Assume the year is 1750 and you are located in
a small trading post settlement with only trails
coming into your location. You are trapped in your
crude cabin by a large snowstorm. You shovel out to
the trail. You are hungry and are low on supplies.
There is no food in town. How long will it take to get
you and others in the settlement the necessary
supplies?Most probably, many days!
Conquering our Rugged
Geographical Features
A good transportation system is needed before
industrial growth and development can occur. Before
the 1800s, Pennsylvania’s development was
hindered because of a poor, slow transportation
system. The only way to travel over land was on
horseback or on horse-drawn vehicles. At this point
in time, almost all roads were unpaved. As a result,
when it rained or snowed, mud or icemade travel
most difficult and unpleasant. When farmers took
their produce tomarket by boats, they could only
travel downstream. At the end of the trip, the boats
were torn up and the farmer returned home on foot.
As you review the five themes of geography, which
ones can you connect to this paragraph?
The physical geography of Pennsylvaniamade it
hard to develop an efficient transportation system.
The western frontier was separated from the eastern
cities by the rugged Allegheny Mountains and
Plateau. There were few roads into the wilderness,
and those roads weremore like trails. In addition,
there was no way for boats to travel from the eastern
part of the state west to Pittsburgh. Either rivers did
not flow in that direction or they were too shallow.
For these reasons, hauling supplies and trade goods
back and forth was extremely difficult and slow.
In the early development of western
Pennsylvania, traders packed their supplies on
horses and led themover the trails that crossed the
mountains before reaching the growing settlements.
But, as the number of settlersmoving toward
Pittsburgh increased, so did the demand for
supplies. Sometimes, the goods and tools the
settlers wanted were too heavy for horses to carry.
Horses did not last long if they were overloaded with
heavy barrels of flour. Because of this problem,
traders in eastern Pennsylvania decided to look for a
strong wagon and stronger horse they could use to
haul more supplies and trade items over the poor
roads andmountains.
Mountains of Pennsylvania Hinder Industrial Growth
61
Before the 1800s, themost commonway to transport
people and goods on land was by horse.
