It is ironic to note that Captain Vandergrift never lived in nor visited his namesake. The intent was to provide a place where his employees could own their own homes and develop pride and allegiance to the wonderful place that was being created for them where they could live, work and play with a greater quality of life. McMurtry asked his acquaintance and famed riverboat captain, Jacob Jay Vandergrift, to manage the building of his new town. A trip to the Chicago Exposition of 1893 provided the impetus for George McMurtry to seek out the professional skills of the renowned landscape architect firm of Frederick Law Olmstead, planner of the layout for the Exposition, to design and build his new company town so that it would be “better than the best.” The Exposition also led him to the decision to hire the well-known inventor, George Westinghouse who masterminded the electrical infrastructure for the Chicago Exposition. Mounting labor issues compounded by a need to expand his manufacturing facilities created a strong desire for him to move forward with the development of a new industrial town and steel mill only one mile down the Kiskiminetas River from his Apollo Plant. McMurtry owned and operated a major mill in Apollo, Pennsylvania. Prior to building his new industrial town and steel factory in what was to become Vandergrift Pennsylvania, George G.
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