James Guthrie Constable report , January 12, 1821

The City Council Records, c.1800-1859 [bulk 1816-1843] contain nearly 2,000 documents created or received by the Common and Select City Councils of Pittsburgh from the beginning of the 19th century to the 1850s. Records typically include communications, petitions, reports, drafts of ordinances and resolutions, attendance sheets and invoices.

Topics covered by the records include public works projects, commerce, public safety and the administration of laws and regulations. Matters discussed at length include market house regulations, the creation and maintenance of wharves, the Pennsylvania Canal, fire engine houses, water works, gas lighting and street improvements.

Other topics of interest, though covered less extensively, include Marquis de Lafayette’s visit to Pittsburgh in 1825, the location of an apprentice library, and two letters concerning a smallpox outbreak in Pittsburgh in 1828. Also of note is a letter from Jared Ingersoll (1749-1822), Attorney General of Pennsylvania, appointing Samuel Douglas his deputy in 1816.

The collection includes only two documents from 1850 and one from 1859, with no records in the intervening years.

The records are arranged chronologically, with undated records placed at the end of the collection. Previous custodians or researchers dated many of the undated records in pencil, and these are indicated by the use of “c.” for circa.

The collection will be most productively used in conjunction with the Minutes of the Common and Select City Councils (RG-01-001), which detail the proceedings of council meetings from 1816 to 1875.