Vandergrift
Vandergrift, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Hailed by historian Ida Tarbell as America''s "most important industrial town," with homes owned by the workers. Founded 1895 by Geo. G. McMurtry, president, Apollo Iron & Steel Co. Named for Capt. Jacob J. Vandergrift, and designed by the firm of Frederick Law Olmsted.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Founded in 1895 by steel executive George G. McMurtry of the Apollo Iron & Steel Company, Vandergrift was an experiment in industrial idealism: a mill town where workers could own their own homes, laid out by the landscape firm of Frederick Law Olmsted with curving streets, parks, and utilities. Muckraking historian Ida Tarbell praised it as America's 'most important industrial town,' a deliberate answer to the grim company towns of the Gilded Age.
Why it matters
Vandergrift stands as one of the era's boldest attempts to reconcile heavy industry with humane, planned community life, a touchstone in the American story of company towns and workers' housing.
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Related people
- · George G. McMurtry
- · Jacob J. Vandergrift
- · Ida Tarbell
- · Frederick Law Olmsted
Related events
- · Founding of Vandergrift (1895)
Themes & tags
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