Ford City, PA

Ford City is an Armstrong County borough on the east bank of the Allegheny River, founded around Captain John B. Ford's plan for a plate-glass industry. Ford chose the site for its river shipping, nearby natural gas, and deposits of glacial sand - ingredients that fed the glass works. The borough's industrial story later included Pittsburgh Plate Glass, and a former PPG site later became home to a business incubator. The Armstrong Trail follows the old Allegheny Valley Railroad along the river. Ford City is a western Pennsylvania river town where glass, rail, and the Allegheny remain the clearest ways to read the place.