Brentwood is a borough in

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. The population was 10,082 at the 2020 census. It is a residential suburb of the

Pittsburgh metropolitan area Greater Pittsburgh is the metropolitan area surrounding the city of Pittsburgh in Western Pennsylvania, United States. The region includes Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County, Pittsburgh's urban core county and economic hub, and s ...

History

Brentwood, located approximately from downtown

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 ...

and is 101 years old, was once an integral part of Baldwin Township, which included the villages of Brentwood, Point View, and Whitehall. In 1914, a group of citizens in the village of Brentwood took a set of grievances to the Baldwin Township Board of Commissioners, regarding the lack of sidewalks, sewers, fire protection, police, and a school house. Upon further disregard of these necessities from the township, a group of men from the village held a meeting on January 27, 1915, to discuss secession. After considerable discussion, the boundary lines of Brentwood were finalized by the Board of Trade. Building a sidewalk along Brownsville Road was the first official action taken by the Board of Trade. On November 6, 1915, the Quarter Sessions Court of Allegheny County decreed that Brentwood was officially seceded from Baldwin Township. The proceedings to incorporate were filed on May 15, 1916, creating the Borough of Brentwood. On December 4, 1915, special elections were held to elect a burgess, auditors, justices of the peace, high constable, tax collector, assessor, and councilmen. Brentwood's first burgess was Bernard Kestner, sworn in on December 9, 1915. He served Brentwood for sixteen years. The board met monthly and continued to discuss necessary steps for the structure of the borough. On

Labor Day Labor Day is a Federal holidays in the United States, federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor and recognize the Labor history of the United States, American labor movement and the works and con ...

, 1928, the borough celebrated the official opening of the park, pool, and paving of Brownsville Road. A former councilman of Brentwood, Bob Cranmer, served as an Allegheny County commissioner, 1996–2000. He was involved with a number of historic government initiatives and large civic development projects, being both local and regional in scope. A Hall of Fame NFL linebacker, Joe Schmidt played for Brentwood High School.

Geography and climate

Brentwood is located at (40.374469, -79.976179). According to the

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

, the borough has a total area of , all land. The borough is in the

Allegheny Plateau The Allegheny Plateau ( ) is a large dissected plateau area of the Appalachian Mountains in western and central New York, northern and western Pennsylvania, northern and western West Virginia, and eastern Ohio. It is divided into the unglacia ...

region of the United States, and is situated south of the confluence of the

Allegheny River The Allegheny River ( ; ; ) is a tributary of the Ohio River that is located in western Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York in the United States. It runs from its headwaters just below the middle of Pennsylvania's northern border, nor ...

and the

Monongahela River The Monongahela River ( , ), sometimes referred to locally as the Mon (), is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 15, 2011 river on the Allegheny Plateau in nor ...

to form the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

. Due to its position between the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

and the

windward In geography and seamanship, windward () and leeward () are directions relative to the wind. Windward is ''upwind'' from the point of reference, i.e., towards the direction from which the wind is coming; leeward is ''downwind'' from the point ...

side of the

Allegheny Mountains The Allegheny Mountain Range ( ) — also spelled Alleghany or Allegany, less formally the Alleghenies — is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada. Historically it represented a significant barr ...

, Brentwood, along with the rest of the region, receives plentiful precipitation which supports lush vegetation. Also, because it is on the windward side of the mountains, it is often cloudy, having 203 cloudy days per year.Cloudiness - Mean Number of Days
. Comparative Climate Data, ''

National Climatic Data Center The United States National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), previously known as the National Weather Records Center (NWRC), in Asheville, North Carolina, was the world's largest active archive of weather data. In 2015, the NCDC merged with two other ...

''. 2002. Last accessed January 11, 2007. The winter is particularly cloudy, with only 28 percent sunshine in December and 23 cloudy days. In the winter, when a northwest flow establishes itself over the Great Lakes, the wind blows from

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...

across eastern

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 ...

and western Pennsylvania. That wind carries moist air from the lake, producing clouds and heavy snow squalls.

Surrounding communities

Brentwood has three borders, including Baldwin to the east and northeast,

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London, England. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It ...

to the south and west, and the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Carrick to the northwest.

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 2000, there were 10,466 people, 4,658 households, 2,762 families, residing in the borough. The population density was . There were 4,895 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the borough was 97.95%

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 ...

