Sewickley, Pennsylvania

Sewickley is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, 12 miles (19 km) west northwest of Pittsburgh along the Ohio River. It is a residential suburb of Pittsburgh. The population was 3,827 according to the 2010 census. The Sewickley Bridge crosses the Ohio River from Sewickley to Moon Township

Sewickley, Pennsylvania
Borough
Borough of Sewickley
Sewickley in March 2016
Location in Allegheny County and the U.S. state of Pennsylvania.
Sewickley, Pennsylvania
Location in Allegheny County and the U.S. state of Pennsylvania.
Sewickley, Pennsylvania
Sewickley, Pennsylvania (the United States)
Coordinates: 40°32′11″N 80°11′04″W
CountryUnited States
StatePennsylvania
CountyAllegheny
Government
 • TypeMayor-council government
 • MayorGeorge Shannon[1]
 • ManagerMarla P. Marcinko
Area
 • Total1.12 sq mi (2.90 km2)
 • Land1.00 sq mi (2.59 km2)
 • Water0.12 sq mi (0.31 km2)
Elevation
741 ft (226 m)
Population
 (2010)
 • Total3,827
 • Estimate 
(2019)[3]
3,791
 • Density3,794.79/sq mi (1,464.62/km2)
Time zoneUTC−5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP codes
15143
Area code412
FIPS code42-69376
GNIS feature ID1187277
Websitewww.sewickleyborough.org

Name

Sewickley is thought by some to be a Native American word meaning "sweet water."[4] Historians dispute if Native Americans were referring to the Ohio River as the "sweet water" or instead to the syrup derived from a local abundance of maple trees.[5]

Alternatively, historian Charles A. Hanna suggested "Sewickley" came from Creek words for "raccoon" (sawi) and "town" (ukli).[6] According to Hanna, the Asswikale branch of the Shawnee probably borrowed their name from the neighboring Sawokli Muscogee before the former's migration from present-day South Carolina to Pennsylvania. Contemporary accounts from noted anthropologist Frederick Webb Hodge[7] and the Sewickley Presbyterian Church,[8] as well as the current Sewickley Valley Historical Society[9] concur to varying degrees with Mr. Hanna's etymology.

Geography

Sewickley is located at 40°32.25′N 80°10.5′W (40.5390, -80.1807).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 1.1 square miles (2.8 km2), of which, 1.0 square mile (2.6 km2) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2) of it (11.11%) is water.

Surrounding and adjacent neighborhoods

Sewickley has four land borders with Edgeworth to the northwest, Glen Osborne to the southwest, Sewickley Heights to the northeast, and Aleppo Township to the east. Across the Ohio River, Sewickley runs adjacent with Moon Township and Coraopolis with the Sewickley Bridge as the direct link to the former.

Along with the four land borders, plus Bell Acres, Glenfield, Haysville, Leetsdale, Leet Township, and Sewickley Hills, Sewickley is located in the Quaker Valley School District. Together, these boroughs and townships constitute a loosely defined region in northwestern Allegheny County. Most of these municipalities – not including Leetsdale and parts of Leet Township – share the Sewickley post office and its 15143 zip code.

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
1860795—
18701,47285.2%
18802,05339.5%
18902,77635.2%
19003,56328.4%
19104,47925.7%
19204,95510.6%
19305,59913.0%
19405,6140.3%
19505,8364.0%
19606,1575.5%
19705,660−8.1%
19804,778−15.6%
19904,134−13.5%
20003,902−5.6%
20103,827−1.9%
2019 (est.)3,791[3]−0.9%
Sources:[10][11][12][13][14][15][16]

The population of Sewickley peaked in the 1960 census, with over 6,000 residents. As of the 2010 census, there were 3,827 people with 1,765 households and 950 families residing in the borough's 1,965 housing units. The racial makeup of the borough was 88.8% White, 7.3% African American, with the remainder of other races or multi-racial. No other single race represented more than 2% of the population. Hispanics represented less than 2% of the population.[17]

According to the 2011–15 American Community Survey, the median household income in the borough was about $91,735 and the median family income was $118,507. The per capita income for the borough was about $54,149.[17]

Government and Politics
Presidential Elections Results
Year Republican Democratic Third Parties
2020[18] 38% (938) 60% (1,514) 2% (54)
2016[19] 40% (819) 58% (1,192) 2% (27)
2012[20] 51% (1,081) 48% (1,004) 1% (21)

Sewickley is divided into wards and is governed by a mayor and a nine-member borough council composed of three members from each ward. Members are elected to four-year terms. The current mayor of Sewickley is George Shannon.[1][21]

Councilmembers

The current members of council are Jeff Neff (President), Todd Renner (Vice President), Sean Figley (President Pro Tempore), Christine Allen, Julie Barnes, Ed Green, Cynthia Mullins, Larry Rice, and Thomas Rostek.

Education

There are several private schools in the area, including Sewickley Academy, St. James Catholic School, Eden Christian Academy, and Montessori Children's Community. The public school system, Quaker Valley School District, is renowned for an innovative laptop-technology grant received in 2000 from former Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge. Quaker Valley School District is often regarded as one of the best and academically top-ranked school districts in the nation. In the spring of 2006, U.S. News & World Report ranked Quaker Valley High School among the top 2% of high schools nationwide. The Sewickley Public Library of the Quaker Valley School District is a Library Journal Star Library for the third year in a row [22] and is continuously one of the top 25 largest libraries in the Pittsburgh Business Times Book of Lists.[23]

Health care

Sewickley is home to Sewickley Valley Hospital, which is part of the Heritage Valley Health System. Heritage Valley Sewickley provides comprehensive health care for residents of Allegheny, Beaver, Butler and Lawrence counties in Pennsylvania; eastern Ohio and the panhandle of West Virginia.

