II.

In Later Days.

The Redoubt was acquired by new owners, going early into the hands of Colonel O'Hara. It was rented to tenants, became surrounded by manufacturing establishments, and the character of the tenants changed from year to year and the building deteriorated. W. G. Lyford has left an extended account of the Redoubt as he saw it in 1837. (20) "A part of this fort, however, so far as houses constitute a part, must yet be remaining; or a block house and officers' quarters must have been erected on or near the same spot, soon after the period last mentioned; for such buildings exist-they are of brick and two stories high; the former low pitched, adjoin each other, and carry in their appearance everything of a military feature. The heavy timbers, in which the loop-holes are mortised, are on the side next the city, about half the height of the building, and probably serve at this time to support the floor of the second story.

"I asked permission of the occupant, a pleasant looking German, whose name is John Martin, to enter his citadel, which he readily granted, and found the lower room tastefully finished and furnished; but he could give me no further information, than that he had a lease on it at $40 a year. I suggested to him the advantage he might derive, by opening the room (which is about 20 feet square), during the season of travel, for the accommodation of strangers, and have in preparation some light cakes, lemonade, ices, fruits, etc., for that numbers would be pleased to visit the military relic, if they could do so under circumstances other than intrusive, and while he obliged such, he would profit liberally by the pleasant speculation. His wife just at this moment entered the room, laughing, from an adjoining shed, and wiping her arms (for she appeared to have been washing) said, 'Dare Jon, didn't I tell de so, ofden? hear vat de man sa.' John laughed likewise, and replied, 'ah, I'ms doo old now; and pesides, yoo nose I cot vork petter dan dat.'

"These buildings are located in the midst of lumber yards and workshops, very near the point at which the two rivers unite; but as it is difficult finding them, from the nature of the materials with which they are surrounded, some of which appear as ancient as the edifices themselves, it is probable that few other of the inhabitants are acquainted with their existence than those whose vocations call them into that section. It is a subject which at present does not interest business men."

William Ferguson, an English traveler, visited the Redoubt in 1856, and said it was "a small brick house with arched windows and doorways, now inhabited by the 'lowest class."'" (21) Only at rare intervals during these later years while the Redoubt was used as a dwelling, was it occupied by families of the character of those living there in its early days. Among these were the parents of Professor Michael J. McMahon, the Pittsburgh educator, who was for many years Principal of the First Ward Public School. The family resided in the Redoubt during the last years of the decade beginning in 1850, and in the decade beginning in 1860, and it was during this time that Professor McMahon was born there.

What is now called the Old City Hall, situated on Smithfield Street, was dedicated on May 23, 1872. During the course of its construction, the stone tablet was removed from the Redoubt and placed in the rear wall of the building, opposite the main entrance on Smithfield Street, at the top of the first flight of stairs, and immediately beneath the window containing a representation of the seal of the city. After the Redoubt became the property of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the stone was taken from the City Hall and replaced in its old location on the Redoubt.

The writer recalls visiting the building in his boyhood when it was occupied by an Irish family, who besides living there had adopted, very likely unconsciously, Mr. Lyford's suggestion, and in addition to showing the place to visitors, were selling candy, lemonade, cigars, etc. The Redoubt was also occasionally used for less legitimate purposes, an instance occurring after the passage by the Legislature of the Brooks High License Law in 1887, when the building

was used as a "speakeasy," as drinking houses were called where liquor was sold illegally.

Brewery Alley had been abandoned for more than half a century, and as the Redoubt was in an obscure location, it was difficult of approach. It could be reached either from First Street, vacated by the city when the Pennsylvania Railroad took possession of the block in which the Redoubt is located, or by way of Point Alley, also vacated at the same time. It was surrounded by poorly constructed, shabby brick and frame houses, with a frame stable or two close by. Hemming it in on all sides were manufacturing establishments, forges, foundries, boiler works, planing mills, lumber yards and machine shops.

The settlement about the Redoubt was unique in Pittsburgh. The owner of the land lived in England, and leased it in small lots for long terms of years to persons who built their own dwellings, or released the ground for manufacturing purposes. It was the most densely populated district in the city, and according to Rev. Dr. A. A. Lambing, who had an intimate knowledge of conditions in that locality, being pastor of the Roman Catholic "Church of Our Lady of Consolation," (22) located on the east side of First Street only a short distance from the Redoubt, who, writing in 1880, said: "It would not be exaggeration to say that it would not be difficult to find at least a hundred families who each occupied a single room, and that perhaps not more than twelve by fourteen feet." The Redoubt was as crowded with tenants as the other houses. The people were with very few exceptions, Irish Catholics from County Galway, who had settled there about twenty-five years earlier, and Gaelic was the language generally spoken, even by children born there. The people were poor and earned their daily bread and little more. From 1868 on, they had a church and a school of their own, the "Church of Our Lady of Consolation," located in a remodeled dwelling on First Street. And in the church a priest preached sermons in Gaelic, and the district had another attraction in addition to the Redoubt. (23)

All this had vanished; the shabby settlement has disappeared. The Irish are there no longer. The oldest among them are long since dead, and their children and grand