Birthplace of Stephen Foster

America's first professional songwriter was born near here on July fourth, eighteen twenty-six, a birthday he shared with the nation. Stephen Foster grew up in and around Pittsburgh and went on to write some of the most recognizable songs in American history, including Oh Susanna, Beautiful Dreamer, and Camptown Races. He wrote prolifically for Christy's Minstrels, whose performances carried his melodies across the country.

But commercial success eluded him in his later years. Foster struggled financially and with his health, and by the early eighteen sixties he was living in poverty in New York City. He died there on January thirteenth, eighteen sixty-four, at just thirty-seven years old, with about forty cents in his pocket.

More than two hundred of his compositions survived him.