Mid-Century America

This page, and the two that follow, provide a glimpse of mid-century American life. Cities on major rivers are now linked by railroads, and function as important supply hubs.

While all the growth is out west, eastern cities are still the biggest and most developed. Many have already begun the shift from agriculture to manufacturing.

This is particularly true in Pennsylvania, which has large iron fields, and even larger coal fields. Coal will soon become the driving force behind industrial growth.
Boston Dominates the East, 1850

  Boston Dominates the East
America's first city is still growing fast, but has been overtaken by New York in both population and manufacturing activity. Nonetheless, Boston is still the center of a great shipping fleet, which is partly based at Salem, a bustling harbor just up the coast. Boston is also home to the venerable State Street Bank, founded 40 years earlier as one of America's first city banks (with tower, in main image). The scene features a wagon rigged up to sprinkle water on the street, to keep down the dust, while a nearby horse-drawn barrel is used to roll it flat.

Boston, 1850

  Boston
Water Celebration on Boston Commons. Top hats will be standard formal-wear until the First World War.


Pittsburgh, 1850

  Pittsburgh
Already home to America's largest concentration of iron foundries and rolling mills, Pittsburgh will soon expand to become the country's great steel-producing capital.


Pennsylvania, 1850

  Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania's farming region supply center is York, which will soon shift into manufacturing.


Massachusetts, 1850

  Massachusetts
Outside of Boston, Massachusetts remains mostly farming country, despite growing pockets of small factories.


Louisville, 1850

  Kentucky
Louisville is located in the Western state of Kentucky (note the covered wagons jamming the street), but remains cut off from the rest of the Midwest by the Ohio River, which still lacks a bridge.