Ross Township > Township History

History of Ross Township

by Edward G. Williams

Communities always spring into being for reasons of necessity or convenience to be near routes of travel, trade or transportation, or for accessibility to industry. This one had its beginnings and grew into importance along a road, which was at first an Indian path that became a trail the white men utilized as one of the thorofares of the forest. With the white men came the packhorses of travelers and traders, then of military expeditions. Old trails were worn two feet deep into the soil by foot travel and packhorse beat; and this one, within the memory of men who were living within the lifetime of the present generation, could be pointed out by the scares of the Venango Path over the hills of Ross Township.

Perrysville Rd.

These early trails followed the tops of long ridges in order to avoid the swampy ground and stream crossings in the lowlands as well as the gullies that washed in the sloping hillsides. The Venango Path would along the top of a series of long ridges from Fort Pitt northward, for all of that part of its length that lay through Ross Township, on its way to Fort Venango (Franklin, PA) thence to Fort Presqu' Isle (Erie, PA).

It was this trail that George Washington and Christopher Gist traveled northward to Fort le Boeuf, from its junction with the path that came from Logstown (at Economy, PA). They left it again on the return trip to go down Pine Creek, so that they did not actually tread the soil of our township. Other noted travelers, however, did traverse the full length of the trail. In the summer of 1760, the year after the building of Fort Pitt, Colonel Henry Bouquet marched a small army of his famous Royal Americans with some Virginians, among whom were many officers destined to become great names in the annals of America, as set forth in the following letter, dated Philadelphia, July 24, 1760:

"On the 7th instant, Four companies of the Royal Americans under command of Colonel Bouquet, marched from Pittsburgh toward Presqu' Isle, as did also Captain McNeil's company of the Virginia Regiment, on the Wednesday following, Colonel Hugh Mercer, with three companies of the Pennsylvania Regiment, under Captains Biddle, Clapham and Anderson; and two days after two other Companies of the same Regiment, under Captains Atlee and Miles, were to follow."

In this expedition were two others destined to become famous in our history, that great engineer Lieutenant Thomas Hutchins, and George Croghan, "the King of the Traders", deputy Indian agent under Sir William Johnston. Both of these men have left their diaries of this very expedition so that we may read them. A photostatic copy of Hutchins' manuscript, in the possession of the author, describes the topographical features of the primitive state of our area that is valuable to us today. They undoubtedly camped the night of July 7, 1760, on the hillside near the Ross Township municipal building, and Hutching graphically described this encampment "by several springs".

All of the land west of the Allegheny and north of the Oho rivers remained "Indian country", however, until Octobers 23, 1784, when the "Last Purchases" was made from the Indians at Fort Stanwix (Rome, N.Y), comprising all the land from the Allegheny to the western boundary of Pennsylvania. This purchase was confirmed with the Indians of Ohio at the Treaty of Fort McIntosh (Beaver, PA) on January 2, 1785.

During the war of the Revolution, in order to induce men to stay in the Pennsylvania Line of the Continental Army and to encourage enlistments, the Assembly, by resolution, promised to donate land to the soldiers. A little later, they resolved to issue to the soldiers certificates to compensate them for depreciation in the currency with which they were paid. These certificates were to be taken in payment for land were redeemable in gold or silver. In the latter case, the land was sold at auction in Philadelphia, for a short period at Lancaster, and the money applied to the depreciation pay of the soldier. Depreciation tables were set up for calculation the adjusted amount. The northern part of the Last Purchase lands was divided off to an east-west line a few miles south of the present New Castle and north of Butler and designated Donation Lands. Everything south of the line to the rivers was designated the "Depreciation Tract". This comprised all of Allegheny County north of the rivers, the southern parts of Beaver and Butler, and western Armstrong Counties. Of course, the area now Ross Township was wholly within the Depreciation Tract. At first it was part of Pitt Township, Westmoreland County, until the erection of Allegheny County in 1788. In 1796, the part west of Surveyor Cunningham's district was partitioned off by the north-south line running nearly through the mouth of Pine Creek and formed into Pine Township. 1803, Ohio Township was formed by partitioning off that part lying west of Surveyor Douglas' district, which included all the present western tier of Townships and boroughs on the Ohio River. This left Pine with a strip of land, comprising the districts of Douglas and Jones, six miles wide and sixteen long, from the rivers to the Butler County line.

