Ben Avon Heights Park

The center of our Borough both geographically and socially, is the Edwin R. McMillin II Memorial Park, named for him in 1983 in honor of his many selfless contributions to the community. The current park was originally part of the Ben Avon Country Club, the land was bought in 1917 by the Ben Avon Heights School Board with the intent of building an elementary school. Fortunately, a different location was found and the land was sold to the borough for our community park.

The Park is where Heights residents and guests gather to visit with friends, where children play basketball, ride their bikes, play on the softball field, use the climbing & slide equipment, and ride on the swings. Limited parking is available on Lynton Lane and Penhurst. Thanks to our volunteer organizers, the following are traditional annual events held in the Park: the Easter egg hunt, a Summer Community picnic and sleepover, the Halloween parade and Santa at the Park on Christmas eve.

The Tennis/ Pickle Ball Court

In 1974. a groups of residents organized events to raise funds to build the tennis court, which was updated in 1990 with a new court surface. In 2018, the court was upgraded again, adding additional lines so that the court is now multi-use for tennis and pickle-ball.

One court key per family is provided to residents from the Council secretary. Use of the Tennis/Pickle Ball Courts is available to Ben Avon Heights residents and their guests and must be reserved ahead of time using the online registration system.

History 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 P. 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. A complete history of the formation of Ben Avon Heights Borough is available.

The approximately two square mile area Borough is now primarily a residential community with 142 homes, a lovely community park, and one commercial property, the Shannopin Country Club.

Borough Historical Facts