Gibsonia is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

in Richland Township, Allegheny County, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, north of the city of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. It had a population of 2,733 at the 2010 Census. Its ZIP code is 15044.

Geography

Gibsonia is located in the central and southwest parts of Richland Township, and it is north of downtown Pittsburgh. The CDP's elevation is above sea level. Gibsonia appears on the Valencia U.S. Geological Survey Map. The area is in the Eastern time zone (GMT -5).

Demographics

History

Gibsonia was named in honor of the Gibson family who settled the area; their original house was demolished in December 2019. The early history of Gibsonia is, naturally enough, interwoven with the history of the Gibson family. About the time of the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, Charles Gibson, Jr., built the first steam flour mill west of the

Alleghenies The Allegheny Mountain Range (; also spelled Alleghany or Allegany), informally the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada and posed a significant barrier to land travel in less devel ...

on Grubbs Road. His granddaughter, Nancy Gibson James, recalls hearing her uncle tell of the farmers riding to the mill with sacks of grain across the saddles. The Gibson family homestead was built by her grandfather, Charles Gibson, Jr., in 1839. Just below the former site of the home, near the railroad crossing, still remains the foundation of Charles Gibson's general store. This building, destroyed by fire in 1908, besides housing the store was also the first post office in Gibsonia. For about ten years before it burned it was in use as a mission of the Christian & Missionary Alliance Church. The village was linked to Pittsburgh and

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some a ...

by the

Pittsburgh and Butler Street Railway The Pittsburgh and Butler Street Railway, commonly called the Butler Short Line, was a broad gauge interurban streetcar line connecting Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States to Butler via Mars. History The Pittsburgh and Butler Street Railway ...

in 1907. The line closed in 1931, services being replaced by buses along Route 8. It is the home of the

Western Pennsylvania Model Railroad Museum The Western Pennsylvania Model Railroad Museum is a railroad museum in Gibsonia, Pennsylvania. It is dedicated to the exhibition of model trains and historical railroad paraphernalia. The museum's main exhibit is a 40' by 100' scale model of the ...

Education

The area around Gibsonia is mainly located in the Pine-Richland School District, as well as the Hampton Township School District,

North Allegheny School District North Allegheny School District is a large, suburban public school district located in McCandless, Pennsylvania, about north of Pittsburgh. It serves an area of , including Marshall Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Marshall Township, ...

, Deer Lakes School District, and a small portion of the

Mars Area School District Mars Area School District is a public school district in Pennsylvania. The district encompasses approximately and serves the communities of Mars and Valencia Boroughs as well as Adams Township and Middlesex Township in Butler County. The ea ...

. According to Greatschools.com, Pine-Richland School District ranks 10/10, Hampton Township School District ranks 10/10, Deer Lakes School District ranks 7/10, and Mars Area School District ranks 9/10 based on academic performance on state tests. The Aquinas Academy of Pittsburgh is located south of Gibsonia in Hampton Township. It is a private school serving pre-K through Grade 12. Gibsonia is also the site of Chatham University's Eden Hall campus, which is used for various environmental studies, and as a community college for Gibsonia.

Amenities

Gibsonia is home to many offerings for local shoppers. The Richland Mall is located on Route 8. Shops located in this mall are

Shop 'n Save Shop ’n Save was a grocery store chain in the Greater St. Louis market with 36 stores at its peak. The company, headquartered in Kirkwood, Missouri, was a wholly owned subsidiary of SuperValu, based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. SuperValu a ...

Kohl's Kohl's (stylized in all caps) is an American department store retail chain, operated by Kohl's Corporation. it is the largest department store chain in the United States, with 1,165 locations, operating stores in every U.S. state except Hawai ...

T.J. Maxx TJ Maxx (stylized as T•J•maxx) is an American department store chain, selling at prices generally lower than other major similar stores. It has more than 1,000 stores in the United States, making it one of the largest clothing retailers in ...

, Emiliano's Mexican Restaurant & Bar, and
Command Performance Salon
Route 8 is also home to a

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

Econo Lodge Econo Lodge is an economy motel chain based in the United States and Canada. Econo Lodge is one of the larger brands in the Choice Hotels system. It aims to provide affordable rooms to budget travelers. The properties contain a minimum of 40 gue ...

, The North Park Club House, All Pet Animal Hospital,

Advance Auto Parts Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (Advance) is an American automotive aftermarket parts provider. Headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, it serves both professional installer and do it yourself (DIY) customers. As of July 13, 2019, Advance operated ...

, Award & More,

Rite Aid Rite Aid Corporation is an American drugstore chain based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1962 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, by Alex Grass under the name Thrift D Discount Center. The company ranked No. 148 in the Fortune 500 lis ...

, Lin's Garden, Kings Family Restaurants,

Giant Eagle Giant Eagle, Inc. (Western Pennsylvania English: ) and stylized as giant eagle) is an American supermarket chain with stores in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Indiana, and Maryland. The company was founded in 1918 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylv ...

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 c ...