Heritage Valley offers medical, surgical and diagnostic services at its hospitals, community satellite facilities and in physician offices.  Heritage Valley Health System's affiliated physician groups include Heritage Valley Medical Group, Tri-State Obstetrics and Gynecology and Heritage Valley Pediatrics.

Notable people

In 1995, the movie Roommates was filmed in and around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania including Sewickley. Roommates starred Peter Falk, D. B. Sweeney, and Julianne Moore, and was directed by Peter Yates. The same year, parts of the movie Houseguest was filmed in Sewickley including Sewickley's main streets, Broad Street and Beaver Street. In 2002, parts of The Mothman Prophecies was filmed in the Sewickley area. Scenes from the Netflix show Sweet Magnolias was also filmed at the intersection of Broad Street and Beaver Street. The Bruegger's Bagels on Beaver Street was transformed into a McDonald's during shooting. Scenes from Jack Reacher, starring Tom Cruise, and The Lifeguard, starring Kristen Bell, were filmed in the town near the Sewickley Manor apartments and condominiums.[27] Foxcatcher, starring Steve Carell, Mark Ruffalo, and Channing Tatum, began filming in the Sewickley area in October 2012.[28]

The fictional 1/24 scale town of Elgin Park, by artist and photographer Michael Paul Smith,[29] is actually based on the town of Sewickley. [30] [31]

Sewickley Cemetery

In 1860 Sewickley Cemetery was opened. The cemetery is now the resting place of more than 12,000 people. There are also two war memorials located on the burial grounds.[32]

Civil War Memorial

There is a monument celebrating the local Civil War veterans - it is 20 feet tall and was installed in 2005. There was an 1866 statue which depicted a soldier on bended knee; but that statue was damaged from many years of weather.[32]

Tuskegee Airmen Memorial

The Tuskegee Airmen have been memorialized in the cemetery with 2 large black granite blocks. the blocks are inscribed with the names of Western Pennsylvania veterans. Another block shows a scene of 2 planes engaged in arial combat.[33][34]

See also

References
  1. Divittorio, Michael (12 January 2021). "Sewickley has a new mayor, George Shannon". Pittsburgh Tribune Review. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  2. "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  3. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". United States Census Bureau. May 24, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  4. History of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. A. Warner & Co. 1889. p. 196. ISBN 9780788446146. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  5. What's in a Name? Archived 2006-09-30 at the Wayback Machine, Article about the origins of the word "Sewickley". Apr 14, 2004.
  6. Charles Augustus Hanna (1911). "The Traders at Allegheny on the Main Path; With Some Annals of Kittanning and Chartier's Town". The Wilderness Trail: Or, The Ventures and Adventures of the Pennsylvania Traders on the Allegheny Path. 1. New York and London: G. P. Putnam's Sons. p. 298. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  7. Smithsonian Institution Bureau of American Ethnology (1907). Frederick Webb Hodge (ed.). Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico: A-M. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 536. Retrieved 6 December 2016. sewickley.
  8. Presbyterian Church (Sewickley, Pa.) (1914). A history of the Presbyterian Church of Sewickley, Pennsylvania: consisting of certain addresses, delivered February 16-19, 1913, on the occasion of the seventy-fifth anniversary of the permanent organization of the church ... New York: Knickerbocker Press. pp. 80–. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  9. "The Origin of the Name "Sewickley"". Sewickley Valley Historical Society. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  10. "Population of Civil Divisions Less than Counties" (PDF). 1880 United States Census. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
  11. "Population-Pennsylvania" (PDF). U.S. Census 1910. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  12. "Number and Distribution of Inhabitants:Pennsylvania-Tennessee" (PDF). Fifteenth Census. U.S. Census Bureau.
  13. "Number of Inhabitants: Pennsylvania" (PDF). 18th Census of the United States. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  14. "Pennsylvania: Population and Housing Unit Counts" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  15. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  16. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 20 November 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  17. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
  18. "Primary and General Election Results". Allegheny County. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  19. EL. "2016 Pennsylvania general election results". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  20. EL. "2012 Allegheny County election". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  21. Borough Council & Mayor
  22. Ray Lyons and Keith Curry Lance. "America's Star Libraries, 2011: Top-Rated Libraries". Library Journal.
  23. "Book of Lists". Pittsburgh Business Times. 2012. ISSN 1097-1394.
  24. Bombulie, Jonathan (July 24, 2018). "Penguins owner Mario Lemieux lists Quebec castle for $21,999,066". Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  25. Anderson, Shelly; Molinari, Dave (May 13, 2010). "Penguins Notebook: Crosby buys house not far from Lemieux's". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on May 16, 2010. Retrieved July 13, 2010.
  26. Wikipedia
  27. Tady, Scott (July 10, 2012). "'Lifeguard' movie shoots in Sewickley". Beaver County Times. Retrieved July 18, 2012.
  28. Serafini, Kristina (October 17, 2012). "Film crews back in Sewickley area". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved October 18, 2012.
  29. https://www.flickr.com/photos/24796741@N05/
  30. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-12-29. Retrieved 2014-12-29.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  31. http://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/pennsylvania/articles/american-life-michael-paul-smith-s-elgin-park/
  32. Wills, Rick (3 June 2010). "Sewickley cemetery 'centerpiece' of town's history". Trib Total Media, LLC. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  33. Isenberg, Robert (9 September 2011). "Tuskegee Airmen Honored at Sewickley Cemetery". Neighbor News. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  34. "Sewickley Cemetery now home to Tuskegee Airmen Memorial". Hearst Television Inc. Action News Pittsburgh. 15 September 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
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