In 1734 he established a trading station where McKees Rocks is located today. There he carried on a thriving trade with the Indians up the valley and along the creek, which today bear his name. The first white man who actually settled in Crafton was Iohn Bell. He came here in 1788. In 1777 General Hand, a cornmancler at Fort Pitt, built, below the present Thornburg bridge, on Chartiers Creek, a hospital lor his workers and soldiers. All that remains today of the hospital is a well, although recently a monument in tribute to General Hand has been erected upon the site. General Hand was rewarded for his military services with a large tract of land which included Crafton. This land was willed to his daughter, and upon her death it was acquired by Philip Smith, a Phila- delphia business man. Philip Smith donated the land for the site of St. Philip's Church, which was named in his honor. The Smith heirs sold portions of their land to the Dinsmores, Graces, Bradfords, and Crafts. By 1871 Iames S. Craft had gained possession of most of the land now comprising Crafton. After Mr. Craft's death, his son, Charles C. Craft, recorded, in the Allegheny County Court House, a plan of lots under the name of Crafton. It was not until 1892, however, that Crafton was incorporated as a borough. Before 1892 Crafton had been known by several names. The Indians called it Killimen. In 1857, after a post office had been established, it was called Brodhead, in honor of the famous General Brodhead who built the first road to Crafton from Fort Pitt, by way of Elliott. Steuben Street is a continuation of this old road. ln 1866 the first means of transportation was offered this district by the Pittsburgh and Steubenville Railroad, now the Panhandle Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad. The first street cars were seen in Crafton in 1895. Paved streets became common about 1900. The first school house was located on the present site of Davis' drug store. The next school house stood where the borough building is located today. In 1901 the Second Ward School was built, and in 1913 the present high school building was erected. Today Crafton has three elementary public schools, a parochial school, and a high school. Here are some interesting facts about Crafton: The first church was built here in 1839. This was St. Philip's, and the building still stands behind the site of the present church. Lower Linwood Avenue, from the present Gulf station to Streebach's market, was once a toot bridge. The bridge on Crafton Boulevard was once covered. The Knights of Columbus Hall was originally the Episcopal Church. Electric lights first made their appearance in Crafton in 1895. It is believed that George Washington, in passing through this part of the country, stopped at the old tavern in Thornburg, near the bridge. This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the incorporation of Crafton as a bor- ough. Many of the original citizens are still living here, and are justly proud of the beautiful and prosperous town, covering six square miles and having cr population of eight thousand, which has grown from the settlement founded by Iohn Bell in 1788. Page Ten-THE GINKGO

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TABLE of CONTENTS Brief History of Crafton --- Board of Education ...... Superintendent ot Schools .... Principal of the High School ---, Faculty - - - Classes: Senior - - Iunior ...... Sophomore - - - Freshman ................,...... Queens and Toppers of Crafton High --- Athletics .... Organizations - - - Arts ------- Snapshots ........... Alumni-Class of 1941 .... Advertisements .... Acknowledgments Page Nine--THE GINKGO

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Board of Education Walter D. Moser D011 l- HOTChkiSS Edmund Lynch Sidnley H. Malone Dudley R. Meredith President Secretary Vice President Harry I. Deibel Lloyd H. Alrny Page Eleven-THE GINKGO