Exurb of the Week: Cecil Township (Pittsburgh, Washington: apartment, hotels, townhouse)

[runpens1]

Cecil is a growing exurban township located in northern Washington County, just across the Allegheny County line from South Fayette. It is bordered by the towns of Canonsburg to the south and McDonald to its north. It is located in the Canon-McMillan School District.

The township first came into existence around 1790 when it was a stop along the Washington Pittsburg Pike, or Morganza Road, as it is known today, the main passageway from Wheeling to Pittsburgh. It was named for Cecil County, Maryland, which was named after Cecil Calvert, the first governor of the colony of Maryland. It initially was one of Washington County's largest townships, encompassing the present territory of Chartiers Township to its south and Mt. Pleasant Township to its west. It was reduced to its present limits as a medium-sized township of about 26 square miles by 1808. When you search the history of the township, you will see that much like a lot of western PA, its economy was centered much on coal mining. Many of the older communities within the township such as Muse, Hendersonville, and Montour were mining camp houses. There is a poorer looking rural community known as Cecil along route 50 in the center of the township, with a few roadside businesses mixed in. Its population grew to over 8,000 by 1960 but stayed stagnant until the 1990's due to decline of the coal mining industry.

In the 1990's, by use of the Washington County Redevelopment Authority, the township got a big break that many areas of old coal country haven't been fortunate enough to receive. In 1993, construction began on the modern Southpointe Business Park. The area was chosen due to its location along I-79 and proximity to the Airport and Pittsburgh. It has grown into 589-acre park that is home to the headquarters of several corporations, including Fortune 500 members CONSOL Energy, VIATRIS, as well as ANSYS, Inc. With the growth of the Marcellus Shale activity within the region, it has also become home to many natural gas producing companies, including Range Resources, Noble Energy, and EQT. The growth of Southpointe has also brought the modern development of abundances of higher density housing and townhouse developments scattered throughout, particularly near its limits. Its population grew to nearly 10,000 by 2000, 11,000 by 2010, and it looks like higher than 13,000 for 2020.

Despite Cecil Township being the highest growing municipality of Washington County this decade as well as one of the highest in Western PA, it still may have its drawbacks for some people. There still isn't really much of a modern business sector, except for a series of restaurants, specialty shops, and hotels within the Southpointe business park. It also doesn't have a lot of outdoor recreational opportunities except for a small township park. Despite that, however, it seems as as if with convenient highway access (also with coming of 576 to the airport), strong business sector, school district, and still being a decent amount of open land within the township, that growth will continue for years to come.

[Kippy]

Any update to this story?

https://www.wsj.com/articles/after-s...ng-11576837802

[shadowfax]

The first place I lived in PA and my first apartment after I got out of school was in Cecil. A little apartment on 50. I would walk up the hill every day to work at a horse farm where I was a trainer and farmhand. Met my late husband there who worked part time as a pizza delivery driver for Homestyle Pizza which is still in business across the street from the fire department. Cecil is also home to the Original Farmer's market which IMHO is the best in the area.

I also lived for many years in Hendersonvile which is part of Cecil twp although when the old post office closed we got a Cannonsburg address on my street.

[Independentthinking83]

Cecil is a good choice for those that are families looking for a big city escape

[runpens1]

Originally Posted by Kippy

Any update to this story?

https://www.wsj.com/articles/after-s...ng-11576837802

Was in the news this week, experts are still studying it.

[runpens1]

Originally Posted by Kippy

Any update to this story?

https://www.wsj.com/articles/after-s...ng-11576837802

Another study said that PA heart failure patients near fracking were more likely to be hospitalized that those far away, which is why I think they would pick more rural areas to do ti, with could be interesting for areas like Cecil that are a mix.

https://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylv...-hospitalized/

[ChrisFuamatuMaafala]

Golden Pig is in Cecil. Consistently rated the best Korean food in the Pittsburgh area. Even the Koreans say it is spot on and perfectly cooked.

The OP cites the modest Cecil Park, but forgets to mention that the Montour Trail runs through the heart of Cecil, including the Westland Branch and even a tiny bit of the Panhandle Trail near McDonald.

The Muse Italian Club is legendary around Washington County for its fried fish sandwiches (available year round on Fridays, not only during Lent).

Cops are notoriously bad for such a small town. Every local has a story of how this sleazy police department has treated them badly (note the locals are all white!). The Holt twins have a particularly bad reputation for being “bad apples”

[Reggiezz]

I drove through Cecil last summer. I was out near Valley Brook Rd and needed to get to Carnegie. There's a back road that goes through Cecil that fit the bill. Then along that 2 lane road, I came upon the biggest road construction site I've ever seen. It was vast. It reminded me of the slag heap on 51 when I was a kid.