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Information for Family Historians: Franklin Township,
Allegheny County
The land
that is Franklin Park Borough (formerly Franklin Township) was originally part
of Pitt Township. It was then included in early Pine Township and was part of
Ohio Township when Ohio seceded from Pine in 1803. At the time, Ohio Township
extended nine miles along the Ohio River and northward to the Butler County
Line. Twenty years later, Franklin Township was the first of several
communities to secede from Ohio Township. What is today Marshall Township and
Bradford Woods Borough was then part of Franklin Township. Not until 1863 did
Marshall split from Franklin. Bradford Woods was created from Marshall in
1915. Franklin Township remained a second-class township until 1961 when it
became the Borough of Franklin Park.
Throughout most of its history, Franklin moved forward at its own unhurried
pace. There were no towns or business districts. Churches, schools, blacksmith
shops, and country stores were scattered among farmlands. Throughout the later
1800s and into the early decades of the 20th century the township had
a thriving oil and gas industry.
By the
end of the Great Depression, farming declined as a livelihood because men were
taking better paying jobs in the mills of Pittsburgh, Ambridge, and Coraopolis.
The first subdivisions appeared following World War II and with increased
population came the demand for public services. Water and sewer lines, zoning,
building codes, and a police force were needed. With growing numbers of Baby
Boomers came the need for a high school and the North Allegheny School District
was created in 1948.
The
opening of Interstates 79 and 279 brought even more changes and challenges to
this once rural community. Today, Franklin Park is a suburban Pittsburgh
community of approximately 13,000 residents located in the northwestern corner
of Allegheny County and is served by the Wexford 15090, Pittsburgh 15237, and
Sewickley 15143 post offices. To learn more about the history and people of
Franklin Township/Franklin Park, read Franklin Park Stories (2006)
now in its third printing. The 233 paged hardbound book sells for $20 and is
available at the Franklin Park Municipal Building 2344 West Ingomar Road
Pittsburgh, PA 15237. Add $6 for postage and handling. Make checks payable to
“Franklin Park Borough”.
Early Franklin Park Churches & Cemeteries
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The first documented church in Franklin Park is Fairmount
Presbyterian, dating from 1822. Known as the Duff Mill
Congregation, it once shared a minister with Sewickley
Presbyterian. In 1982, the congregation transferred its
membership from the United Presbyterians to the Associate
Reformed Presbyterians. Sessions records are archived at the
Presbyterian Historical Society in Philadelphia, PA. The
church cemetery remains in active use with the earliest
burials dating from the 1820s. Located next to the church and
cemetery was the Fairmount School, which closed when the
Franklin Township Consolidated School opened. The church and
cemetery are located at 2535 Fairmount Church Road, but the
mailing address is 2383 Wharrey Drive Sewickley, PA 15143.
Little
Hill Methodist also dates from the early 1800s and was once known as Mount Union
United Brethren in Christ. The oldest cemetery marker dates from 1829. Three
sanctuaries have stood on this site with the present building having been
constructed in 1894. At one time, it was also known as Creese’s Church of the
United Brethren in honor of the pioneering Creese family who provided the land
on which the church and cemetery were built. The church and cemetery are located
at 2350 Magee Road, but the mailing address is Box 56 Sewickley, PA 15143.
The
Little Log Church at Pine Creek was constructed in 1837 along the old Kuskusky
Path on the boundary of what is now Franklin Park and McCandless. The Franklin
Methodist Church grew into what is now known as the Ingomar United Methodist
Church located at 1500 West Ingomar Road Pittsburgh, PA 15237.
Brandt’s
Church was organized in 1845 making it the fourth oldest Lutheran Church in
Allegheny County. The original log structure was dedicated in 1847. Today,
Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church stands along Brandt School Road in the
Wexford section of Franklin Park. Church and cemetery records are available in
the church office at 2500 Brandt School Road Wexford, PA 15090.
Hopkins
Chapel, once known as Ingrams after the family who donated the land on which it
was built, once stood on Hopkins Church Road on the Franklin Park / Bell Acres
boundary. The deed was recorded in 1849, but because of dwindling membership,
this Methodist congregation ceased to exist by the 1920s. The site of the former
chapel and cemetery has been heavily vandalized and has reverted to a natural
state on a bluff above the Big Sewickley Creek. Church and cemetery records have
not yet been located.
The
Regular Baptist Church of Franklin Township was organized in1852, but it wasn’t
until 1873 that the first baptism and wedding took place in the new sanctuary
built along what is now Nicholson Road. Many current members of the Franklin
Park Baptist Church are descended from the church’s founders. A small cemetery
adjoins the sanctuary. Records are available in the church office at 2470
Nicholson Road Sewickley, PA 15143.
The Tree
of Life Congregation of Pittsburgh opened a memorial park in 1948 along Reis Run
Road that is still being used.
There
are several newer churches in Franklin Park dating from the mid to late
twentieth century, but none have cemeteries. They are: Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter Day Saints, Heritage Presbyterian, New Heights Church of God, North Hills
Missionary Alliance, Orchard Hill, Saint Brendan’s Episcopal, Saint John Neumann
Roman Catholic, Saints John and Paul Roman Catholic, and the Unitarian-Universalist
Church.
The
FRANKLIN PARK HISTORY OFFICE
is located in the
Franklin
Park Municipal Building
2344 West
Ingomar Road Pittsburgh, PA 15237
and is open
most days Monday – Friday.
Phone 412
364-4115 Ext. 309 or fphistory@franklinparkborough.us
© Franklin Park Borough
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