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A tour of Bower Hill
For Bower Hill VFD,
this is where it all began.
This is the old Bower Hill Elementary School building, where, in
September of 1924, the Scott Township commissioners held the meeting
that led to the formation of the department. Additions have been built
behind and to the right of the original structure, and the front
parking lot is in an area that used to be underground. The main
entrance to the school was above the current entrance doors, on what is
now the second floor. This building is now a professional office
building.
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Bower Hill is home to
many professional offices and businesses. This building, two doors down
from the old school on Vanadium
Road, was once the neighborhood supermarket. The retailer changed
several times over the years, from Loblaw's to Del Farm to Foodland,
until it was sold in the mid-1970s to a physician group who turned it
into a medical office building. It now houses cardiovascular,
orthopaedic and sports medicine physician practices.
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The state historical marker on Kane Boulevard explains Bower Hill's
place in U.S. history. This site was once sought by Bower Hill VFD as a
possible location for a new fire station. The property now belongs to
Allegheny County, and is part of the John J. Kane - Scott Regional
Center property.
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This monument is now located right next to the historical marker in the
last photo. It was originally erected at the old Bower Hill School,
seen in the first photo above. It was purchased by the Bower Hill VFD
Women's
Auxiliary in 1947 to honor the citizens of Bower Hill who served in the
military forces during World War II. It was moved to its current
location through the efforts of the Scott Conservancy.
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The Kane - Scott Regional Center opened in 1982 and cares for the indigent aged and disabled
residents of Allegheny County. It is owned and operated by the county.
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Next door to the Scott Regional Center is Our Lady of Grace Church and
School, which serves Roman Catholic residents of parts of Scott, Mt.
Lebanon and Upper St. Clair Townships.
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Just across the street and a few doors up from Our Lady of Grace, at
the corner of Kane Boulevard and Bower Hill Road, is Good Shepherd
Lutheran Church. The two churches were established within a year of
each other, when the population of Bower Hill began to grow
dramatically in 1946 - 1947.
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Further down the hill is the site of the old Bower Hill No. 2 coal
mine. The six coal mines in the Bower Hill Volunteer Fire Department
service area closed between 1930 and 1945.
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The mines may be gone, but the railroads remain. This train carries
grain, and other runs haul coke and steel, among other commodities. The
Wheeling and Lake Erie line is usually referred to as "the upper
tracks" in Bower Hill. This line was built in 1904 as the Wabash -
Pittsburgh Terminal Railroad. The W-PT was operated as a part of the
old Wheeling and Lake Erie. Several mergers and leases later, the
W&LE name again graces the locomotives and rolling stock passing
through Bower Hill.
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The Pittsburgh and Ohio Central line through Bower Hill is called "the
lower tracks" by local residents. It carries plastics, electrical
equipment and other commodities now, but in the past, as the Chartiers
Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad, it carried coal, steel, glass,
nuclear materials, gasoline and petroleum products in through trains,
and chemicals for the Sipe's Paint plant here in Bower Hill. In this
photo, the POHC plastics train is passing the old Sipe's plant, now
home to an industrial park. Though hazardous materials are a thing of
the past on this line, the fire department remains ready.
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The tree-lined residential streets make up the bulk of the community.
In all seasons, Bower Hill is a pleasant, safe, convenient and
comfortable place to live and work.
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