Documenting the Past.
Understanding Our Roots.
Recording Lost Memories.
Avonworth Historical Society is dedicated to preserving the history of the Avonworth community and its future development, providing a sense of history and place for upcoming generations. Our purpose is to collect the artifacts, stories and images from the original settlers to those of its newest inhabitants. We aspire to chronicle the progression of our original communities of Ben Avon, Ben Avon Heights, Emsworth, Ohio Township and Kilbuck Township from rural areas into vibrant neighborhoods.
On Saturday, July 11, 2026, Union Pacific’s Big Boy No. 4014 came down the Ohio River valley through Emsworth as part of its coast-to-coast tour marking America’s 250th anniversary. Built in 1941 and measuring 133 feet end to end at roughly 1.2 million pounds, No. 4014 is the only operating Big Boy left of the twenty-five built, and this tour brought it into the Ohio Valley for the first time since it left the factory floor.
The locomotive left Altoona that morning, crossed the Monongahela, and followed the river through Bellevue, Avalon, Emsworth, Haysville and Sewickley before its only public stop in Western Pennsylvania, a brief whistle-stop at Leetsdale that evening.
The setting is as much a part of this footage as the engine. The tracks are the descendant of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago line laid along the Ohio in the mid-1800s, the corridor that brought settlement to this stretch of riverbank and led to the incorporation of Ben Avon in 1892 and Emsworth in 1896. Just off camera sits the Emsworth Locks and Dam, where the lock chambers opened in 1921 and remain the oldest on the Ohio River system. Rail and river, built for the same purpose, in the same frame for about ninety seconds.
Our thanks to Tracy Ferguson for capturing and sharing this.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2026
SPEAKER: CHARLES SUCCOP, CITY OF PITTSBURGH ARCHIVIST
City Archivist and sixth-generation Pittsburgher Charles Succop leads an illustrated tour through Pittsburgh’s digitized archives, from historic property records to Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire footage from the 1970s, and shows attendees how to search the collections themselves, plus a preview of what’s coming up next for the archives.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2026
SPEAKER: BRITSBURGH + AVONWORTH HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Explore the British/UK roots of Avonworth’s Founders through fascinating local history and a travel-inspired look at the towns, landscapes and culture that shaped their lives. We will discover the stories that connect our community over the pond to the United Kingdom.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2026
SPEAKER: MARK T. FATLA
From the earliest pro football and hockey teams to groundbreaking facilities like Duquesne Garden and the Civic Arena, Pittsburgh has led the way. Following the success of his first book on Pittsburgh’s major league baseball parks, local historian Mark Fatla documents the history of Pittsburgh’s professional football, hockey and basketball venues. Explore that history through dozens of historic images and an engaging lecture by the author. Books available for purchase, $25.
TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 2027
SPEAKER: BRIAN BUTKO + SUE MORRIS
Bettis Field was where aviation in Western Pennsylvania took wing. The excitement of flying in the 1920s spanned barnstorming to the launch of airmail. Come along as thousands greet “Lucky Lindy”, witness a pilot crash into a steel mill while trying to cure a passenger’s deafness, and marvel at the skills of the area’s many women pilots. It’s a fun, fascinating look at the dawn of aviation in Pittsburgh a century ago.
