Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1862.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Bridgeville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bridgeville is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns, #459 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bridgeville’s overall grade.
Pennsylvania towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Pennsylvania town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Bridgeville’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (25% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1830.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.5 points).
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Bridgeville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
Passages that mention Bridgeville, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania1889 · page 44Read the page →
Read the text
Bridgeville, twelve miles from Pittsburgh, on the Chartiers Valley railroad, is an old place, and came into existence when the old road from Pittsburgh to Washington was traveled much more than at present. Being situated in a great bend of Chartiers creek, and approached by bridges from the north and south, the name was early suggested from this circumstance. The place was little more than a wayside hamlet until 1884, when the Bridgeville mines were opened by A. J. Schulte. These works employ 150 men, and produce 150,000 tons annually. A rolling-stock of 64 cars is required, and shipments are made
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania1889 · page 44Read the page →
Read the text
John Herriott built a mill in the present village of Bridgeville, on McLaughlin’s run, about 1830. It was converted into a steam mill by William and Samuel Fryer, and was burned some ten years since. John McDowell built a steam fulling-mill about 1828. It was burned about fifteen years since.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania1889 · page 47Read the page →
Read the text
The postoffice was established under the name of Moorhead in January, 1862, and the name was changed to Bridgeville in June, 1874. Essen is a mining village on the Pittsburgh, Chartiers & Youghiogheny railroad. The mines were opened in 1882 by the Chartiers Block Coal company, and operated by them for one year, when the present proprietors, Sanford & Co., assumed control; 78,000 tons were mined in 1886, and the present daily product is 400 tons; 150 men are employed. The only other mines in this locality are those of Beadling Brothers. Essen postoffice was established
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania1889 · page 47Read the page →
Read the text
The postoffice was established under the name of Moorhead in January, 1862, and the name was changed to Bridgeville in Ju.ne, 1874. Essen is a mining village on the Pittsburgh, Chartiers & Youghiogheny railroad. The mines were opened in 1882 by the Chartiers Block Coal company, and operated by them for one year, when the present proprietors, Sanford & Co., assumed control*; 78,000 tons were mined in 1886, and the present daily product is 400 tons; 150 men are employed. The only other mines in this locality are those of Beadling Brothers. Essen postoffice was established
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Bridgeville, 1830 to 1996
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
In 1830, according to Wikidata. Bridgeville’s post office opened in 1862, and the census of 1880 counted 147 people here.
How does Bridgeville rank for history?
Bridgeville is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns, #459 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Bridgeville?
32% of Bridgeville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.5 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1953.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (12), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1925
1925
2012
2012
2012
2012
2012
2012
2012
2007
2004
