Ambridge's American Bridge Co. constructing a towboat, circa 1912

"Fabricating steel hull for towboat
at Ambridge plant of American Bridge Company"
Industrial World 
July 8, 1912

I suspect that when many people remember the work done at Ambridge's American Bridge Co. plant, they think of structural steel fabricated for projects such as bridges, skyscrapers, or sports stadiums. But the Ambridge plant also built boats.

Not big boats. The Ohio River isn't deep enough for a shipyard that could build large ships. However, the Ambridge plant had a Barge Yard which built hundreds of barges, mostly freight barges, but also more specialized ones for dredges, derricks, or tanks that carried liquids like oil. 

The plant also occasionally built towboats, or at least the hulls for them, with the boats being finished elsewhere by their owners. 

Towboats are the boats that push barges. So, towboats don't "tow" a barge by pulling it the way a tow truck might pull a car; they push. (What can I say? English is weird.) In contrast, tugboats do pull ships. So, as I learned only recently, the boats you see pushing barges in the Ohio River are towboat, not tugboats. 

I don't know what towboat the photo above shows being built or who ordered it. Industrial World's July 8, 1912 issue doesn't provide that information anywhere that I could find.  And, as of now, I haven't found information elsewhere about a towboat being built in Ambridge in 1912. Perhaps the photo was taken earlier than 1912.

_____

During WWII, American Bridge's Navy Yard, built across Big Sewickley Creek from the plant, also built ships: 123 LSTs (Landing Ship, Tank).

And, during WWI, Ambridge's American Bridge plant fabricated the hulls for large ships that were then sent to shipyards capable of finishing the ships' construction. One of those ships was the freighter U.S.S. Ambridge. 

The same photo as the one above was also published in Coal and Coke Operator, July 25, 1912.

Allison's Feed Store, 1904 - 1922

 

Allison's Feed Store
northeast corner 8th St. and Glenwood Ave.
circa 1915
courtesy Louis Vukovcan family

Robert G. Allison was already advertising his feed and flour business in 1904, the year before Ambridge was incorporated.

R. G. Allison ad
Ambridge-Economy Citizen
Sept. 2, 1904

Allison's first location was in the part of Ambridge that was still referred to as Economy, north of what is now 8th St. But he stayed there for less than a year before moving to a building he'd built in the 300 block of Maplewood Ave., near the intersection of what is now 4th St., located conveniently near the new railroad depot and station on the east side of the new American Bridge plant.

R. B. Allison
Stock Feed & Grains
ad
Pittsburgh Gazette Times
February 8, 1914

Eventually, Allison's business outgrew the Maplewood location, and in 1914, he bought property on the northeast corner of 8th St. (then called Bryden Rd.) and Glenwood Ave. He selected that property because it was located next to the spur rail line that had been built through Ambridge. The "Belt Line" ran from French Point, serviced a rapidly growing number of businesses across Ambridge, and eventfully ended at 8th St. next to Allison's new building. (While the spur line no longer exists, an end-of-the-line "bumper" on the east side of 507 8th St. still does.)

Notice
Weekly Northwestern Miller
Jan. 12, 1916

In 1922, the building Allison built on 8th St. was sold to William Wall, who had decided to close the bakery he'd operated in Ambridge since 1910. 

"R. G. Allison Sells Feed and Seed Store"
The Citizen
July 18, 1922
courtesy Jefrey Wall

At the end of the above article, Allison described his future plans: "When asked what he purposed doing, Mr. Allison replied, 'Nothing at present, except collect up my accounts.'" 

William Wall, then later his sons, continued to operate the business as a feed and grain store until the demand for those dwindled. The Wall family then switched to primarily selling lawn and garden supplies in that building until they closed the business in 1997. 

Below is the what Allison's 8th St. building currently looks like. You can see the spur line bumper to the right of the building. Several small businesses are currently located in the building.

Former Allison's Feed Store
507 8th St.
June 20, 2021
credit: P. J. Shotter

Here's a closer shot of the bumper:

Train bumper
east side of 307 8th St.
June 20, 2021
credit: P. J. Shotter