Feeding Pittsburgh in the 18th Century

You are standing on what was once the parade ground of Fort Pitt, one of the largest military fortifications in 18th century North America. British and colonial American soldiers built this massive fort between 1759 and 1761 in order to control the strategic Forks of the Ohio River (now Point State Park). The town of Pittsburgh grew up around Fort Pitt.

To feed the growing population, Fort Pitt's British commanders set aside nearly forty acres of land along the Allegheny River for the King's Garden, named for the British King George III. Stretching three-quarters of a mile along the Allegheny River from Fort Pitt, the Garden included a bowling green, a fenced deer park, a large orchard, and a series of fields, pastures, and garden plots laid out in geometrical patterns. The plantings that make up the green or living walls of the caf? reflect the Garden's patterns.

Fort Pitt's garrison raised fruits, vegetables, and grains in the King's Garden. These local crops, rich in vitamins and nutrients, supplemented the typical military diet of salted meat, flour, dried peas, and rice. Pittsburgh's early inhabitants enjoyed strolling around the grounds for many years and continued to use the term the King's Garden even after the colonists declared their independence from King George III.

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