Urban Frontier

The urban frontier in the history of North America can be viewed as the colonization of the continent, from the English settlements on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean to the Spanish missions and rancheros in the American Southwest to the French cities established along the St. Lawrence River.

All these settlements were built to help push the influence of their parent countries into new territories. As the settlements grew, they needed more food and materials to support the growth; therefore they would encourage further settlement of nearby areas for farming, mineral extraction, and timber harvesting. These new settlements extended the influence of their parent cities and countries even further.

The urban frontier in American history is not merely the story of the first colonies hugging the shore or the small towns surrounded by farmland in the lowlands east of the Appalachians. The urban frontier included towns and cities such as New Orleans and St. Louis, which channeled the flow of pelts from the interior of the continent to Europe. Forts and farming settlements constructed along the American frontier west of the Appalachians would become cities such as Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Lexington, and Louisville.

These cities were founded in the lead of the development of the land around them. They were isolated from the culture of the eastern United States by ranges of mountains and poor transportation routes. The predominant trade route for goods from this region before the War of 1812 was down the Ohio River, to the Mississippi River, and on to the markets of New Orleans. The raw materials received there were sold and most of them shipped to the manufacturing [Page 833]towns of the Northeast. The manufactured goods would then be sent over the mountains to these cities, and the process started all over again.

Because these cities were along the American frontier during the War of 1812, they became the staging areas for troops and activity in the interior of the continent. These cities already contained some fledgling industries before the war started, as businessmen tried to circumvent triangular trade and keep the local money in the area. When the war started, the trade routes along the Atlantic coast were under threat from the British navy, and trade moved to the interior waterways. The foundries, mills, boatyards, mines, and other industries in this region grew during the war. After the war, some of the businesses failed because goods flowed into the region again. However, a new model had been created: production facilities (foundries and mills) located near the resources.

In time, other industries would spawn new settlements, such as the cattle towns of Kansas, the mining towns and camps in California and the Rocky Mountains, the farm towns of the Midwest, and the towns that developed along the routes of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads and others.

From the first colonies on the North American continent to the Gold Rush towns and camps to the railroad and cattle boomtowns, all these towns shared common problems, including sanitation, fire and police protection, and education. These issues were handled differently by different communities.

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