In five years, land in the southern part of Pine Township was being taken up rapidly. On November 15, 1808, thirty residents of that area petitioned the country courts to divide the township "by a line from the eight-mile tree of Franklin Road, running due east and west". (The Venango Path had now become Franklin Road). On the affirmative report of the viewers, the court confirmed the line  at the November term of 1809, and the new township was named Ross in honor of James Ross, the eminent attorney of Pittsburgh, just then at the height of his career.

The borough of Allegheny was formed in 1828 and took that part of Ross Township nearest the Allegheny River. In 1847, the formation of Shaler Township took away about two miles from the eastern side of Ross; so that from that time the township has remained as it is today, except for the formation of the West View Borough in 1905.

And so the Venango Path became the highway of travel northward to the new town of Franklin growing up at the mouth of  French Creek upon the Allegheny, where Fort Venango had stood; hence Franklin Road was the name of the road that supplanted the packhorse trail. The settlers' wagons streamed up the country, to Lawrence, Mercer, Venango, Crawford and Erie Counties.

Evergreen Hotel

Later it was moved to the east side of Franklin Road, where it stood under the proprietorship of "Billy" Keown, grandson of Balzar Good, Jr. The watering trough stood at the corner of Franklin Road and Three Degree Road. A feature of this hostelry was the four-furlough track where Mr. Keown exercised and raced his fine stable of horses. Daniel Webster stopped at this hotel in 1833 and Henry Clay stopped in 1848.

An interesting feature of the roadside inns was a large enclosure, within a fence, to keep the herds of cattle, sheep and hogs which the drivers frequently drove along the highways tot he Pittsburgh stockyards. Even huge flocks of turkeys were driven along and would roost upon the trees and fences till they could proceed in the morning. Herds would be driven from Mercer or Crawford County, even from distant Ohio. Stage coaches ran regularly via Franklin Road to Mercer, Meadville and Erie; and stage relay stations were established at Perrysville, Wexford, Warrendale, Harmony, etc. Weekly mail routes were established as early as 1801, twice weekly in 1818, thrice weekly in 1824. Mail was carried on horseback at first then by stagecoach in bad weather on horseback. Munitions, ropes and cordage for the fleet, build in Erie, before Commodore O. H. Perry's battle of Lake Erie in 1813, were carried over the Franklin Road; hence we derive the names of Perry Highway and Perrysville.

In 1815 Perrysville had three houses, the first merchant being Alexander McElwain. The number of taxable inhabitants of Ross Township in that year was 228.

In 1849, a charter was granted to the Allegheny and Perrysville Turnpike Road Company to construct a turnpike or plank road commencing a the Allegheny City line to run seven miles, with power to extend it when necessary. By 1863, the road was planked to Wexford, about fifteen miles. It was a notorious fact that it was laid out in a very winding and circuitious route in order that the added distance would justify the collection of larger tolls.

The toll paid at various tollgates varied, as the distance between gates varied. The average toll was five cents, but that at the Blair tollgate at the City Line was three cents for a two-horse wagon. It would have cost a farmer with a wagon and two horses about eighteen cents to pass through Ross Township to the city from the country north of the township line. The planks being only one wagon width, on the inbound side, the outbound vehicle had to pull off into the mud. This upended planks, other rotted repairs could never be kept up, and arguments ensued.