, 0.54%

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 ...

, 0.24% Native American, 0.54% Asian, 0.01%

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 ...

, 0.21% from other races, and 0.52% 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 0.69% of the population. There were 4,658 households, out of which 26.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.6% 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, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.7% were non-families. 35.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.95. In the borough the population was spread out, with 21.2% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 31.7% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 17.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.6 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $37,013, and the median income for a family was $48,552. Males had a median income of $36,097 versus $29,526 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 borough was $20,024. About 4.8% of families and 6.1% 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 7.0% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Brentwood has a neighborhood main street ( Brownsville Road) with businesses that stretch from the southern border of the Pittsburgh area to the northern border of Whitehall Borough. More recently, Brentwood Towne Square was built along Brownsville Road and

Route 51 The following highways are numbered 51: Australia * Kamilaroi Highway * Plenty Road Cambodia *National Road 51 (Cambodia) Canada * Alberta Highway 51 (defunct) * Saskatchewan Highway 51 Cuba * Caimito–Salado Road (2–51) Finland * F ...

. Many shops, restaurants, and offices are in the square.

Arts and culture

Brownsville Road follows the route of a

pre-Columbian era In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...

Native American Indian trail and footpaths connecting

Redstone Old Fort Redstone Old Fort — written as Redstone or Red-Stone Fort or (for a short time when built) Fort Burd — on Nemacolin's Path, the Nemacolin Trail, was the name of the French and Indian War-era wooden fort built in 1759 by Pennsylvania militia ...

with the "forks of the

", a distance of . It later became the road connecting Pittsburgh with

Brownsville, Pennsylvania Brownsville is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, first settled in 1785 as the site of a trading post a few years after the defeat of the Iroquois enabled a resumption of westward migration after the American Revolutionary ...

, and from there via Nemacolin's Path to

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

and points further east. It was a major route for travel by stagecoach and

Conestoga wagon The Conestoga wagon, also simply known as the Conestoga, is a horse-drawn freight wagon that was used exclusively in North America, primarily the United States, in the 18th and 19th centuries. Such wagons were probably first used by Pennsylvania ...

. The road was significant during the

Whiskey Rebellion The Whiskey Rebellion (also known as the Whiskey Insurrection) was a violent tax protest in the United States beginning in 1791 and ending in 1794 during the presidency of George Washington. The so-called "whiskey tax" was the first tax impo ...

, particularly its southern half. It has had several names over its history, including the Red Stone Road and the Brownsville Plank Road, or Southern Avenue. The Point View Hotel dates back to 1832. General

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...

spent a night there before he entered Pittsburgh while campaigning for the presidency. General

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military officer and politician who was the 12th president of the United States, serving from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States ...

stopped for a night as well. President

James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was the 15th president of the United States, serving from 1857 to 1861. He also served as the United States Secretary of State, secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and represented Pennsylvan ...

and Senator

Thaddeus Stevens Thaddeus Stevens (April 4, 1792August 11, 1868) was an American politician and lawyer who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania, being one of the leaders of the Radical Republican faction of the Histo ...

stayed on two occasions. Not only did the hotel have many guests who were quite important people, but the basement of the hotel was a stop on the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...

during the 1850s. The hotel was then turned into a restaurant and bar until the property was sold and demolished in November 2006, as it was never officially recognized as a historic landmark. A medical office building has been built on this site. The John F. Slater Funeral Home, formerly the White Hall Tavern, was another important place in Brentwood's history. In the earlier days of Brentwood's time, many city dwellers rode stagecoaches on Brownsville Road, because this was the only major roadway connecting the cities of Pittsburgh and Brownsville. The White Hall Tavern was just a short walk to the race track which was once on the site of the South Hills Country Club, which is why many people from the city stopped here for relaxation. The Windsor Hotel was opened in 1882. Although there was a fire sixteen years later, it was rebuilt and remained a popular place for vacationers. The Davis Farm House was another historical place in Brentwood's history, although it was gained by the borough in 1968. The house and grounds became a senior citizens’ recreation center. Much debate was encountered when it was considered being torn down to build a new firehouse and recreation room. Although the house had been considered a historical site by much of the town, it was eventually torn down, and the new fire house was built in place of the senior citizens’ center. The Cowan Farm House at 4111 Brownsville Road, is an example of the early architecture of Brentwood. The estate and farm comprised the property is located at 4111 Brownsville Road and much of the surrounding area. The early Cowan family was a major landowner in Brentwood.

