Swissvale is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, east of downtown Pittsburgh. Named for a farmstead owned by James Swisshelm, during the industrial age it was the site of the Union Switch and Signal Company of George Westinghouse. The population was 8,624 at the 2020 census.

History

Swissvale is named after the Swisshelm family. John Swisshelm (1752–1838), who owned a farm where the town is located. John Swisshelm served under General George Washington in the Revolutionary War, and camped at Valley Forge. Swisshelm married Mary Elizabeth Miller, and they had many children. Their son, James Swisshelm, married Jane Grey Cannon, noted abolitionist and political activist, Jane Swisshelm named the town Swissvale as the town overlooked the Monongahela River Valley. The Pittsburgh neighborhood of Swisshelm Park, adjacent to Swissvale, is named after John Swisshelm.

Since 1874, the Allegheny Car & Transportation Shops had provided well-paying jobs to local citizens and were later purchased by George Westinghouse, the President of Westinghouse Air Brake Company, who formed the Union Switch & Signal company and maintained that facility in Swissvale.

Geography

Swissvale is located at (40.422304, −79.886185).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of , of which is land and , or 4.76%, is water.

Surrounding and adjacent communities

Swissvale has six land borders, including Edgewood to the north, Braddock Hills to the east, North Braddock to the southeast, Rankin to the south, and the Pittsburgh neighborhoods of Regent Square and Swisshelm Park to the west. (The area known as Regent Square also encompasses portions of Pittsburgh, Wilkinsburg, Edgewood, and Swissvale.) Directly across the Monongahela River to the southwest is the borough of Munhall.

Demographics

As of the 2020 census,

<!-- PresRow should be -->

|}

Federal elections

Swissvale has voted for the Democratic party nominee overwhelmingly in the previous three general elections.

Federal representation

  • Dave McCormick, U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania (since 2025)
  • John Fetterman, U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania (since 2023)
  • Summer Lee, U.S. House of Representative from Pennsylvania's 12th district
  • Chris Deluzio, U.S. House of Representative from Pennsylvania's 17th district

Local government

The borough has a mayoral local government. Deneen Swartzwelder (D) of the Democratic Party is the current mayor and has been since 2005; she is currently serving her fifth term.

Michelle Naccarati-Chapkis represents Swissvale as a member of the Allegheny County Council from the 8th district.

Education

Swissvale is served by the Woodland Hills School District.

The comprehensive high school for the district is Woodland Hills High School.

Transportation

thumb|Neighborhood street in western Swissvale

Swissvale is served by the Roslyn and Swissvale stations on the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway.

Notable people

  • Shirley Burkovich, woman's professional baseball player in AAGPBL, birthplace (1933–2022)
  • David Conrad, actor
  • Frank Conrad, creator of KDKA Radio (KDKA-AM & KDKA-FM); lived In Swissvale borough 1910-15 conducting transmission experiments
  • William B. Dickson, steel industry executive and labor policy reformer
  • Michael F. Doyle, congressman
  • Bobby Epps, NFL player for the New York Giants
  • Billy Gardell, actor
  • Dick Groat, baseball player for Pittsburgh Pirates and All-American college basketball player
  • Agnes Christine Johnston, screenwriter
  • Summer Lee, politician
  • Esther Silveus, radiologist
  • Vladimir K. Zworykin, television inventor

References