Sunday, February 23, 2025, 11:07AM |  26°
MENU
Advertisement
People gather to see the cannonballs found during construction along Butler and 39th streets in Lawrenceville on March 27.
2
MORE

Unearthed Civil War-era cannonballs to be removed from construction site

Stephanie Strasburg/Post-Gazette

Unearthed Civil War-era cannonballs to be removed from construction site

More than 30 Civil War-era cannonballs unearthed last month by a construction crew in Lawrenceville are set to be removed from the site on Tuesday.

Ordnance Holdings Inc. of Reisterstown, Md., a contractor that specializes in handling unexploded ordnance, has been hired to remove the cannonballs from the site, at 39th and Butler streets near Allegheny Arsenal and across from Arsenal Middle School.

A construction crew from Franjo Construction of Homestead discovered the cache — between 35 and 43 — of buried cannonballs.  

Advertisement

Tuesday’s “contained removal” is expected to take about five days “contingent upon the possible discovery of additional cannonballs underground,” city officials said Monday.

One of the canon balls exposed from the digging of an excavator at a construction site near 39th street in Lawrenceville, Monday, Mar. 27.
Shelly Bradbury
Construction crew discovers old cannonballs in Lawrenceville

City officials said a plan had been developed between the city, Ordnance Holdings and Milhaus Ventures, the developer of the site, to safely remove the cannonballs.

Motorists will have limited access to a section of 39th Street during the work. 

Pedestrians and non-business traffic will be prohibited from accessing 39th Street between Butler Street and the Allegheny River while the removal occurs. Commercial traffic accessing businesses on 39th Street may experience periodic traffic disruptions.

Advertisement

Residents of 39th Street will not be affected beyond intermittent traffic delays.

City officials said people will not be allowed to watch the cannonballs being removed.

The Allegheny Arsenal was a key supplier of munitions to the Union Army during the Civil War. It was the site of the single worst civilian disaster of the war — an explosion Sept. 17, 1862, that killed 78 people, many of them women.

A large apartment complex is going up at the 39th Street site that’s under construction.

First Published: April 24, 2017, 2:49 p.m.

RELATED
SHOW COMMENTS (0)  
Join the Conversation
Commenting policy | How to Report Abuse
If you would like your comment to be considered for a published letter to the editor, please send it to letters@post-gazette.com. Letters must be under 250 words and may be edited for length and clarity.
Partners
Advertisement
The University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning
1
business
Amid funding uncertainty, Pitt pauses doctoral admissions
A new report advises retirees in 2025 to aim for just 3.7% when withdrawing from savings -- down from 4%. Over a 30-year retirement, that could mean the difference between financial security or outliving your cash in your 80s or 90s, financial experts say.
2
business
How much can retirees safely withdraw from their nest eggs? Financial experts weigh in.
Pirates outfielder DJ Stewart gets congratulations from teammates after his home run against the Baltimore Orioles in the first game of the Grapefruit League season at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Fla., on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025.
3
sports
5 takeaways from Pirates' spring training victory over Orioles
York County District Attorney Timothy J. Barker reacts during a news conference regarding the shooting at UPMC Memorial Hospital in York, Pa. on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025.
4
news
Police officer killed, gunman dead in shooting at UPMC Memorial Hospital in York
Preston Coleman, 52, was beaten and strangled inside an Aliquippa VFW on Jan. 5, 2025, in what police described as a vicious, unprovoked attack.
5
news
Bartender working at Aliquippa VFW during beating that left man unconscious facing charges
People gather to see the cannonballs found during construction along Butler and 39th streets in Lawrenceville on March 27.  (Stephanie Strasburg/Post-Gazette)
One of the cannonballs exposed during excavation at a construction site in Lawrenceville.  (Darrell Sapp/Post-Gazette)
Stephanie Strasburg/Post-Gazette
Advertisement
LATEST local
Advertisement
TOP
Email a Story