thumb|250px|right|Bird's eye view of Pitcairn, about 1909

thumb|220x220px|View of the PRR railyard at Pitcairn, 1945

Pitcairn is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, located east of Pittsburgh's central business district, named for Robert Pitcairn, an official of the Pennsylvania Railroad.

Early in the 20th century, Pitcairn was the site of large railroad yards and shops that employed nearly ten thousand men. The population increased from 2,601 in 1900 to 6,310 in 1940, but has since declined. The population was 3,101 at the 2020 census.

History

The settlement that would become modern Pitcairn began to grow on the banks of Turtle Creek in 1841 when farmer John McGinnis began sell land to fellow settlers.

In 1850, the Pennsylvania Railroad purchased a corridor from McGinnis. In 1874, Robert Pitcairn of the Pennsylvania Railroad purchased a further 215 acres in the area to serve as a new hub for the Pittsburgh railyard, the original location of which was deemed too small to support the growing level of rail traffic in the region.

During the late 1800s, the growing settlement was called "Wallurba" by residents. In 1894, the settlement separated from current-day Monroeville (formerly known as Patton Township) and was incorporated as the borough of Pitcairn.

The Pitcairn Rail Yard operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad facilitated the growth of Pitcairn into a robust industrial community during the first half of the 20th century. In 1950, the Pennsylvania Railroad decided to expand the Conway Terminal north of Pittsburgh. This led to a slow decline of the importance of the Pitcairn Rail Yard in the second half of the 20th century, and a subsequent population decline in the borough.

In 1996, the Pitcairn Rail Yard was re-opened as an intermodal facility, operated since 2012 by Norfolk Southern.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Pitcairn had a population of 3,101. The median age was 38.8 years. 24.1% of residents were under the age of 18 and 17.2% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 90.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 84.4 males age 18 and over.

100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 1,405 households in Pitcairn, of which 25.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 23.8% were married-couple households, 25.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 41.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 41.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

Pitcairn operates its own power distribution system and municipally owned Government-access television (GATV) cable television system.

Education

K–12 students in Pitcairn are served by the Gateway School District, a public school district with a student population of 4,300.

In February 2012, the Gateway School Board approved a Propel charter school proposal to open a kindergarten through eighth grade charter school within the district's borders. Propel operates nine schools in Allegheny County. The Propel charter school re-opened the former Pitcairn Elementary Building on Agatha Street, which the Gateway board had closed in 2011. The school opened with little controversy to approximately 300 kindergarten through sixth grade students in August 2012, with a planned expansion to eighth grade over the following two years.

Government and politics

The incumbent mayor of Pitcairn is Betsy Stevick and she serves alongside seven council members. Meetings of the government are conducted inside the council chambers of the Merle and Olive Lee Gilliand Borough Building on Broadway Boulevard.

{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; font-size:95%;"

|+ Presidential election results

|- bgcolor=lightgrey

! Year

! Republican

! Democratic

! Third parties

|-

| 2020

| style="text-align:center;" |48% 635

| style="text-align:center;" |50% 668

| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|2% 27

|-

| 2016

| style="text-align:center;" |49% 628

| style="text-align:center;" |50% 645

| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1% 18

|-

| 2012

| style="text-align:center;" |47% 582

| style="text-align:center;" |52% 641

| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1% 12

|}

Law enforcement

The borough is served by the local Pitcairn Police Department. As of 2022, the Chief of Police is Scott Farally. The department's jurisdiction covers both Pitcairn and Wilmerding. Additionally, it works in conjunction with nearby law enforcement agencies such as the Allegheny County Police Department, Turtle Creek Police Department, and Pennsylvania State Police.

References

  • Borough of Pitcairn (official site)
  • Pitcairn Historical Society