Pittsburg took an active part in the Whisky Insurrection (q.v.), houses being burned, large meetings of the disaffected held, and destructive fires, supposedly incendiary, breaking out, so that troops had to be sent here to enforce the law. Pittsburg became a borough in 1794 and a city in 1816. In 1796 its population was but 1400. The making of window glass began in 1796, and during the first ten years of the nineteenth century shipyards, foundries, the first bank, cotton factories, and shops for metal-working came into existence. The Pennsylvania Canal was opened to Pittsburg in 1834, and the era of activity and prosperity that followed was only temporarily checked by the fire of 1845, which destroyed property valued at $6,000,000. In 1877, during the great railroad strike, property valued at more than $3,000,000 was destroyed by the rioters.
Consult: Craig, Olden Time (Pittsburg, 1846-48); Craig, The History of Pittsburg (ib., 1851); Albach, Annals of the West (ib., 1856); McKnight, Our Western Border (ib., 1875); Chapman, The French in the Allegheny Valley (Cleveland, 1887); Thurston, Allegheny County's Hundred Years (Pittsburg, 1888); Darlington, Fort Pitt and Letters from the Frontier (ib., 1892); Withers, Chronicles of Border Warfare (Cincinnati, 1895); Frontier Forts of Pennsylvania (Harrisburg, 1890); Hassler, Old Westmoreland: A History of Western Pennsylvania During the Revolution (Pittsburg, 1900).
PITTSBURG. A city in Crawford County, Kan., 130 miles south of Kansas City; on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe, the Missouri Pacific, the Saint Louis and San Francisco, and the Kansas City Southern railroads (Map: Kansas, H 4). It has extensive coal-mining interests, being situated in the centre of productive coal fields and near the great mineral district of southwestern Missouri. There are also shops of the Kansas City Southern, a foundry and machine shops, brick and sewer pipe plants, lumber and flour mills, grain elevators, a packing house, etc. The city maintains a public library. Settled in 1870, Pittsburg was incorporated in 1880. It is governed by a mayor, elected biennially, and a unicameral council. Population, in 1890, 6697; in 1900, 10,112.
PITTSBURG LANDING, Battle of. See Shiloh, Battle of.
PITTSBURG ORCHESTRA. The permanent orchestra of Pittsburg, Pa. It was founded in 1895, and is maintained by public subscriptions guaranteed by a few public-spirited citizens. It has a membership of about seventy, and ranks with the great orchestras of America. Frederick Archer was its first conductor. In 1898 Victor Herbert became its conductor and brought the organization to a high degree of efficiency.
PITTS′FIELD. A city, including several villages within its corporate limits, and the county seat of Berkshire County, Mass., 150 miles west of Boston; on the Boston and Albany and the New York, New Haven and Hartford railroads (Map: Massachusetts, A 3). Its site in a hill-girt valley of the Berkshires, over 1000 feet above sea level, is of great natural beauty. In the vicinity are several picturesque lakes. There are public parks, one of which, in the heart of the city, has the fine statue of “The Color Bearer.” Among the noteworthy structures are the court house, built of white marble, the Crane Art Museum, the Berkshire Athenæum, the latter containing a public library of 36,000 volumes and the rooms of the Berkshire Historical Society; the House of Mercy and the Henry W. Bishop Training School for nurses, and the Berkshire County Home for Aged Women; the high school, the Berkshire Life Insurance Building, and the Berkshire County Savings Bank. The city is the headquarters of the Agassiz Association (q.v.). Pittsfield is an attractive residential place and a popular summer resort. It is known also for its manufacturing interests. As shown by the census of 1900, $6,085,000 was invested in the various industries, which had a production valued at $7,136,000. The leading establishments are woolen mills, a silk mill, foundry and machine shops, shoe factory, works making electrical machinery and supplies, paper mills, etc.
The government, under a charter of 1895, is conducted by a mayor, chosen annually, and a bicameral council that elects most administrative officers. The school committee is chosen by popular vote. The mayor appoints license commissioners. The water-works are owned and operated by the municipality. Settled in 1743 as Pontoosuck or Boston Plantation, Pittsfield was incorporated as a town under its present name in 1761 and in 1891 was chartered as a city. Longfellow stayed for a time at the Appleton House here and Oliver Wendell Holmes and Herman Melville lived in the vicinity. Population, in 1890, 17,281; in 1900, 21,766. Consult Smith, The History of Pittsfield (Boston, 1876).
PITTS′TON. A city in Luzerne County, Pa., ten miles southwest of Scranton; on the Susquehanna River, above the mouth of the Lackawanna, and on the Lehigh Valley, the Central of New Jersey, the Delaware and Hudson, the Lackawanna, and other railroads (Map: Pennsylvania, F 2). Situated in the anthracite region of the State, it is engaged principally in mining and preparing coal for market, the coal traffic being very important. There are also valuable deposits of fire clay in the vicinity. The manufacturing establishments include foundries and machine shops, stove and engine works, knitting mills, flour, paper, and lumber mills, breweries, terracotta and brick works, etc. Pittston is one of the leading commercial and industrial centres of this region. West Pittston (q.v.), across the river, is more distinctly a residential section. The city maintains a public library. Laid out in 1768 and named in honor of William Pitt, Pittston was settled about 1770, was incorporated as a borough in 1803, and was chartered as a city in 1894. Population, in 1890, 10,302; in 1900, 12,550.
PITUITARY BODY (Lat. pituitarius, relating to phlegm, from pituita, phlegm; connected with spuere, Gk. πτύειν, ptyein, Lith. spiauti, Lett. splaut, OChurch Slav. plivati, plynti, Goth. speiwan, OHG. spūvan, Ger. speien, AS. spīwan, Eng. spew, and ultimately with Eng. spit). The hypophysis of the brain, often called the pituitary body, is an appendage of the lower side of the 'twixt-brain in vertebrates. Its origin shows that it is a compound body, the different parts of which arise from different areas in the embryo. When fully developed the pituitary body consists of three parts, a stalk, an anterior and
