John Franklin Miller photos Stewart Station
September 17, 2021:
We are excited to share with you a new acquisition to the Trafford Historical Society collection. Last night, we were gifted with 30 original c1901 photos of Stewart Station and the surrounding area upon which Trafford City and the Westinghouse Foundry were built. You may recognize some of the images as they appeared in Trafford’s 75th Anniversary souvenir book and our Trafford - Images of America book. What makes these 120-year-old photos so special? They were once owned by John Franklin Miller (1859-1939), the former manager of the East Pittsburgh Improvement Company, the firm responsible for laying out and selling the parcels upon which the town was built.
John Franklin Miller (1859-1939) photo taken from the Wilmerding 50th Anniversary souvenir book.
These photographs are so clear and crisp, you can practically smell the steam coming off the passing coal locomotive. But seriously, having the prints that came directly off the glass plate negatives will allow us to make high-quality digital images – ultimately allowing you to zoom in on the very small details that are often lost when reproducing copies of these photographs for a book. Some of these photographs were never published, so having the entire collection together in one place is a big win for our historical society.
Our first step will be proper historic preservation, carefully flattening the curls in the paper before the digital scans can be performed. We will be looking to our friends at Digital Trafford for help with the digital process. Perhaps coincidence, but today marks the anniversary of the death of John Franklin Miller, 82 years ago, September 17, 1939. In addition to being the former manager of the East Pittsburgh Improvement Company, he once served as superintendent of the Turtle Creek Valley Water Company. In 1902, he was made auditor and secretary to the Westinghouse Airbrake company, then made vice president in 1905, director in 1909, and in 1916, he was named company president, succeeding Henry Herman Westinghouse, the brother of George Westinghouse. Later, at age 78, he married Clara Louise Westinghouse, the widow of H.H. Westinghouse (GW’s brother). John Franklin Miller is buried in The Homewood Cemetery.
Special THANK YOU to Gerald Price of the Edgewood Historical Society for facilitating this acquisition.
