Jim is correct. Carnegie currently has the legal and political status
under Pennsylvania law of "incorporated borough." As a political and
geographical unit, "borough" is unique to Pennsylvania, although very
similar to "town" as used in New York and the six New England states,
"township" as used in many Midwestern states, etc. The US Census Bureau
term for such entitites (generally larger than a city or municipality
and smaller than a county and defined differently from state to state,
is "minor civil division."
The US Census Bureau also considers Carnegie to be a "census place"
(along with all incorporated municipalities and other "census designated
places"). The official 1990 population of Carnegie is 9,278, and the
total number of housing units is 4,478.
Carnegie is one of many political and geographic entities in the Pitts-
burgh metropolitan area. The "centroid" of its geographical boundaries
is 40 deg, 24 min, 27 sec N latitude, 80 deg, 5 min, 12 sec W longitude.
I know nothing of Carnegie's history, but, being in the Pittsburgh area,
the borough HAD to have been named for Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919), the
world famous Scottish-born American industrialist. It is most probable
that Carnegie is one of dozens of new residential and/or industrial com-
munities created in the Pittsburgh suburbs during the 19th and early
20th centuries, each time incorporating small, generally agricultural
settle- ments of the 18th and early 19th centuries.
James Campbell wrote 09/25:
Ian: Most of the Carnegie names including the town of Carnegie (which is
probably an incorporated borough) are in the western part of Pennsylvania,
near Pittsburgh. I don't get out there much. This is the coal and iron ore
"capital" of Pennsylvania. You may remember from your American history lessons
that George Washington was once (1754 if my memory serves me correctly)
charged with the task of removing the French and Indians from the forks of the
Ohio River (the French Fort Duquesne). Many Campbells (being mostly Scots
and Scotch-Irish) fought along the frontier in these wars and then settled.
Many Campbells also fought on both sides during the Revolution. So it is
possible that John Campbell was a friend of George, perhaps fought with George
early on the frontier, and then eventually settled near Pittsburgh
establishing Campbellsburg which eventually was renamed to Carnegie. Or,
perhaps John was a friend of George later in life and settled in eastern
Pennsylvainia. This of course is just speculation. It would help to know when
John was a friend of George since more is known about the life of George. My
bet would be that a detailed research of township, town, and borough genealogy
would expose the location of Campbellsburg and the dates of settlement and
perhaps sources on the history of the early inhabitants and particularly that
of the founder. This would be an interesting study but would need to be done
locally since, as far as I know, these records have not been computerized as
yet. Perhaps you can find some local Campbell to help. Good luck. Jim.
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