Foundations of Human Activity
The first people to inhabit the Pittsburgh area were from the Iroquois tribe. they originally came to the area after crossing the Bering Straight and settled the Pittsburgh area due to the proximity of the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio rivers. These river also attracted British and French traders in the 1700's. General George Washington travelled to the area and found it a a good place to make a fort for the impending war against the British. Both the British and French made Forts along the rivers. The British named their fort, Fort Pitt. A small village named Pittsborough  developed around the Fort. The British settlers soon began to mine for coal in the hillsides.Before Pittsburgh became a manufacturing town it was a largely agriculture area. The major crop being grain, whiskey was a main by product. And in 1790 the Whiskey rebellion occurred in Pittsburg. Coal was first found in modern day Mt. Washington in 1762. During the war of 1812 many farmers turned to away from their farms and went into the  manufacturing of iron, ropes and boats. In the Civil War years the Pittsburgh factories aided the Union army through the manufacturing of warships and armor plate.


Sources:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Fort_Pitt_1795_large.jpg
http://pittsburgh.about.com/od/history/a/Three-Centuries-Of-Pittsburgh-History.htm
http://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-Northeast/Pittsburgh-History.html