Cheswick

History

Cheswick, named for a town in England, is a small town of about . The history of the lands of Cheswick seems to have belonged to the Keen family at least in part, for Archie Pillow, or Pillar, as spelled in old records, inherited land from the Keen family. That land, in part, is where Cheswick is today. Archie's brother, George, once owned the second oldest house in the community. Thomas Pillow owned the land from Highland Avenue to the Harmar Township line. The level land near the Allegheny River was used as farmland (Borland farm). Borland & Truck farms sold vegetables to Pittsburgh in the days of the canal. Barges and rafts of lumber were floated down the river to the steel mills. The men were fed by women who took baked goods out to the slow-moving barges in boats. In the days of the canal, wealthy families built great Victorian houses along the canal. Later, when the railroad bought out the right of way, the noise and dust became disturbing and many houses became run down and neglected. Among the early names are Borland, Pillows, Macleans, Wilsons, Stewarts, Lemons, Albertsons, Buntings, Cummings, Shoops and Armstrongs. The Armstrong family lived in Acmetonia until after the Civil War. One built the fine stone house next to the Cheswick Theater (which has since been demolished), and he served as postmaster in the borough. Before the days of the railroad, a tavern was located where the former station would later be built. People traveling to Pittsburgh by carriage probably stopped for refreshment. The road between Pittsburgh and Freeport was filled by farmers driving cattle to market in Pittsburgh, peddler wagons taking goods to country housewives, businessmen going to Pittsburgh, and officials going to court for the day. When the Pennsylvania Railroad was…

Geography

Cheswick is located at 40.5417° N, 79.7992° W. Cheswick has three land borders, including Harmar Township to the west, Springdale Township to the north, and Springdale Borough to the east. Adjacent to Cheswick across the Allegheny River to the south is Plum. According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of , of which is land and , or 15.79%, is water.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Fox Chapel Area HS
  High · Pittsburgh · 1,283 students · 13.6:1 ratio
• Penn Hills El Sch
  Elementary · Pittsburgh · 1,279 students · 13.8:1 ratio
• Plum SHS
  High · Plum · 1,226 students · 17.5:1 ratio
• Shaler Area HS
  High · Pittsburgh · 1,225 students · 11.9:1 ratio
• Gateway SHS
  High · Monroeville · 1,135 students · 14.4:1 ratio
• Penn Hills SHS
  High · Pittsburgh · 1,107 students · 17.9:1 ratio
• Environmental CS at Frick Park
  Other · Pittsburgh · 1,020 students · 10.4:1 ratio
• Moss Side MS
  Middle · Monroeville · 983 students · 12.1:1 ratio