With its prime location along the Ohio River downstream from Pittsburgh, Sewickley was destined to become a great American town. In 1753, a young George Washington traveled through the area on his way to inform the French that the British crown would not tolerate French trespass in the Ohio Valley. Meriwether Lewis mentioned the obstacle presented by its waterfront eddies in his 1803 journal. Eventually the area became home to river men, including the captains of steamers that plied the Ohio. After the arrival of the railroad, many of the railroad brass made their homes in Sewickley. With the automobile came the industrial barons of Pittsburgh, who erected their palatial summer "cottages" on Sewickley Heights. The town learned quickly to adjust to celebrities, taking in stride the likes of iron pioneers Henry Oliver and Benjamin Franklin Jones, author Mary Roberts Rinehart, composer Ethelbert Nevin, and Capt. Frederick Way Jr. Using historic postcards, Sewickley illustrates the history of this community, which maintains its status as the queen of Pittsburgh suburbs.
