Bradford Woods Borough

Allegheny County, Pennsylvania

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Borough Hall is located at 4908 Wexford Run Road, Bradford Woods, PA 15015.Mbr> Phone: 724-935-2990.

Bradford Woods Borough [&dagger] was incorporated on May 3, 1915 when it separated from Marshall Township. It was developed as a result of the construction of an interurban line, the Harmony Shortline, which extended northward from the old town of Allegheny into Evans City Borough in Butler County where it forked, with one branch going to Butler and the second to Harmony. The trail follows Forest Road along Wexford Run up to the southwest corner of Bradford Woods, crosses the ridge system in the center of Bradford Woods, and then descends to Warrendale along the Shenot Run.

The crossing of the thigh ridge with the oak forest provides an opportunity to develop a picnic spot along the interurban line. A swimming pool and reaction area were developed at the head of Big Sewickley Creek off Lake Road just across the southwest border of the Borough. The Borough was then laid out in one acre lots on a curvilinear street pattern that generally derives from the subdivision planning of Frederick Law Olmstead. The pattern of development generally is responsive to the topography, although in some areas the proposed streets followed grades which made construction of the street impossible. Most notably, a street was proposed connecting Woodland Road in the southeast corner of the Borough to Wexford Run at the intersection with Manor Road. The proposed road follows an impossible grade and could not be constructed.

The summer resort activities spawned some resort type housing in the area. Several cottages were for seasonal occupancy only. These were followed shortly by construction of permanent homes, principally in areas that had relatively good access to the Harmony Line. This development was along Wexford Run Road, Bellaire Road, Delmar Road, Oak Road, Bradford Road and Crystal Springs Road. These were in the area that was generally level and reasonable close to the interurban line. Most of this development occurred during the period between the installation of the interurban and the Great Depression. During the Depression years and the Second World War, relatively little construction took place in the Borough.

The second major growth phase occurred following the Second World War and was now related primarily to Route 19 automobile access, as opposed to interurban transit service. Absence of building activities for nearly two decades resulted in a major housing shortage which, in turn, spawned a great surge of suburban construction during the decades following the Second World War. In 1930, the population of Bradford Woods stood at 370. By 1940, it had increased by only four people, but by 1950, it climbed to 458. The population nearly doubled in the 1950's and tood at 866 by 1960. By 1970 it had topped 1,000 with the most recent census from 2010 now showing a population of 1,171.

The Bradford Woods Plan, Borough of Bradford Woods, Bradford Woods, PA, 15015, msword document, search, accessed March, 2021.

Nearby Towns: Callery Boro • Franklin Park Boro • McCandless Twp • Wexford •


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