The advent of the automobile made the bumpy plank road obsolete; and in 1911 a brick surface, half the width of the road was built as far as Keown's Hotel. Next macadam smoothed the way till the era of concrete arrived. At length, the Pittsburgh Press of November 24, 1929 announced that the West View link of the Perry Highway had been completed, at a cost of $40,000, thirty-foot wide reinforced concrete, from the Five Mile House to the City Line. Senator Herman P. Brandt of Perrysville, in an address on the occasion, stated: "The slogan 'West View to Pittsburgh in one minute' is borne out by fact."

Harmony Street Car line

Long before the automobile, however, became a factor in rapid mass transportation, the demand for fast transit was met by enterprising men with the electric railway. About the turn of the century, the populated parts of the country were being covered with an electric railway network that was really fantastic. It was at one time possible to travel by street car from Chicago to New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Cincinnati, and to may other cities. Pittsburgh's answer was the fast suburban line of the Pittsburgh, Butler and New Castle Railway Company. It started operation to New Castle in 1907 and was a pioneer with its operation system. Huge 75,000 pound cars, more than 51 feet in length and 8 feet 3 inches in width, seating 52 passengers traversed the line each day. The deep-toned air-whistle echoed for miles through the hills as the cars sped at 60 miles per hous up the Girty's Run Valley from Millevale to Keown Station to Ingomar and on to Harmony. During the years it operated the Harmony was responsible for developing whole areas of the townships along its route. many people move dot the country and commuted to the city, the first time this suburban life had been possible for large numbers of people The steam railways connected towns. In 1913-1914, the line extended to Ellwood City and Beaver Falls, In 1919, the Pittsburgh, Mars, Butler Route, at first a separate company, became part of the same system with the Harmony. But the development of motor cars caught up, and on August 16, 1931, the Pittsburgh Press reported: "Last night the last car rattled over the Harmony route.... It died of an overdoes of gasoline".

The people who crossed the river were mostly Scotch-Irish Presbyterian congregation, who held their first services in the open air under the trees atop the hill on the Franklin Road. This was in 1799. later they employed a tent and in 1807, a log church was built. Itinerate ministers had preached to the congregation, including Reverend Stockton of that fine family of the famous Princetonian and Signer of the Declaration of Independence, Richard Stockton.

 Families traveled long distances afoot and on horseback to attend Hilary Church from present Allison Park, Bellevue, Emsworth and North Side. On July 10, 1812, General John Wilkins and Magnus Murray, land speculators, conveyed ten acres of land the the trustees of Hillard Church. It is the same ground the church and cemetery occupy today. The name seems to have originated from a combination of the highland meeting place and the hilands abutting property owners and members of the church.

Schlag Farmhouse

Originally, under the synod of Virginia, the newly forged synod of Pennsylvania claimed it. Successively it served under the Presbyteries of Ohio, Erie and Redstone (Brownsville, PA). In 1836, the log church was replaced by a brick building, which serves as the church sanctuary to this day. In 1950, Hiland celebrated its sesqui-centennial, commemorating the fact that the earliest records give evidence of worship having been held in 1799 and 1800.

The next group to worship on the soil of this township came years later, when in 1864, five communicants of the roman Catholic Church met in the Schramm home for services and to celebrate the Mass. On July 4, 1866, the cornerstone of St. Theresa's Church in Perrysville was laid and the parish founded. On October 6th, the same year, the church was dedicated. The Benedictine Sisters opened a private school in 1906 with 36 students, and in 1918, St. Theresa's School was received as a parochial school.

Chronologically, the next religious group to unite for worship was fifteen Lutheran men who met in 1867 to organize St. John's Lutheran Church. The first church building was erected on Franklin Road at the edge of Perrysville and was later enlarged and remodeled in 1900.

About 1880, a group of Methodists began holding Sunday School meetings in the Evergreen School on Peoples Road. In 1882, Mrs. Lustenberger gave a plot of ground fronting on Evergreen Road (now Babcock Boulevard) for erection of a church, which was immediately done.

Old Ross Township Municipal Building