Brentwood Arboretum

The arboretum was founded in 1997 by members of the community. It is located on the grounds of the Brentwood School District, the Brentwood Library, and the Brentwood Park, and the land is owned by each respective body. The collection of trees comprises extant and new specimens planted by the community, library, and school district. Community members hope to extend the collection during the renovations at the park. The collection includes: *Ginkgo ''(

Ginkgo Biloba ''Ginkgo biloba'', commonly known as ginkgo or gingko ( ), also known as the maidenhair tree, is a species of gymnosperm tree native to East Asia. It is the last living species in the order Ginkgoales, which first appeared over 290 million year ...

):'' Three specimen trees directly in front of the middle-high school *Japanese Larch ''(

Larix kaempferi ''Larix kaempferi'', the Japanese larch or karamatsu ( or ) in Japanese, is a species of larch native to Japan, in the mountains of Chūbu and Kantō regions in central Honshū.Farjon, A. (1990). ''Pinaceae. Drawings and Descriptions of the Gen ...

):'' Two specimens at the northern entrance to the middle-high school adjacent to the library *Goldenrain Tree ''( Koelreuteria paniculata):'' Four specimens in front of the middle-high school *Tulip Tree ''(

Liriodendron tulipifera ''Liriodendron tulipifera''—known as the tulip tree, American tulip tree, tulipwood, tuliptree, tulip poplar, whitewood, fiddletree, lynn-tree, hickory-poplar, and yellow-poplar—is the North American representative of the two-species genus ...

):'' Two specimen trees along Brownsville Road adjacent to the middle-high school *American Elm "Princeton" ''(

Ulmus americana ''Ulmus americana'', generally known as the American elm or, less commonly, as the white elm or water elm, is a species of elm native to eastern North America. The trees can live for several hundred years. It is a very Hardiness (plants), hardy ...

):'' Eleven specimens along Brownsville and Pointview roads *Little Leaf Linden'' (

Tilia cordata ''Tilia cordata'', the small-leaved lime or small-leaved linden, is a species of tree in the family Malvaceae, native to much of Europe. Other common names include little-leaf or littleleaf linden, or traditionally in South East England, pry or p ...

):'' Three specimens in front of the building facing Brownsville Road, including one planted in 1939 *Red Maple ''(

Acer rubrum ''Acer rubrum'', the red maple, also known as swamp maple, water maple, or soft maple, is one of the most common and widespread deciduous trees of eastern and central North America. The U.S. Forest Service recognizes it as the most abundant nati ...

):'' Seven specimens in a line behind the old gymnasium *Dawn Redwood ''(

Metasequoia glyptostroboides ''Metasequoia glyptostroboides'', the dawn redwood, is a fast-growing, endangered deciduous pinophyta, conifer. It is the sole living species of the genus ''Metasequoia'', one of three genera in the subfamily Sequoioideae of the family (botany), ...

):'' Three specimens between the library and its new wing *Mulberry ''( ''Morus'' )'' One specimen to the right of the front auditorium doors of the high school *Norway Maple '' (

Acer platanoides ''Acer platanoides'', commonly known as the Norway maple, is a species of maple native to eastern and central Europe and western Asia, from Spain east to Russia, north to southern Scandinavia and southeast to northern Iran. It was introduced to ...

)'' One specimen at the corner of Park Drive and Brownsville Road in front of the library *Redbud ''(

Cercis ''Cercis'' is a genus of about 10 species in the subfamily Cercidoideae of the pea family (biology), family Fabaceae. It contains small deciduous trees or large shrubs commonly known as redbuds in the USA. They are characterised by simple, rou ...

):'' One specimen in front of the middle-high school *Spruce ''(

Picea A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' is the sole genus ...

)'' Five specimens at the north side of the "old gym" of the high school and park *Slippery Elm ''(

Ulmus rubra ''Ulmus rubra'', the slippery elm, is a species of elm native to eastern North America. Other common names include red elm, gray elm, soft elm, moose elm, and Indian elm. Description ''Ulmus rubra'' is a medium-sized deciduous tree with a sp ...

