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Beaver Street houses and churchPhoto: Nyttend · Public domain
–Not graded
History · Glen Osborne

Glen Osborne dates to 1883, and 50% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1906 on and the census since 1890.

1883founded
0on the National Register
50%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Nyttend · Public domain
Quick answers

How Glen Osborne began

When was Glen Osborne founded?

1883

Glen Osborne dates its founding to 1883 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 221 in 18902020 census: 590143 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1897.The full story ↓

What stands out about Glen Osborne’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Glen Osborne are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Glen Osborne’s homes were built before 1941.On the map since 19065 editions of the USGS map, 1906 to 1990. Watch Glen Osborne change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Glen Osborne’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Glen Osborne’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Glen Osborne came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Glen Osborne.

Read it all →

The area that now comprises the borough was first surveyed by Nathaniel Breading following the Revolutionary War. Early settlers of the area included Henry Pratt in 1786 and James Park in 1805. The area became known as "Glen Osborne", the glen referring to a Scottish term for a valley formed by a stream, and "Osborne" for local landowner Frank Osborne. By 1851, the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad was built through what was then part of Pitt and Ohio townships and a station opened in the community named "Osborne" to prevent confusion from a similarly named station. In 1883 following petitioning by local residents, the borough of Osborne was incorporated.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

On the map

Glen Osborne on the map, 1906 to 1990

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Glen Osborne. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Glen Osborne on the 1906 USGS mapGlen Osborne on the 1953 USGS mapGlen Osborne on the 1960 USGS mapGlen Osborne on the 1979 USGS mapGlen Osborne on the 1990 USGS map1906Sewickley sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Glen Osborne.

Timeline

Glen Osborne, 1883 to 1907

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1883
    FoundingGlen Osborne is established
  3. 1897Born hereJames M. Symes is born here
  4. 1897Post officeThe Glenosborne post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1906On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1907Post officeThe Glenosborne post office closes
By decade

Glen Osborne, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Beaver Street houses and church2015Beaver Street houses and churchMap of Allegheny County PA Highlighting Osborne2007Map of Allegheny County PA Highlighting OsborneMap
People over time

Glen Osborne, census by census

01002003004005006001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 609

Between 221 and 609 people in every census since 1890.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Glen Osborne’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Another post office, Glenosborne, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Osborne

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

HaysvilleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAleppo TownshipIts storyC−Sewickley1 historic placeAMoon Township1 historic placeB+

Questions about Glen Osborne’s history

What year was Glen Osborne founded?

In 1883, according to Wikidata. Glen Osborne’s post office opened in 1897, and the census of 1890 counted 221 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (2), 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) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.