Ross Township is a

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Allegheny County ( ) is a County (United States), county in Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,250,578, making it the List of counties in Pennsylvania, state's second-most populous county, after Philadelp ...

, United States. It is adjacent to the northern border of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. The population of the township was 33,176 at the 2020 census. While most of the township is residential, a retail corridor is located along McKnight Road along with business districts on U.S. Route 19 and Babcock Boulevard. Ross Township, along with the nearby borough of West View, comprises part of the North Hills School District, and both participate in the multi-municipality Northland Public Library.

History

On June 26, 1809, John McKnight, along with 30 other residents of Pine Township, petitioned the courts of Allegheny for the formation of a new township. In the November term, permission was granted and Ross Township was born. It was called Ross after a prominent Pittsburgh attorney James Ross. He represented Western Pennsylvania at the convention to ratify the Pennsylvania Constitution in 1790. Ross was a

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

and the personal land lawyer to

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

. Many of the early settlers lived in fear of the Native Americans, since many did not agree with Chief Cornplanter's treaty with Washington in 1784. In 1794, Casper Reel decided to finally settle in the area after being formerly chased out. His twin sons, David and Casper Jr., became the first white men born north of Pittsburgh. One of Ross Township's earliest claims to fame was the roads that passed through the area. The Native Americans traveled the Venango Path, later called the Franklin Road, and was one of the most important routes used by Commodore Oliver Perry in the

Battle of Lake Erie The Battle of Lake Erie, also known as the Battle of Put-in-Bay, was fought on 10 September 1813, on Lake Erie off the shores of Ohio during the War of 1812. Nine vessels of the United States Navy defeated and captured six vessels of the British ...

during the

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. After his victory, the road was once again changed to the Perrysville Plank Road. During this time, the road had large wooden planks on one side to assist in traveling during inclement weather. It was only when State Senator Herman P. Brandt petitioned to have the road paved from the city line to Perrysville in the 1920s. The road changed names once again to what is now known as Perry Highway. Along the road was built the Hiland Presbyterian Church ''circa'' 1799. The church, which still stands today, served as the hub of the community with most of the early families worshiping there and as its use as the town meeting hall. Adjoined to church property was the Perrysville School. This was the setting of one of both Pittsburgh's and Ross Township's most infamous prison escapes. On January 30, 1902, Katherine Soffel, wife of the warden of the Allegheny Jail, helped the Biddle Brothers, whom she was in love with, escape. It was during this escape through a blinding snow storm that they found themselves on Perrysville Plank Road looking for shelter, transportation and something to eat. Having nowhere else to stay, they broke into the one room Perrysville school house and warmed up next to the pot-bellied stove still warm from the day's classes. Wanting something to eat, the Biddles traveled up the road to the White House Hotel, where they requested six ham sandwiches and a pint of whiskey. Realizing they were short on cash, Ed Biddle pulled out a woman's pocketbook and paid for them. He did not have enough room in his coat, so he drew his gun in full sight of the bartender, Christ Weller. After many failed attempts to steal horses and a buggy, they found an open barn along Three Degree Road, where their attempt proved successful. Word of their escape broke out in the morning of January 31, in which they were tracked and later caught in Butler County. Along with these infamous strangers, some of the residence of Ross had fame in the lives as well. Herman P. Brandt was a State Senator, Casper Reel & Jacob Weitzel were famed Revolutionary War Soldiers, Simon Girty was a renegade traitor to the settlers and has been written about many times all over the world. In 1908, the Perrysville Volunteer Fire Company was formed. On August 1, 1962, Northway Mall in Ross Township opened with 62 stores. The unique mall was the site of the first enclosed mall in the state of Pennsylvania. Today, it operates as The Block Northway. In the summer of 1967, Jim Delligatti invented the

Big Mac The Big Mac is a brand of hamburger sold by the international fast food restaurant chain McDonald's. It was introduced by a Greater Pittsburgh Region, Greater Pittsburgh area Franchising, franchisee in 1967 and expanded nationwide in 1968, and ...

sandwich in the kitchen of his

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

, located on McKnight Road. In 1984, the Pittsburgh Chinese Church purchased the original Perrysville church building at 4101 Perrysville Ave with a main grand entrance at 4050 Vinceton St. In 2001, the PCC left this location for its current building at 8711 Old Perry Highway. Ross' borders changed over the course of time when Allegheny City was formed to the south and Shaler Township was formed to the east. Both took place before the turn of the 20th century. In 1905, the borough of West View seceded from Ross and was formed in the southwest corner of Ross Township. Since then, the borders have remained relatively unchanged.

Geography

Ross Township is located at . According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the township has a total area of . A small amount of land is covered with water.

Communities and neighborhoods

* Keown Station *Holly Hill *Berkeley Hills *Greybrooke *Kinvara *Perrysville *North Hills Estates *Laurel Gardens *Evergreen Heights *Highcliff *McKnight *McKnight Business District *McKnight Village *Northway *Babcock Business District * Evergreen Hamlet * White Oak Heights

Neighboring and inner communities

Ross Township has eleven borders, including McCandless to the north, Hampton Township to the northeast, Shaler Township to the east, Reserve Township and the

neighborhoods of Summer Hill, Perry North and Brighton Heights to the south, the borough of

Bellevue Bellevue means "beautiful view" in French. Bellevue or Belle Vue may refer to: Places Australia * Bellevue, Queensland * Bellevue, Western Australia * Bellevue Hill, New South Wales Canada * Bellevue, Alberta * Bellevue, Newfoundlan ...

to the southwest, Kilbuck and

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

Townships to the west, and the borough of Franklin Park to the northwest. Ross Township also entirely surrounds the borough of West View.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 31,105 people, 14,125 households, and 8,310 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 14,909 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 94.0%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 2.1%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.1% Native American, 2.5% Asian, 0.0%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.3% from other races, and 1.0% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.1% of the population. There were 14,125 households, out of which 22.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.2% were non-families. 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 31.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.81. In the township the population was spread out, with 17.5% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 29.8% from 45 to 64, and 20.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45.4 years. For every 100 females there were 88.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.3 males. The

median income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of unde ...

for a household in the township was $57,354, and the median income for a family was $75,319. Males had a median income of $46,124 versus $32,529 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the township was $33,121. About 4.3% of families and 6.8% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 6.0% of those under age 18 and 9.2% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

Ross Township is a first-class township in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The township is administered by an elected Board of Commissioners, composed of nine members who each represent a Ward in the Township. As of 2024, the current Board is: * Dan DeMarco, Esq. ( D, Ward 1; president) * Chris Eyster, Esq. (D, Ward 2) * Sarah Poweska (D, Ward 3; vice president) * Joe Laslavic (D/ R, Ward 4) * William McKellar (D, Ward 5) * Jason Pirring (D, Ward 6) * Patrick Mullin (D, Ward 7) * Denise Rickenbrode (D, Ward 8) * Joseph Muha (R, Ward 9)

Education

Ross Township is served by the North Hills School District. The district also serves West View Borough. North Hills High School consistently scores in the top 20% of Pennsylvania Public High Schools with its PSSA scores. *2022-2023 226th out of 674 *2021-2022 118th out of 674 *2020-2021 246th out of 674 *2018-2019 129th out of 674 *2017-2018 133rd out of 674 *2016-2017 152nd out of 674 *2015-2016 121st out of 674 *2014-2015 121st out of 674 *2013-2014 200th out of 674 *2012-2013 129th out of 674 *2011-2012 131st out of 674 *2010-2011 91st out of 674

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Populated places established in 1809 Townships in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Townships in Pennsylvania