):'' One specimen at Brownsville Road in front of the library *Silver Maple ''(

Acer saccharinum ''Acer saccharinum'', commonly known as silver maple, creek maple, silverleaf maple, soft maple, large maple, water maple, swamp maple, or white maple, is a species of maple native to the eastern and central United States and southeastern Canad ...

):'' Two specimens along Park Drive in front of the library *American Sycamore ''(

Platanus occidentalis ''Platanus occidentalis'', also known as American sycamore, American planetree, western plane, occidental plane, buttonwood, and water beech, is a species of ''Platanus'' native to the eastern and central United States, the mountains of northeast ...

):'' Two specimens along Brownsville Road in front of the library

Library

Brentwood's public library is located at the center of the borough on Brownsville Road, at the entrance of Brentwood Park. A person can borrow books, movies, puppets, puzzles, magazines, and CDs. There is a children's area, and there are many computers for public access to the internet. The library hosts many children's events throughout the year including story times and visitations by authors. For adults the library hosts educational classes, informational meetings and book clubs. The library was founded in 1947 as a project of the Moore School P.T.A. Originally the library was in the basement of the Moore School. The library then moved to the Brentwood Borough building in the area currently occupied by the Brentwood EMS. On July 4, 1990, the library moved to the existing facility which was newly built with a main reading room, meeting rooms, and community room.

Parks and recreation

The Brentwood High School Spartans play football, soccer, baseball, and softball, in the local park. Brentwood Borough opened the park and pool on July 4, 1928, but it was not until 1948 that the football stadium, track, four baseball fields, tennis courts, and basketball courts were built. In 2013, the Brentwood Park underwent roughly $8 million (~$ in ) in comprehensive improvements. The project was spearheaded by the Brentwood Park Initiative, the independent committee helping to raise funds and community awareness. The renovations included new turf to replace the grass field at Brentwood Stadium; a quarter-mile rubber track; an in-line dek hockey rink; new basketball and tennis courts; and energy-efficient lighting.

Government and politics

Education

Brentwood is served by the Brentwood Borough School District. The Court of Common Pleas appointed Brentwood's first school board who took charge of school business in July 1916, and the first group of teachers were hired that same year in September. Brentwood's first school was Moore Elementary School, then only a four-room school house, which is still in use by children and teachers. Because Moore School was not sufficient in size for all the students in the borough, Elroy School was built about three-quarters of a mile away toward

, and renovations were completed in 1925 to both schools. The first Brentwood High School opened in the basement of Elroy School in September 1925 and only taught through ninth grade. The high school was newly built in 1932 adjacent to the current Brentwood Park; an addition was constructed in 1939 because of the increase in population, and once again in 1959. This renovation included more rooms and a new gymnasium. In the late 1960s, Pennsylvania experienced a consolidation of school districts. Some wanted the Brentwood school district to be folded into the Baldwin-Whitehall district. However, this consolidation was never realized, and in 1972 a new four-story building containing classrooms and an indoor pool was constructed. In the early 1990s the consensus on the school board was to close Moore and Elroy schools and consolidate them into an expanded K-12th grade facility at the existing high school. An intense community debate on whether to close Moore and Elroy schools ensued with the supporters of preserving and rehabilitating Moore and Elroy prevailing. In 1997, the board of directors fully modernized and remodeled Elroy School and Moore School received two new additional classrooms. The district also built a new academic wing to the front of the 1939 building, and a second gymnasium was placed on the demolished third and fourth floors of the 1972 addition. St. Sylvester School was established in September 1948 as a large church, lunch room, and a small four-classroom Catholic elementary school. St. Sylvester served as Brentwood's parochial elementary school, teaching children from preschool to 8th grade. The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh closed the school in 2019.

Public safety

The fire department was organized on December 8, 1915. In 1916, the police department, which was formed only of two men, was developed. In 1977, the EMS was founded.

References

Bibliography

*Brentwood 1990 Fourth of July Committee. The Borough of Brentwood. 1990. ''History of Brentwood Allegheny County, Pennsylvania''. Brentwood: Borough of Brentwood.

External links

Brentwood Borough official websiteBrentwood Borough School District
{{S-end Populated places established in 1916 Pittsburgh metropolitan area Boroughs in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania 1916 establishments in Pennsylvania