Welcome to the official Ben Avon Heights Web Site

Welcome to the Official Ben Avon Heights Web Site!

The History of The Borough of Ben Avon Heights

The Borough of Ben Avon Heights is situated on a hill above the Ohio River just nine miles from the city of Pittsburgh. The original land belonged to the farms of Samuel Taylor and John Wilson. In 1906 Walter F. Fraser of Ben Avon bought 84 acres on the former Taylor farm and used forty of the acres to build the Ben Avon Country Club and golf course. He opened up the rest of the property for a residential development, calling the area Ben Avon Heights. The rural site attracted Pittsburghers who wanted summer homes.

The development progressed to the point that residents wanted to incorporate. This was accomplished in 1913. The Ben Avon Country Club closed in 1917 and the golf course property was divided into housing lots. In 1920 Shannopin Country Club opened with its clubhouse in the Borough and the golf course in Kilbuck Township. It remains the only commercial property in the Heights.

In the early thirties John I. Thompson purchased a portion of the John Wilson Farm in Kilbuck Township adjacent to the Heights and built some houses there. The current borough boundaries were set in 1936 when the borough annexed the “Thompson Plan.” The borough now contains 148 homes, a community park, and the Shannopin club house in its almost two square mile area.

The Borough is governed by a mayor and borough council all of whom serve as elected volunteers. The current borough real estate tax rate is 6.5 mills and a wage or earned income tax of one half of one percent. The borough’s annual budget is about $400,000. The borough contracts with Ohio Township for police protection and with Ben Avon Borough for fire services. Borough council meetings are held the second Tuesday of each month at 7:30 P.M. at Shannopin Country Club.