Swisshelm Park (Pittsburgh)
| Swisshelm Park | |
|---|---|
| Neighborhood of Pittsburgh | |
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| Coordinates: 40°25′19″N 79°54′18″W / 40.422°N 79.905°WCoordinates: 40°25′19″N 79°54′18″W / 40.422°N 79.905°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Pennsylvania |
| County | Allegheny County |
| City | Pittsburgh |
| Area | |
| • Total | 0.48 sq mi (1.2 km2) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 1,361 |
| • Density | 2,800/sq mi (1,100/km2) |
Swisshelm Park is a neighborhood located in the southeast corner of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is represented on Pittsburgh City Council by Corey O'Connor. The Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire houses 19 Engine in Swisshelm Park.
Swisshelm Park is bordered by Swissvale to the east and Monongahela River to the south. The rest of the neighborhood is largely surrounded by Frick Park. Squirrel Hill's Nine Mile Run project borders it on the west; to the north is a section of the park adjacent to the Regent Square and the Parkway East. It also includes Duck Hollow, whose roads only connect to Squirrel Hill, in its borders.
The Sarah Jackson Black Community Center caters to the recreational and civic interests of the neighborhood. The Center also lists the names of the hundreds who fought in the Second World War from the small community, including seven who died in action. Swisshelm Park Parklet is the place for young children to play. The neighborhood adjoins Frick Park, Regent Square, the Squirrel Hill shopping district, and Edgewood Towne Centre.
Swisshelm Park is full of suburban-style ranch and two story brick homes. It is also a tightly knit, family-oriented community. Its residents are active in its many recreational and youth programs. Because many city agencies require its employees to be city residents, the suburban character of the neighborhood has attracted many employees in the Fire Bureau, Police Department, and Pittsburgh School District.
Long before it had a name, Swisshelm Park was home to the Susquehannock and Iroquois Indians. Like the adjacent borough of Swissvale, Pennsylvania, Swisshelm Park is named after the Swisshelm family, which moved to the area in 1800, although the land was also known to locals as Deniston Park or North Homestead. John Swisshelm (1752–1838), a veteran of Valley Forge, purchased a grist mill from William Pollock in 1808 and built a small log cabin in Nine Mile Run Hollow. The approximate location of the Swisshelm family homestead was just west of what is now S. Braddock Avenue and W. Swissvale Avenue, with the grist mill likely buried where the adjacent parkway now sits. The largely Scotch-Irish settlers in the area took their grain to Swisshelm's grist mill for grinding, which then made its way to Pittsburgh via the old Braddock Road. The grist mill and barn had crumbled and fallen by 1892, while the old Swisshelm house burned down in 1904.
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