About The Township
Baldwin Township is a small community nestled in the South Hills of Pittsburgh and consists of one square mile of land with 6 miles of road, 894 homes, and a thriving business district.
General Government
The Township is governed by a five-member Board of Commissioners, who are vested with executive and legislative powers to establish and enforce regulations in order to maintain the health, safety and welfare of township residents. The administrative office consists of two full-time employees, the Township Manager and the Township Secretary. The Township Manager is responsible for the day-to-day operation of all Township business. The Township Solicitor is appointed annually by the Board of Commissioners, and handles all legal problems and services. The Township Engineer is also appointed annually by the Board of Commissioners, and reviews design infrastructure improvements, roads, storm and sanitary sewers.
Police Department
The Baldwin Township Police Department is located in the Municipal Building and is made up of a Chief of Police, one Police Sergeant, and four full-time Police Officers. They provide 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week police protection to our community and residents.
Fire Department
The residents of Baldwin Township are served by the Castle Shannon Volunteer Fire Department (CSVFD). They provide us with front-line fire fighting service as well as fire and safety inspections, and commercial occupancy inspections. They are also active participants in Baldwin Township community events.
Public Works Department
The Public Works Department has a full-time Supervisor and two additional full-time employees, as well as part-time summer workers. The department provides the community with road maintenance, and performs various construction projects as needed. They are also responsible for sewer work, snow and ice removal, street signs, equipment and vehicle maintenance, and the maintenance of Armstrong Park.
Baldwin Township Fast Facts
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Baldwin Township History
The Allegheny County Court of Quarter Sessions established Baldwin Township on February 24, 1844. Petitioners named the land for Henry Baldwin, a Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court from 1830 to 1844. One of 12 children born on a farm in Connecticut, Baldwin graduated from Yale University at age 17, studied law, and opened an office in Pittsburgh in 1799, where he started a career that led him to fortune in industry and fame in the courts and politics.
Originally, Baldwin Township consisted of 10,550 acres of land. The present-day neighborhoods of Carrick, Whitehall, Hays, Brentwood, Castle Shannon, Overbrook and Baldwin Borough made up the Township’s area in 1844.
Industry thrived in Baldwin Township and its surrounding area. The rich coal seam which underlaid the Township’s original acreage made mining the area’s largest industry. Baldwin Township also contained the first glass factories in Allegheny County and emerged as an important agricultural area between 1753 and 1876. Cherries of excellent quality became the region’s most well-known agricultural product. Whiskey production was also important in this area, and many settlers played an active role in the Whiskey Rebellion.
Baldwin Township flourished during the late 19th century. In the the early 1900’s however, its area started to decrease as residents broke away from the Township to form their own communities. Due to the size of the Township, services such as road crews could not be provided to all areas in need.
The loss of communities almost wiped Baldwin Township off the map. In 1901, 205 acres became Hays. Carrick took 1,058 acres in 1904 and Brookline, consisting of 138 acres, became a ward of the city of Pittsburgh. Between 1915 and 1951, approximately 8,700 acres of the Township went to Brentwood, Castle Shannon, Overbrook, Mt. Lebanon, Whitehall, the city of Pittsburgh, and Baldwin Borough. Today only 400 acres of the original area make up Baldwin Township.
Currently, Baldwin Township claims one square mile with six miles of road and 894 homes. Baldwin Township also contains a thriving business district which includes restaurants, a supermarket, and a variety of other ventures.
Baldwin Township has existed in a variety of stages, from an agricultural area populated by a handful of settlers and Native Americans, to a community consisting of 10,550 acres, to its present state, a small community nestled in the South Hills suburbs of Pittsburgh. Historians believe that if Baldwin Township had never been divided, it would now be the second-largest community in Allegheny County, with a population of over 100,000. Since the 1950’s, Baldwin Township has been a close-knit, well-run community that is able to accommodate its residents’ needs.
1876 map of Baldwin. This map is Plate 44 in the Atlas of the Cities of Pittsburgh, Allegheny, and the Adjoining Boroughs.
Published by G.M. Hopkins & Co., Philadelphia, in 1900.
The earliest history of Baldwin Township, taken from Thomas Cushing’s 1821 text, History of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania: Including its early settlement and progress to the present time ; a description of its historic and interesting localities; its cities, towns and villages; religious, educational, social and military history; mining, manufacturing and commercial interests, improvements, resources, statistics, etc.; also, biographies of many of its representative citizens.
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