Scottdale Historical Society

The Scottdale Fire Department was formed in July 1886. The Fire Department and Borough Building was constructed on the corner of Graft and Everson Streets. This 1949 photo shows the main fire station, with the fleet of trucks boasting two 1948 LaFrance engines. Today’s image is taken near the gazebo showing the back corner of the Rite Aid building. #ThenAndNow #scottdale #history

The intersection of Broadway and Pittsburgh Street shows Penn Lines trolley circa 1903. Looking left to right: Rutherford News and the Sugar Bowl confections that satisfied the town’s sweet tooth. Next was the Scottdale House, a hotel serving the many travelers. On the right was the Broadway Bank. Today, the only remaining structure is the Rutherford News building, now home to Carson’s Restaurant. #thenandnow #Scottdale #history

After WWI, the airplane became a National interest, with air shows, races, and commercial ventures. This 1925 photo shows one of Scottdale’s aviation pioneers, pilot Carl Strickler with his business partners Jerry Elder and Charles Coughenour. In the distance is St. John’s Byzantine Catholic Church built in 1912. Today the vacant field is the parking lot and complex of Penn Lines. The Byzantine Church was in service until a new building was dedicated in 1971. #Scottdale #thenandnow #history

The Scottdale Brewing Company started in 1891. In 1899, it was replaced by the new plant producing 200 barrels a day. That same year, it became the Pittsburg Brewing Co. known as the largest and best brewery in southwestern PA. The plant was destroyed by fire in 1910. In 1930 the Scottdale Armory was built to serve the 110th infantry, 28th Division. #thenandnow #Scottdale #history

If you enjoyed last year’s Shadows of Scottdale tour and need some scary history before fall, check out what our friends at the Mount Pleasant Area Historical Society have coming up!

You still have until Sunday to purchase and watch our virtual Holiday Traditions Tour. If you miss out you'll have to wait until December to take part in the 2021 tour! https://www.scottdalehistoricalsociety.com/

We hope everyone had a safe and Merry Christmas. There is still time to purchase our Holiday Traditions virtual tour if you are looking for things to do with family over the holiday break. https://www.scottdalehistoricalsociety.com/

The 2021 Scottdale Historical Society Calendar has been distributed to businesses in town as well as the Scottdale Public Library. The theme of this calendar shows "Then and Now" images around town. These calendars are free thanks to donations from businesses and individuals.

Our virtual Holiday Traditions Tour is now available for purchase through our website! Since we were unable to hold our traditional Christmas House Tour (our biggest fundraiser of the year), we have been working hard at putting together a virtual Holiday Traditions Tour. This 1-hour and 20-minute tour will take you to 12 homes in and around Scottdale. Access to the video starts at $15 and more information is available on our website.... https://www.scottdalehistoricalsociety.com/

We hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving yesterday! The Scottdale Historical Society has been working behind the scenes over the last few weeks (and will be for several more days) on a virtual Holiday Traditions Tour in place of our Christmas House Tour that was scheduled for December 5. While it is disappointing that we cannot hold the in person tour this year, we wanted to bring you all some form of our tour that has been taking place since the early 2000's. The virtual Ho...liday Traditions Tour will feature nearly 10 stops with interviews showcasing extensive Christmas tree displays with vintage ornaments, an elaborate model train display, a local Christmas light show, unique collections based on television shows, animals, nativity scenes and more. Tickets for the virtual Holiday Traditions Tour will go on sale around December 4. We will provide you with access to a private link with our Holiday Traditions Tour video that will be made available to view from around December 14 through the first week of the year. Tickets will start at $15. All we ask if that you take into consideration of making an additional donation to the Historical Society if you plan to view the video with your family or friends. There will be a limit as to how many times you can view the video, but we’ll be sure to include all of those finer details on our website listing and on our ticketing site soon. Last year in December, you may have picked up a Scottdale 2020 calendar at the Christmas House Tour, a local business or at the Winter Light Up Celebration. We are currently producing a 2021 calendar showing then and now images around town. These calendars are FREE and will be available at businesses around town and at the Scottdale Library. Look for them in a few weeks and we’ll be sure to let you know when they are available. That’s all for now. Stay tuned to our Facebook page or our website, scottdalehistoricalsociety.com for updates on the Holiday Traditions Tour and 2021 Calendar launch.

Just a friendly reminder that tonight's Shadows of Scottdale walking tours are SOLD OUT. A limited number of tickets do remain for next weekend's 8 p.m. tour only. We also ask our ticket holders to please arrive at least 15-30 minutes before your tour at Scratch Living Roastery & Cafe to get checked in. BEFORE you enter the shop, please make sure that you are properly wearing your face mask (covering your nose and mouth), and we will happily check you in and give you your complimentary voucher for a small drip coffee, apple cider or hot chocolate. We appreciate your cooperation and look forward to another beautiful fall evening walking through town!

Don't miss your chance to get your tickets to Shadows of Scottdale for 2020! Our tours for this Saturday, October 17 are completely SOLD OUT! Looking ahead to Saturday, October. 24, we do have tickets remaining for our 8 p.m. tour, but anticipate those tickets selling out soon! https://www.scottdalehistoricalsociety.com//shadows-of-sc/

If you haven't purchased ticket yet for a tour, now is the time. All times have been opened up, but limited tickets do remain for each tour. Get them now before they are gone! Advance purchase is required through our website. https://www.scottdalehistoricalsociety.com//shadows-of-sc/ If you are unsure about how we go about selecting stories, hours of research goes into these tours. We use newspapers, census records, genealogical information, and more sources to build th...e stories. Here is one such newspaper article we used from Feb 1890 and one of the stories from last year's tour. The Man who Butchered Himself Hubert Rosegen was a Prussian immigrant who moved to Scottdale from Beaver Falls in 1890. Back at Beaver Falls, he left his wife and two children, and he moved to Scottdale ahead of his family with plans for them to follow. Arriving in early February, he secured a job at one of the foundries in town and was living in a boarding house on Market Street. Mr. Rosegen’s story so far is not unusual. But what is a little unusual, is how the newspapers described him. They said that he was an educated man but was demented. We don't know exactly what that means, but we do know that Mr. Rosegen was sick. One evening, Mr. Rosegen approached another man living in his boarding house and asked him to borrow a razor blade. He said he needed to shave. An hour or two went by and the other gentleman had not heard from Mr. Rosegen. So he went looking for him in hopes of getting his razor back. But this gentleman got a little more than he bargained for. When he arrived at Mr. Rosegen’s room, he made a horrific discovery. Mr. Rosegen had taken that razor blade and instead of shaving, had butchered himself. he took the blade and cut up one arm and down the other. He cut up one leg and down the other. He had cut himself in pieces and slit his own throat. News of the tragedy broke on Valentine's Day, 1890. Of course Mrs. Rosegen was notified of the untimely passing of her husband, and we can be sure she never made the move to Scottdale. For more macabre history of Scottdale, join us for Shadows of Scottdale.

Thank you to the group of volunteers from the The Scottdale Bank & Trust Co who came out to the historic Loucks Homestead today for the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania #WeekofCaring. We had a busy day doing some fall cleanup around the property, from fixing the washed out driveway, giving the large front porch a good deep cleaning and other maintenance tasks around the property. We are truly thankful for your support of the Scottdale Historical Society today and look forward to a continued partnership.

Have you purchased your tickets to Shadows of Scottdale yet? Join us this weekend to hear nine historically accurate tragic tales during this one-hour long tour. Tickets are available through our website and must be purchased in advance. https://www.scottdalehistoricalsociety.com//shadows-of-sc/