Another instrument in the advancement of the infant community was the Mechanical Society which came into existence in 1788. On the twenty-second of March, the following unique advertisement appeared in the _Pittsburgh Gazette_: “Society was the primeval desire of our first and great ancestor Adam; the same order for that blessing seems to inhabit more or less the whole race. To encourage this it seems to be the earnest wish of a few of the mechanics in Pittsburgh, to have a general meeting on Monday the 24th inst., at six P.M., at the house of Andrew Watson, tavern keeper, to settle on a plan for a well regulated society for the purpose. This public method is taken to invite the reputable tradesmen of this place to be punctual to their assignation.” Andrew Watson’s tavern was in the log building, at the northeast corner of Market and Front Streets. Front Street was afterward called First Street, and is now First Avenue. At that time all the highways running parallel with the Monongahela River were designated as streets, as they are now called avenues. The object of the Mechanical Society was the improvement of the condition of the workpeople, to induce workpeople to settle in the town, and to procure manufactories to be established there. The society was more than local in character, similar societies being in existence in New York, Philadelphia, and in the neighboring village of Washington. At a later day the Mechanical Society of Pittsburgh produced plays, some of which were given in the grand-jury room in the upper story of the new court house. The society also had connected with it a circulating library, a cabinet of curiosities, and a chemical laboratory. REFERENCES CHAPTER I [1] James Fearnly _v._ Patrick Murphy, _Addison’s Reports_, Washington, 1800, p. 22; John Marie _v._ Samuel Semple, _ibid._, p. 215. [2] JOHANN DAVID SCHOEPF. _Reise durch einige der mittlern und südlichen vereinigten nordamerikanischen Staaten_, Erlangen, 1788, vol. i., p. 370. [3] F. A. MICHAUX. _Travels to the Westward of the Alleghany Mountains_, London, 1805, p. 37. [4] THADDEUS MASON HARRIS. _The Journal of a Tour_, Boston, 1805, p. 42. [5] “A Sketch of Pittsburgh.” _The Literary Magazine_, Philadelphia, 1806, p. 253. [6] LEWIS BRANTZ. “Memoranda of a Journey in the Westerly Parts of the United States of America in 1785.” In Henry R. Schoolcraft’s _Indian Antiquities_, Philadelphia, Part III., pp. 335–351. [7] _Niles’ Weekly Register_, Baltimore, August 19, 1826, vol. xxx., p. 436. [8] JAMES KENNEY. _The Historical Magazine_, New York, 1858, vol. ii., pp. 273–274. [9] REV. CYRUS CORT, D.D. _Historical Sermon in the First Reformed Church of Greensburgh, Pennsylvania_, October 13, 1907, pp. 11–12. [10] JOHANN DAVID SCHOEPF. _Reise durch einige der mittlern und südlichen vereinigten nordamerikanischen Staaten_, Erlangen, 1788, vol. i., p. 247.