Bridgeville PA - Driving Tour

Bridgeville PA - Driving Downtown The village that eventually became Bridgeville acquired its name because of the first bridge built at the crossing of Chartiers Creek at the south end of what is now Washington Avenue. The area was originally named St. Clair Township in 1763, and the southern part was split off as Upper St. Clair Township in 1806. For nearly 100 years, Bridgeville was a village within Upper St. Clair Township, known for its one bridge over Chartiers Creek where people frequently met to trade goods. An old saying, "Meet me at the bridge," provided an obvious name for the village that began to develop north of the bridge around 1830. Mining operations began in the 1880s, prompting growth. One impressive institution for the time was The Norwood Hotel. Of Victorian architecture, it included about forty eight rooms for occupants, a dining room, a bar, and a ball room. Each room had a fireplace, and the entire hotel was provided with running water. A two inch pipeline led from Brandy Spring, high on the hill above Chartiers Creek at the end of Elizabeth Street, to the hotel. The spring was touted as a mineral spring, with the associated therapeutic properties claimed for its water. The Norwood’s grounds were extensive. There was a covered outdoor bowling alley, well groomed lawns, an outdoor pavilion, benches and lawn swings, and a large stable where visitors could rent horses and buggies to tour the surrounding countryside. Even more significant to the development of Bridgeville was the advent of commercial coal mining. The Pittsburgh Coal Seam was perhaps the most valuable mineral resource in North America in the late 1800s. Ranging from forty inches to six feet thick it was located at an elevation that produced outcroppings on all the hillsides in this area. Bridgeville is served by the Chartiers Valley School District. The public school serves students from Bridgeville, Collier, Scott, and Heidelberg.