A Brief History of Wall Borough
Wall is a borough with a population of just 580 as of the 2010 census. The neighborhood has a history dating back to the late 1820s. The community is located on the site of a farm that was bought by James Walls. Walls’ farm was on the south bank of Turtle Creek. The area was eventually passed onto James’ sons Henry and John. A Pennsylvania Railroad station (called Walls Station in honor of the family) opened in community in the early 1840s. The Wall boys sold their property to their cousin who was a riverboat engineer. Wall got its name from the cousin, named Frank Wall. Wall said his property development led him to being the owner of the first two homes built in the region. The town around Wall Station was incorporated in 1904 a a borough. It grew in population during the first half of the 20th century mostly due to a freight depot from the railroad being in the neighborhood. When the airline and trucking industries grew in the second half of the 20th century, the population and economy of Wall unfortunately declined.
Facts about Wall Borough
Channel 40, WPCB-TV, broadcasts from Wall. The United Volunteer Fire and Rescue, formerly Wall VFD and East McKeesport serves the area. Wall is surrounded almost entirely by North Versailles and does have a bit of a border with Wilmerding. Students in Wall attend the East Allegheny School District. Those ages 25 to 44 make up the most population in Wall.
My third great grandfather was James Wall and his will lists the same names of his children that I read on another site for the names of the children of the James who settled in Wall. However, the will also lists only his property in West Philadelphia, a 12-acre farm that he passed on to his son Thomas when he died in 1853. I have pictures of my great great grandmother’s family at a family farm around Pittsburgh, but I’m not sure exactly where that was. Can you direct me to someone who can tell me if my ancestor was the same James Walls who passed along his Pittsburgh area farmland to his sons before he died or if he was a cousin who happened to give his kids the same names. I do have DNA matches who trace their families back to the James Walls mentioned on this page. Thanks