History & local legend
Monument Hill on Pittsburgh's North Side took its name from the memorial to Allegheny County's Civil War dead dedicated there in 1871. Parts of that monument now stand in West Park, while the former hilltop site is occupied by the community college.
A tradition collected by the Pennsylvania Researchers Organization reaches back to the War of 1812. In that telling, four pastures on the hill served as field hospitals. During the Civil War, soldiers posted there reportedly saw men from that earlier conflict walking across the ground.
Sources
- Pennsylvania Researchers Organization, Monument Hill, 1812 and Civil War apparition tradition
- Allegheny City Society, Seminary Ridge location, rededication and monument history, pp. 8–9
- Office of Public Art, original Monument Hill and current West Park memorial
- Library of Congress, original monument circa 1905
