McCandless History Timeline

  • 1753: George Washington and guide, Christopher Gist, leave the Venango Trail and follow Pine Creek to Etna
  • 1795: James Duff becomes the first settler
  • 1796: Henry Moon, the second settler, builds a log cabin along Pine Creek
  • 1800: Philip Sarver starts McCandless' first industry: a sawmill and grist mill
  • 1801: Weekly mail service by stagecoach begins in the North Hills
  • 1802: First log house school built
  • 1812: McCandless becomes valued for its strategic location as a supply route for transporting war materials
  • 1851: McCandless officially formed from Pine Township and is named after Judge Wilson McCandless of Pittsburgh
  • 1857: McCandless becomes a Township of the Second Class
  • 1860: First one-room school is built on the Peebles property, and the first church is built
  • 1870: Second one-room school is built (Willoughby)
  • 1880: Population reaches 1,010
  • 1890: Perry Highway is modernized
  • 1900: Oil is discovered in McCandless
  • 1908: The Harmony Line is built through McCandless
  • 1912: The Vincentian Sisters of Charity purchase land at McKnight and Peebles
  • 1914: The first three-room school is built in Ingomar
  • 1916: Oil is being pumped in 150 wells throughout the town
  • 1925: The Sisters of Divine Providence purchase land in McCandless
  • 1927: The county purchases land for the development of North Park
  • 1928: Espe School opens
  • 1930: Population reaches 2,700
  • 1931: Harmony Line ceases operation
  • 1940: McCandless has 911 homes, with a population of 3,404
  • 1947: McCandless adopts its first zoning ordinance
  • 1948: McCandless joins Bradford Woods, Franklin, Marshall, and Pine to operate as North Allegheny Joint School
  • 1950: Population reaches 6,488
  • 1952: McCandless becomes a Town of the First Class
  • 1954: North Allegheny Joint High School is dedicated in McCandless
  • 1955: McCandless Township Sewer Authority is created
  • 1960: McCandless Town Hall constructed at present Grubbs Road location; 4,019 homes in the town
  • 1963: La Roche College is founded by the Sisters of Divine Providence
  • 1964: Passavant Hospital moves to McCandless
  • 1972: North Allegheny Senior High School opens in Wexford
  • 1974: McCandless voters approve a home rule charter
  • 1975: On January 1, McCandless Township becomes the Town of McCandless, a home rule municipality
  • 1977: Groundbreaking takes place for Northland Public Library; McCandless joins with Franklin Park to form the McCandless-Franklin Park Ambulance Authority
  • 1979: The Town embarks upon a program of road reconstruction and establishing regional recreation complexes in the community
  • 1987: Special performance zoning district created along McKnight Road
  • 1990: Population is 28,781
  • 1997: McCandless spearheads creation of Northwest Regional Communications to provide 911 telephone service
  • 2001: McCandless celebrates its 150th anniversary
  • 2012: McCandless Crossing East project is in development
  • 2017: The McCandless/Northern Allegheny Heritage Center opens