A fascinating look at life during pioneer times in western Pennsylvania. Describes the hardship, danger and drudgery of day-to-day life on the frontier. Topics include cabin raising, crop harvests, tanning, weaving, disease, religion,  and superstition. Also follows the progression from pioneer life to industrial society.

Pioneer Life in Western Pennsylvania was one of the original books sponsored by the University of Pittsburgh, the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, and the Buhl Foundation to mark the founding of the University of Pittsburgh Press.  Authors Wright and Corbett describe the country the first settlers discovered, the homes and towns they built, the farm implements and household goods they used, the crops they grew and how their small, isolated communities laid the foundations for the cities and industries we know today

The monumental American Guide Series, published by the Federal Writers’ Project, provided work to thousands of unemployed writers, editors, and researchers in the midst of the Great Depression. Featuring books on states, cities, rivers, and ethnic groups, it also opened an unprecedented view into the lives of the American people during this time. Untold numbers of projects in progress were lost when the program was abruptly shut down by a hostile Congress in 1939.

One of those, "The Negro in Pittsburgh," lay dormant in the Pennsylvania State Library until it was microfilmed in 1970. The WPA History of the Negro in Pittsburgh marks the first publication of this rich body of information. This unique historical study of the city’s black population features articles on civil rights, social class, lifestyle, culture, folklore, and institutions from colonial times through the 1930s.