Gibsonia is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), 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 counte ...

in Richland Township,

Allegheny County Allegheny County ( ) is a county in Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,250,578, making it the state's second-most populous county, after Philadelphia County. Its county seat and most populous city is Pit ...

, 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 so ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, north of the city 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 ...

. It had a population of 2,785 at the 2020 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).

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 is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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.J ...

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

Alleghenies 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 ...

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 pantries, pantr ...

by 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.

Education

The area around Gibsonia is mainly located in the

Pine-Richland School District The Pine-Richland School District is a mid-sized, suburban public school district serving northern Pittsburgh in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Pine-Richland School District encompasses approximately serving residents of Pine Township and of ...

, 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 was established in 1948 and serves an area of , including Marshall Township, McCandless Township, ...

Deer Lakes School District The Deer Lakes School District is a small, suburban, K-12 public school district near Pittsburgh which covers East Deer, Frazer, and West Deer townships in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Deer Lakes School District encompasses approximately ...

, and a small portion of the Mars Area School District. 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, Catholic 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.

Notable people

Erik Buell Erik F. Buell (born April 2, 1950, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is the founder, former chairman and chief operations 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 remnant ...

; CTO,

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

* David I. Cleland, the "Father of

Project Management Project management is the process of supervising the work of a Project team, team to achieve all project goals within the given constraints. This information is usually described in project initiation documentation, project documentation, crea ...

" *

Jackie Evancho Jacqueline Marie Evancho ( ; born April 9, 2000) is an American singer who gained wide recognition at an early age, singing primarily crossover music#Classical crossover, classical crossover covers. Since 2009, she has issued nine albums, a pla ...

, classical crossover singer, actress, and model *

Stephen Frick Stephen Nathaniel Frick (born September 30, 1964) is an American astronaut and a veteran of two Space Shuttle missions. Raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Frick graduated from Pine-Richland High School in 1982, earned a degree in aerospace engi ...

, retired NASA astronaut and commander of two space shuttle missions in 2002 and 2008 *

Meghan Klingenberg Meghan Elizabeth Klingenberg (born August 2, 1988) is a retired American professional soccer player who most recently played in 2024 as a defender for the Portland Thorns in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). A former member of the U ...

, 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 soccer. The team is governed by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF (the Confederation of North, Central Ameri ...

* 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 professional football player who was a fullback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Penn State Nittany ...

, Penn State and Pittsburgh Steeler All-Pro running back *

Brandon Saad Brandon Saad (born October 27, 1992) is an American professional ice hockey forward for the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). Saad grew up playing hockey in his home state of Pennsylvania before joining the Saginaw Spir ...

, National Hockey League player and two-time

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () 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, and the International Ic ...

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 (N ...

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 ...

, resident when he developed the vaccine for polio *

Joe Trees Joseph Clifton Trees (1870 - May 20, 1943) 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 mi ...

, 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 and current broadcaster. He played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Mets, Milwaukee Bre ...

, 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

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