Pittsburgh Suburbs: Aspinwall

Aspinwall

A Brief History of Aspinwall

Aspinwall

 

Aspinwall Coffee Mug
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Aspinwall was owned mostly by the descendants of James Ross, but as the steel industry in Pittsburgh started to boom, Superintendent of the Allegheny County Workhouse, Henry Warner, had an idea to create a residential community along the bank of a river. He discussed this in New York with Annie Aspinwall, Aspinwall was the granddaughter of James Ross (who was a former senator, lawyer and friend of James O’Hara, a Pittsburgh pioneer and settler).

Warner ended up buying the land from Aspinwall at 155 acres total. He formed the Aspinwall Land Company in 1890. Mostly upper-middle class Pittsburghers bought the homes on 60 available sites. By 1890, 400 residents lived in Aspinwall, mostly young couples with kids. Aspinwall was incorporated as a borough on December 28, 1892 from O’Hara Township.

The Pittsburgh Railways streetcar business served the neighborhood from 1910 through 1960. From 1893 to 1905, Aspinwall was developed in three different phases. Early facilities included tennis courts. Post World War I, the community held their own victory parade and memorial service for soldiers.

Facts about Aspinwall

Aspinwall

Aspinwall is bordered by Sharpsburg and O’Hara Township as well as Lincoln-Lemington-Belmar. Across the river from Aspinwall lies Highland Park and the southernmost portion of Lincoln-Lemington-Belmar. Aspinwall has a motto: “The Town that Pride Built.” Aspinwall’s total area is .4 square miles. As of the 2000 census, there were 2,960 people, 1,499 households and 728 families residing in the borough. The most represented population age was 25 to 44 year olds. Notable people from Aspinwall include former NBA player Moe Barr, novelist Philip Beard, Carnegie Mellon University professor and artist Robert Lepper and architect Frederick C. Sauer.

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