Monday, February 23, 2009

The Feast Of San Rocco, Aliquippa, Pa


The Parade of the San Rocco Festa has been held each year in Aliquippa Pa since 1925.
About Aliquippa
Aliquippa is a city in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, and is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. Formerly a borough, it was formally named a city in 1987 by the Aliquippa Council.
Aliquippa was founded by the merger of three towns: Aliquippa (now called West Aliquippa), Woodlawn, and New Sheffield. There is no evidence connecting the Seneca Queen Alliquippa with the location of the borough. This was one of several Indian names selected arbitrarily by the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad in 1878 for stations along the route. Aliquippa is best known as the location of a productive steel mill that the Jones and Laughlin Steel Company constructed there along the Ohio River beginning in 1905. Employment at the facility sustained a population of 27,023 in 1940. The mill closed during the collapse of the steel industry during the 1980s. This major economic loss alongside suburbanization caused a major population loss through the end of the 20th century. The oldest church without the current boundaries of Aliquippa is Mt. Carmel Presbyterian Church (formerly White Oak Flats Presbyterian Church), established about 1793 in the New Sheffield region on Brodhead Road. Much of the city's businesses have left since the closing of the mill, which has left the area economically depressed. Recently, there have been small initiatives undertaken to help rejuvenate Aliquippa. In early 2008, Geneva College students were sent on a mission trip to help restore old buildings in the community. One structure that was successfully repaired now houses the Uncommon Grounds Coffee Shop.

Saint Rocco di Montpellier is venerated in the Roman Catholic church as the protector against the plague and all contagious diseases.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

This is about Aliquippa. There were also many Eastern European living in Aliquippa. Among those groups, the Serbian. They have a beautiful Serbian Orthodox Church St Elijah.