Wainwright's Island

Throughout much of the 19th century and Island remained in the Allegheny River from the approximate line of 41st Street to 34th Street. The Island was variously called Wainwright's or McCullough's Island.

Historian's speculate that this was the Island that saved George Washington and Christopher Gist from the icy waters of the Allegheny during their journey as diplomats to the French in the winter of 1754. Here is George Washington's version of the story:

The next day we continued travelling until quite dark, and got to the river about two miles above Shanapin's. We expected to have found the river frozen, but it was not, only about fifty yards from each shore. The ice, I suppose, had broken up above, for it was driving in vast quantities.

There was no way for getting over but on a raft, which we set about, with but one poor hatchet, and finished just after sun setting. This was a whole day's work: we next got it launched, then went on board of it, and set off; but before we were half way over, we were jammed in the ice, in such a manner, that we expected every moment our raft to sink, and ourselves to perish. I put out my setting pole to try to stop the raft, that the ice might pass by, when the rapidity of the stream threw it with so much violence against the pole, that it jerked me out into ten feet water; but I fortunately saved myself by catching hold of one of the raft logs. Notwithstanding all our efforts, we could not get to either shore, but were obliged, as we were near an island, to quit our raft and make to it.

The cold was so extremely severe, that Mr. Gist had all his fingers, and some of his toes frozen, and the water was shut up so hard, that we found no difficulty in getting off the island on the ice in the morning, and went to Mr. Frazier's.

The back channel (where the water was "shut up so hard") was filled in during the heyday of industrial growth after the Civil War. Maps from the early 20th century show the filled in channel as controlled by the City of Pittsburgh...hmmm. Time has wiped away that memory.

But public property does not just drift away...and there are some interesting legal cases that are interpreting ownership and jusridiction of formerly navigable waters. I will address theses in a later blog entry.