WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA HISTORICAL MAGAZINE

Vol. 1, No. 1.

January, 1918.

Price, "Cents.

SALUTATORY.

Seventy-one years ago the publication of The Olden Time was begun in Pittsburgh. It was a monthly magazine edited by Neville B. Craig, in his day the best known authority in the country on the early West. The mission of the magazine was to preserve documents and other authentic information relating to the early exploration, and to the settlement and improvement, of the country at the head of the Ohio River. Much material of historical value which otherwise would have been lost, is preserved within the covers of this old periodical. At the end of two years it was discontinued for lack of material support. In his valedictory the editor bewailed the death of his magazine, but rejoiced at what had been accomplished. He stated that the publication was undertaken as the substitute for an historical society, the establishment of which had been attempted at various times before the birth of The Olden Time. But the seed that was then sown did not fall on stony places. An era of historical investigation commenced. Men began collecting books and papers relating to early Pennsylvania history. Musty garrets and dusty book shelves yielded up their treasures at the beck of the collectors. Historical societies were organized, and finally the growing sentiment brought into life the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, which it is hoped will be a permanent factor in the promotion of Pittsburgh's culture.

THE WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA HISTORICAL MAGAZINE is published quarterly by the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, Bigelow Boulevard and Parkman Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pa. Subscription price, $1.00 per Annum to members of the Society when paid in advance with regular annual dues; to all others, $1.50 per Annum.