Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/573

 PITTSBURGH LANDING Aug. 11, 1775. On Aug. 31, 1779, commission- ers appointed by the two provinces met in Bal- timore, and agreed upon the boundary, which was duly ratified by their respective legislatures. During the excise troubles of 1791-'4, which culminated in the " whiskey insurrection," Pittsburgh was the scene of much violence. It was incorporated as a borough in 1804, and chartered as a city in 1816. In 1845 a confla- gration destroyed the entire business quarter, consuming $5,000,000 worth of property. PITTSBURGH LANDING, Battle of. See SHILOII. PITTSFIELD, the shire town of Berkshire co., Massachusetts, on the Boston and Albany rail- road, and at the terminus of the Housatonic and the Pittsfield and North Adams railroads, 130 m. N. N. E. of New York, and 151 m. by rail W. of Boston; pop. in 1860, 8,045; in 1870, 11,112. It is beautifully situated in an elevated valley surrounded by mountains, and is regularly laid out, with houses generally of wood and very neatly built. In the cen- tre of the town is a green, called the park, in which is a handsome monument in mem- ory of the citizens of Pittsfield who fell in the civil war. Around the park are several fine buildings, including the elegant white marble court house, the Congregational church of stone, the building of the Berkshire life insu- rance company, St. Stephen's Episcopal church, and the building of the Berkshire Athenaaum, containing a fine library and collections of local curiosities. On the main street are the hand- some marble church of St. Joseph (Roman Catholic) and the fine buildings and grounds of the Maplewood institute for young ladies. The jail is also a fine building. The town is extensively engaged in the manufacture of cot- ton and woollen goods, paper, silk, machinery, &c. It contains two national banks, with a joint capital of $700,000 ; a savings bank, with about $2,000,000 deposits; a high school and public schools of inferior grades, with an av- erage attendance of about 2,000 pupils; two weekly newspapers; and nine churches. Pittsfield was incorporated in 1761, and named in honor of William Pitt. It is soon to be or- ganized as a city (1875). The Berkshire medi- cal institution, founded here in 1822, was dis- continued in 1869. PITTSTON, a borough of Luzerne co., Penn- sylvania, on the E. bank of the Susquehanna, just below the mouth of the Lackawanna, and on the Lackawanna and Bloomsburg, the Le- high and Susquehanna, and the Lehigh Valley railroads, 7 m. N. E. of Wilkesbarre, 10 m. S. W. of Scranton, and 105 N. by W. of Phila- delphia; pop. in 1870, 6,760; in 1875, about 15,000, including West Pittston and immediate vicinity. It is in the heart of the Wyoming anthracite region, and is the seat of the Penn- sylvania coal company's operations, the ship- ments amounting to from 2,500^000 to 3,000,- 000 tons a year. It has an important trade, and the abundance and cheapness of coal give it admirable facilities for manufactures. The 666 VOL. xni. 36 PIUS (POPES) 55T principal establishments are a knitting mill, a f oundery and machine shop, two planing mills, pottery and terra cotta works, water works, gas works, and extensive stove works. The borough is connected with West Pittston, on the opposite bank, by two fine bridges, and has a street railroad, an opera house, three banks with an aggregate capital of $900,000, good schools, two weekly newspapers, a pub- lic library, and 12 churches, embracing nearly all denominations. PITTSYLVANIA, a S. county of Virginia, bor- dering on North Carolina, bounded N. by the Staunton, intersected by the Banister through the middle, and drained by the Dan river on the south; area, about 900 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 31,343, of whom 16,084 were colored. It has a diversified surface and fertile soil. The Rich- mond, Danville, and Piedmont railroad passes through it. The chief productions in 1870 were 125,359 bushels of wheat, 307,657 of In- dian corn, 252,787 of oats, 20,332 of Irish and 9,145 of sweet potatoes, and 4,282,511 Ibs. of tobacco. There were 2,926 horses, 1,310 mules and asses, 5,031 milch cows, 1,175 working oxen, 6,584 other cattle, 5,664 sheep, and 21,- 197 swine. Capital, Pittsylvania Court House. I'RRA, an inland city of Peru, capital of the department, province, and district, and on the river of the same name, 523 m. N. W. of Lima; pop. about 15,000. Situated in the midst of a sandy plain, it has pretty good streets, and houses more remarkable for solid construction than architectural symmetry. The climate is very mild and exceedingly dry, Piura being comprised within the rainless zone of the republic. Sulphur, iron, lead, magnesia, lime, and sulphate of soda abound in the province, and petroleum likewise oc- curs. The cultivated products comprise maize, tobacco, cacao, cotton, and the sugar cane ; plantations of the two last of which are fast multiplying in the vicinity of the city, which will be connected by a railway 63 m. in length, to be completed in 1876, with its port, Payta, on the Pacific. The mules of Piura are the best in the republic. This city, founded by Pizarro in 1531 near its present site, under the name of San Miguel, is the oldest Euro- pean settlement in Peru. PIUS, the name of nine popes, of whom the following are the most important. I. Pius I., Saint, born in Aquileia about the year 90, died in Rome in 157. His father's name was Rufinus, and his own surname of Pius was be- stowed on him by the Christians of Rome, to whom he ministered from 117 till April 9,^142, when he was chosen to succeed St. Hyginus. During his pontificate, with the aid of Justin Martyr, he combated the errors of Valentinus and Marcion. Some authors attribute to him the first ordinance prescribing that the feast of the resurrection should be held on Sunday. The title of martyr, given him by the Latin church, is considered by some to have been bestowed on account of his unceasing struggles