A Brief History of Brackenridge
Brackenridge Borough is one square mile, stretching along the right bank of the Allegheny River. Brackenridge is a little over 22 miles north of Pittsburgh and its population is approximately 3,500. The borough is named after the Brackenridge family. The family at one point owned thousands of acres in what is present day Brackenridge, Harrison Township and Tarentum. The first member of the Brackenridges, Hugh Henry, came over to the U.S. in 1753 and was later credited with founding the University of Pittsburgh. Hugh’s son Col. Henry Marie Brackenridge settled with his family in the Allegheny Valley in the early 1800s. The home he built there was called Oak Grove that was later torn down for Allegheny Ludlum Brackenridge Works, an Allegheny Technologies Steel Mill. The neighborhood was set up as a borough on September 21, 1901. The borough celebrated 100 years in a celebration from July 29 through August 4, 2001.
Facts about Brackenridge
Brackenridge is part of the Highlands School District which operates the Fairmount Primary Center. Noteworthy people from Brackenridge include Bud Carson, former defensive coordinator for the Steelers, Ronald Robertson, a figure skater and Olympic silver medalist and Cookie Gilchrist, an African-American civil rights activist and former American Football League and Canadian Football League star.
This was my home town growing up. I went to a grade school across the street from my home which was known as Fairmount Elementary and I went to high school in Harrison Township in Natrona Heights and the school was known as Har-Brack. I graduated in 1949 from that school, went on to business school in Pittsburgh and then worked as a secretary in the purchasing department of Allegheny Ludlum Steel for 7 years. I really enjoyed seeing this article. Thank you for publishing it
graduates of Har-Brack in 1961 included Chuck Jordan – inducted into the Archery Hall-of- Fame and Robert Szarnicki – top heart surgeon in San Francisco – Jerry Mcgarrity became a well known race engine builder for Dan Gurney, Roger Penske and Richard Petty, etc.