Brownsville Road is a road in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania

Allegheny County, Pennsylvania

Allegheny County is a county in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,223,348; making it the second most populous county in Pennsylvania, following Philadelphia County. The county seat is Pittsburgh...

. It has had several names over its history, and was also known at the Red Stone Road and the Brownsville Plank Road

Plank road

A plank road or puncheon is a dirt path or road covered with a series of planks, similar to the wooden sidewalks one would see in a Western movie. Plank roads were very popular in Ontario, the U.S. Northeast and U.S. Midwest in the first half of the 19th century...

, or Southern Avenue.

Pre-history to eighteenth century

The road follows the route of ancient trails and footpaths connecting Redstone Old Fort

Redstone Old Fort

Redstone Old Fort or Redstone Fort or Fort Burd on The Nemacolin Trail was the name of the French and Indian War era wooden fort built in 1759 by Pennsylvania Militia Colonel James Burd to guard the ancient Indian trail's river ford on a mound overlooking the eastern shore of the Monongahela River...

 with the "forks of the Ohio

Ohio River

The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...

", a distance of 26 miles (41.8 km). It later became the road connecting Pittsburgh with Brownsville, Pennsylvania

Brownsville, Pennsylvania

Brownsville is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, officially founded in 1785 located 35 miles south of Pittsburgh along the Monongahela River...

, and from there via Nemacolin's Path

Nemacolin's Path

thumb|450px|[[Braddock's Road|General Braddock's March]] follows or parallel's Chief Nemacolin's Trail from the Potomac River to the Monogahela. The wagon negotiable route from the summit to [[Redstone Creek]] was bypassed by Braddock...

 to Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

 and points further east. It was a major route for travel by stagecoach

Stagecoach

A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...

 and Conestoga Wagon

Conestoga wagon

The Conestoga wagon is a heavy, broad-wheeled covered wagon that was used extensively during the late 18th century and the 19th century in the United States and sometimes in Canada as well. It was large enough to transport loads up to 8 tons , and was drawn by horses, mules or oxen...

. The road was significant during the Whiskey Rebellion

Whiskey Rebellion

The Whiskey Rebellion, or Whiskey Insurrection, was a tax protest in the United States in the 1790s, during the presidency of George Washington. Farmers who sold their corn in the form of whiskey had to pay a new tax which they strongly resented...

, particularly its southern half.

Nineteenth Century

It was likely to be part of the route traveled by Meriwether Lewis

Meriwether Lewis

Meriwether Lewis was an American explorer, soldier, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition also known as the Corps of Discovery, with William Clark...

 from Harper's Ferry to Pittsburgh in 1803. and was the route along which telegraph lines first entered Pittsburgh.
There are relatively few roads connecting the floodplain

Floodplain

A floodplain, or flood plain, is a flat or nearly flat land adjacent a stream or river that stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls and experiences flooding during periods of high discharge...

 of the Monongahela River

Monongahela River

The Monongahela River is a river on the Allegheny Plateau in north-central West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania in the United States...

 with the higher elevations to the south and west of the river. Originally, Brownsville road connected with the floodplain by the road now known as Arlington

Arlington (Pittsburgh)

Arlington is a south neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The zip code used by residents is 15210, and has representation on Pittsburgh City Council by the council member for District 3 . The Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire houses 22 engine in Arlington. The city has discussed the possibility of...

 Avenue. In 1851 a turnpike

Toll road

A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...

 company was chartered by the State of Pennsylvania to pave the Pittsburgh end of the road, and to connect it with South Eighteenth Street. Aften this construction, the northern end of Brownsville Road connected to S. Eighteenth Street, just south of the Pittsburgh, Virginia and Charleston Railway

Pittsburgh, Virginia and Charleston Railway

The Pittsburgh, Virginia and Charleston Railway was a predecessor of the Pennsylvania Railroad in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. By 1905, when it was merged into the Pennsylvania, it owned a main line along the left side of the Monongahela River, to Pittsburgh's South Side from West Brownsville...

.
Many cemeteries were sited along the road as part of the Rural Cemetery Movement

Rural cemetery

The rural cemetery or garden cemetery is a style of burial ground that uses landscaping in a park-like setting.As early as 1711 the architect Sir Christopher Wren had advocated the creation of burial grounds on the outskirts of town, "inclosed with a strong Brick Wall, and having a walk round, and...

.
In the 1880s, an "electric road"

Tram

A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...

 was built from Mount Oliver

Mount Oliver, Pennsylvania

Mount Oliver is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a largely residential area situated atop a crest about west of the Monongahela River. The borough is surrounded entirely by the city of Pittsburgh....

 to the Concord Presbyterian Church, an area of Carrick

Carrick (Pittsburgh)

Carrick is a south neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is served by two zip codes, 15210 and 15227, and has representation on Pittsburgh City Council by the council member for District 4 with a part in District 3.Located between the suburbs of the South Hills and...

 also known as Crailo or Spiketown. Brownsville Road became a route out of the city for amusement and entertainment, including prize fighting.

Twentieth century

Streetcar tracks formerly ran down the road, ending just past the border of Pittsburgh at the "Brentwood

Brentwood, Pennsylvania

Brentwood is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and is part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The population was 9,643 at the 2010 census.-Geography and climate:Brentwood is located at ....

Loop"
It was part of the route of the '53 Carrick' and the 'Flying Fraction', or 77/54 streetcar runs.