Sewickley Heights is a
borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
In the Middle Ag ...
in
Allegheny County,
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, ...
, United States. The population was 857 at the
2020 census. Sewickley Heights is one of the wealthiest municipalities in Pennsylvania and in the United States.
History
Sewickley Heights was established as a borough in 1935, but the area's character was largely established with the move of the Allegheny Country Club from
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 ...
to its Sewickley Heights location in 1902. The establishment of the country club accelerated the settlement of the area as a haven for wealthy Pittsburgh residents. Many estates established in Sewickley Heights up through the 1930s occupied hundreds of acres with houses of immense proportions. Among the grandest estates was As You Like It, the estate of banker, shipper and investor
William Thaw. As You Like It was featured in a 1903 print advertisement of the United States Battery Company that promoted electric lighting for country homes. Other notable estates included the
Henry Robinson Rea mansion, Farmhill (which hosted
Madame Curie
Marie Salomea Skłodowska–Curie ( , , ; born Maria Salomea Skłodowska, ; 7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934) was a Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first ...
in May 1921), and
B.F. Jones' 100-room mansion, Fairacres.
Many of the grand estates in Sewickley Heights began to fall into disrepair in the 1950s and 1960s. Many of the original massive houses were demolished and the lots subdivided. Sewickley Heights preserved the country character of the borough by requiring minimum lot sizes of , though many homes are on substantially larger parcels. Many "neighborhoods" of Sewickley Heights are named after the original estate and the clusters of homes on the estate parcel are marked by unique stone fences original to the old estate.
In the 1960s and 1970s, several parcels of land were donated or purchased to form the Sewickley Heights Borough Park. The park now occupies approximately and is renowned regionally for its hiking and horse-riding trails and other recreation areas. Sewickley Heights is also home to the Fern Hollow Nature Center and the Sewickley Heights History Center, which are co-located on a site.
Geography
Sewickley Heights is located at (40.561091, -80.155541).
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), 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 Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the borough has a total area of , all land.
Surrounding neighborhoods
Sewickley Heights borders five areas, including
Bell Acres to the north and northwest,
Sewickley Hills to the east and northeast,
Aleppo Township to the south,
Sewickley to the southwest, and
Edgeworth
Edgeworth may refer to:
People
* Edgeworth (surname)
Places
* Edgeworth, Gloucestershire, England
* Edgeworth, New South Wales, Australia
* Edgeworth, Pennsylvania, USA
* Edgeworth Island, Nunavut, Canada
* Edgeworthstown, County Longford, Repu ...
to the west.
Education
Sewickley Heights is one of 11 communities served by the Quaker Valley School District.
Government and politics
Sewickley Heights is a reliably Republican jurisdiction in presidential elections. In every presidential election since 1932 (with the possible exception of 1992), the GOP has carried the borough. From 1944-1988, every Republican nominee for president exceeded 70% of the vote in the borough, with nine of their 12 campaigns breaking 80% of the vote, in spite of only
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
in 1972, and
Dwight Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
in 1956 actually winning Allegheny County, and multiple candidates in that span losing Pennsylvania.
The best showing for a Republican is the 89.72% of the vote carried by
Thomas Dewey in 1948.
The borough has trended Democratic in the 21st century however.
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
carried the borough twice, but by less than 20 points both times, with the best showing by a Democrat for president being the 45.47% of the vote won by
Joe Biden in 2020.
Note that in the 1912 election, in addition to the totals listed for the Bull Moose party, GOP, and Democratic parties, the Socialist nominee
Eugene V. Debs
Eugene Victor "Gene" Debs (November 5, 1855 – October 20, 1926) was an American socialist, political activist, trade unionist, one of the founding members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), and five times the candidate of the Soc ...
received eight votes, and the Prohibition nominee
Eugene Chafin
Eugene Wilder Chafin (November 1, 1852 – November 30, 1920) was an American politician and writer who served as the Prohibition Party's presidential candidate during the 1908 and 1912 presidential elections. He was active in local politics i ...
received five votes.
Sewickley Heights also supported the Republican in at least 15 of the last 17 gubernatorial elections, including
Raymond Broderick in
1970
Events
January
* January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC.
* January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...
,
Scott Wagner in
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
, and
Barbara Hafer
Barbara Hafer (born August 1, 1943) is an American politician and convicted felon from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. She served as a member of the Allegheny County Board of Commissioners from 1984 to 1989, as the Auditor General of Pennsylvan ...
in
1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
in spite of Broderick losing Allegheny county by 24 points, Wagner by 36 points, and Hafer by a margin of nearly 44 points. Hafer of whom also lost her gubernatorial election statewide by a margin of nearly 34 points.
Councilmembers
*
017 - 2019Republicans - 3 (Handley, Kinney, Pangburn), Democrats - 0, Unknowns - 4 (Means, McCargo, Snyder, Sirianni)
Demographics
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2000, 981 people, 336 households, and 273 families resided in the borough. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was 133.9 people per square mile (51.7/km
2). The 355 housing units averaged 48.5 per square mile (18.7/km
2). The
racial makeup
A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...
of the borough was 97.35% White, 0.92% African American, 0.61% Asian, 0.20% from other races, and 0.92% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 0.31% of the population.
Of the 336 households, 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 75.0% were married couples living together, 4.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.5% were not families. About 16.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56, and the average family size was 2.87.
In the borough, the population was distributed as 20.6% under the age of 18, 3.5% from 18 to 24, 17.8% from 25 to 44, 30.1% from 45 to 64, and 28.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 50 years. For every 100 females, there were 74.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 74.3 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $115,672, and for a family was $158,756. Males had a median income of $89,473 versus $40,417 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the borough was $79,541 placing it at number 99 on the list of highest-income places in the United States. About 5.2% of families and 7.0% 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 t ...
, including 10.0% of those under age 18 and 3.7% of those age 65 or over.
References
{{authority control
Populated places established in 1935
Boroughs in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania