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Wilmerding Borough

Station & Commerce Street
412-823-0405

Early in 1889 ground was broken and construction of the Westinghouse Air Brake Works commenced.

In March of the same year the East Pittsburgh Improvement Company adopted and recorded its first plan of Wilmerding, being a subdivision of the Osborne Farm, and began the work of grading, paving and sewering streets and the construction of sidewalks. W.W. Fortune was the engineer in charge of laying out the first plan of Wilmerding and later became the first Borough Engineer of Wilmerding.

During the year 1890 construction of the Air Brake Works was completed and the plant moved to Wilmerding.

In the fall, William L. Stewart was appointed by the First Assistant Postmaster General as the Acting Postmaster in Wilmerding. His office was in the front part of the W. L.Stewart and Co. drug store.

Petition was presented to the Quarter Sessions Court of Allegheny County for the incorporation of Wilmerding Village into a Borough.

Other Wilmerding “Firsts” - First drug store owned by W.L. Stewart and Co., later to become Stewart and Hankey, was located at the corner of Westinghouse Avenue and Station Street where Milo’s Phar­macy now stands. On the corner of Caldwell Avenue and Station Street stood the first hardware store owned by T. B. Thompson.

James McKee owned the first butcher shop located in the Redfern Building, at the corner of Station Street and Spruce Alley. Also in the Redfern Building was the first barber shop owned by Mr. Reynolds.

The first election on June 14th for Borough officials was held at the post office then located in the rear of the property now owned by Milo’s Pharmacy. The results of this election named —Burgess, T.W. Welsh; Councilmen, H.D. Patch, Eli Swartz, John C. Boyle, Sr., William J. Dick, Michael Weidt, and William Stewart; Tax Collector, James Undercoffer.

In moving the Westinghouse Plant from Allegheny to Wilmerding, it became apparent that it would be necessary to provide housing facilities for hundreds of employees who would be giving up their homes in Pittsburgh and Allegheny to follow the industry to its new location. This resulted in the inauguration of a comprehensive home building plan which was put into operation immediately by the Westinghouse Air Brake Home Building Company and from this plan the present Borough of Wilmerding became a reality. The houses were all designed in order to deviate from the monotony of industrial housing; a pleasing variety of five, six and seven room houses was adopted.

Homes were built on Card Avenue, Sprague Street, Caldwell Avenue, Marguerite Avenue and Welsh Avenue.

Sale of these houses were announced on February 26th and September 24, 1890 and construction of homes and commercial buildings progressed so rapidly that in ten years practically no building lots remained available on the South Side of the Turtle Creek.