, Adrian's Pizza,

Dunham's Sports Dunham's Sports is an American sporting goods retail chain owned by Dunham's Athleisure Corporation, with stores located in the Midwestern to Southeastern United States. The chain specializes in athletic equipment, clothing, firearms, and other ...

, various fast food restaurants, and more. Late in the 2000s, a new shopping complex was built along Route 8 in Gibsonia. It is located near the border of Bakerstown next to the Grandview neighborhood of Gibsonia. This shopping mall is home to a

Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...

Buffalo Wild Wings Buffalo Wild Wings (originally Buffalo Wild Wings & Weck, hence the nickname BDubs, or BW3) is an American casual dining restaurant and sports bar franchise in the United States, Canada, India, Mexico, Panama, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, and Unit ...

Lowe's Lowe's Companies, Inc. (), often shortened to Lowe's, is an American retail company specializing in home improvement. Headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina, the company operates a chain of retail stores in the United States and Canada. A ...

, Sally's Beauty Supply,

Applebee's Applebee's Restaurants LLC. is an American company that develops, franchises, and operates the Applebee's Neighborhood Grill + Bar restaurant chain. The Applebee's concept focuses on casual dining, with mainstream American dishes such as salads ...

Pizza Hut Pizza Hut is an American multinational restaurant chain and international franchise founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas by Dan and Frank Carney. They serve their signature pan pizza and other dishes including pasta, breadsticks and dessert at d ...

GameStop GameStop Corp. is an American video game, consumer electronics, and gaming merchandise retailer. The company is headquartered in Grapevine, Texas (a suburb of Dallas), and is the largest video game retailer worldwide. , the company operates 4,5 ...

, and a

PNC Bank The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (stylized as PNC) is an American bank holding company and financial services corporation based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Its banking subsidiary, PNC Bank, operates in 27 states and the District of ...

. The Treesdale neighborhood of Gibsonia is also home to a few local offerings, such as Luca's Bistro, Lamparski Orthodontics, and Salon Vivace.

Notable people

Erik Buell Erik F. Buell (born April 2, 1950, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is the founder, former Chairman and Chief Technical Officer of the Buell Motorcycle Company, which eventually merged with Harley-Davidson Corp. Buell is a pioneer of modern race moto ...

, founder,

Erik Buell Racing Erik Buell Racing (EBR) is an American motorcycle sport company which produces street and racing motorcycles, based in East Troy, Wisconsin, USA. The business entered receivership in April 2015. After two previous attempts, the business remnants ...

; CTO,

Buell Motorcycle Company Buell Motorcycles is an American motorcycle manufacturer based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1983 by ex-Harley-Davidson engineer Erik Buell. Harley-Davidson acquired 49% of Buell in 1993, and Buell became a wholly ow ...

* David I. Cleland, the "Father of

Project Management Project management is the process of leading the work of a team to achieve all project goals within the given constraints. This information is usually described in project documentation, created at the beginning of the development process. Th ...

" *

Jackie Evancho Jacqueline Marie Evancho ( ; born April 9, 2000) is an American crossover music#Classical crossover, classical crossover singer who gained wide recognition at an early age. Since 2009, she has issued a platinum-selling extended play, EP and nine ...

, classical crossover singer, actress, and model * Stephen Frick, retired NASA astronaut and commander of two space shuttle missions in 2002 and 2008 *

Meghan Klingenberg Meghan Elizabeth Klingenberg (born August 2, 1988) is an American soccer player who plays as a Defender (association football), defender for Portland Thorns FC, Portland Thorns in the National Women's Soccer League, National Women's Soccer Leagu ...

, member of

United States Women's National Soccer Team The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) represents the United States in international women's Association football, soccer. The team is the most successful in international women's soccer, winning four FIFA Women's World Cup, Wom ...

* Louis J. Reizenstein, philanthropist, international importer of glass and china ware * Florence S. Reizenstein, civil rights activist *

Fran Rogel Francis Stephen Rogel (December 12, 1927 – June 3, 2002) was an American football fullback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL. Collegiate career Unable to enroll at Penn State due to the college's post-World War II policy of giving admi ...

, Penn State and Pittsburgh Steeler All-Pro running back * Brandon Saad, National Hockey League player and two-time

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

winner with the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

Jonas Salk Jonas Edward Salk (; born Jonas Salk; October 28, 1914June 23, 1995) was an American virologist and medical researcher who developed one of the first successful polio vaccines. He was born in New York City and attended the City College of New Y ...

, resident when he developed the vaccine for polio *

Joe Trees Joseph Clifton Trees was a college football player at the University of Pittsburgh, the first athlete to receive an athletic subsidization at the school, and, possibly, an early professional football player. He later made millions of dollars in ...

, industrialist and noted philanthropist; his estate in Gibsonia was devoted to a large extent to fruit trees *

Neil Walker Neil Martin Andrew Walker (born September 10, 1985) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates (2009–2015), New York Mets (2016–17), Milwaukee Brewers ( ...

, former

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

second baseman

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Census-designated places in Pennsylvania Unincorporated communities in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Unincorporated communities in Pennsylvania