Allegheny, Pennsylvania - Annexation By Pittsburgh

Annexation By Pittsburgh

The absorption of Allegheny began in 1906, was effected in 1907, authorized by the U.S. Supreme Court in a landmark decision Hunter v. City of Pittsburgh in 1907, and finally approved by the United States Government in 1911. The annexation was controversial at the time as an overwhelming majority of Allegheny City residents were opposed to the merger. Previous Pennsylvania law had directed that a majority of the voters in each merging municipality had to approve the agreement. In 1906, a new law was quietly passed by the State Assembly that allowed a majority of the total voters in both combined municipalities to approve the merger. The annexation was rejected by the residents of Allegheny City by a 2:1 margin but was approved by much more populous Pittsburgh and the annexation bill passed into law. Allegheny City residents tried unsuccessfully for years to have the annexation overturned in court.

The population of Pittsburgh rose from 321,616 in 1900 to 533,905 in 1910, which included the 132,283 who lived in Allegheny in 1910 when the last census of Allegheny was taken.

When the two cities were joined, both of the old ward systems were discarded. They were replaced by a new ward system made of 27 wards. In the new ward system, Allegheny became wards 21 to 27, thus its past location is easily determinable by viewing a map that depicts the ward system .