This is how an early traveler wrote about McKeesport almost 250 years ago, as he was making his way through the western part of Pennsylvania. And so it began. David McKee, who was born in Scotland in 1715, came to the American colonies with his family to escape religious persecution both in Scotland and in Ireland. The McKee family came to America in search of a "church without a bishop and a state without a king." John McKee, son of David, was actually credited with the founding of this village in the new world which lay at the confluence of the Youghiogheny and Monongahela rivers. Although the family did some farming, and made some barrels of rum on the side, their actual living was made from operating a ferry on the two rivers, and carrying travelers back and forth over the river banks. Eventually the McKee family bought a good bit of land between the rivers, and the land became known as McKee's Port (and later, simply as McKeesport.)

McKeesport has a huge historical background, going back to Revolutionary days. On many occasions, George Washington, who was later to become the land's first President, often came here to visit with his friend, Queen Aliquippa. Queen Aliquippa was a beautiful Seneca Indian who ruled over her tribe of Indian warriors from the top of the river bank overlooking the Monongahela. After the Revolutionary War, the village of McKeesport prospered and grew. The first schoolhouse was erected in 1832. The first schoolmaster was James E. Huey. Huey Street, named after Mr. Huey, still runs through the center of the city. The first steel mill was established in McKeesport in1851, and although there were growing pains, the steel business prospered and flourished. Then came the real boom.

Much prize land, formerly occupied by the steel mills, is available for redevelopment in McKeesport today, redevelopment in manufacturing, sales or distribution. Local government officials, under our very progressive Mayor, Mr. James R. Brewster are intensely interested in Community Development and betterment, and would provide valuable inducements for any company or industry who would establish themselves here and become part of the McKeesport scene.