Exurb of the Week: Freedom (Pittsburgh, Indiana: house, school district, living)

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Freedom is a smaller borough (0.6 sq. mil.) and river town in Beaver County located on the east side of the Ohio River between Rochester and Conway (with which it shares Freedom Area School District with), about 7 miles from the Allegheny County line and 25 miles northwest of downtown Pittsburgh. Its population is just shy of 1,500.

The community of Freedom was first settled around the mid-late 1820's, when the Harmony Society returned to Pennsylvania (from Indiana), and settled in Ambridge (about six miles down the river). The society left Indiana due to their strict abolitionist activities. Upon their return to Pennsylvania, they began placing signs around the area with the word "freedom" on them, hence the town's name. Freedom was officially incorporated in 1838 and began to see its population increase to about 600 with the growth of the industrial sector. Steamboat building and distilling were the two main businesses A foundry, saw mill, and grist mill were also included. With the inclusion of the borough of St. Clair (which is still a section within the borough) and the growth of the industrial sector of the whole area, the town gradually grew over the next few decades and peaked its population at 3,400 in 1920.

Today, the town of Freedom has definitely shown its signs of age. Like some other communities in this area of Beaver County, it lacks a traditional downtown area. It mostly consists of just older industrial town style homes with just a few churches and small businesses along route 65. Nonetheless, its population decline over the years has pretty much just stemmed from the natural decline of the general area. The one attraction within the borough is the steamboat Captain William Vicary house, an old stone house that is a national landmark for visitors depicting the town's industrial history. Despite its run down look, Freedom still seems to be safe place that is close enough to opportunities with a low cost of living.