Editing Bridgeville, Pennsylvania (section)

==History==
The village that eventually became Bridgeville acquired its name because of the first bridge built at the crossing of [[Chartiers Creek]] at the south end of what is now Washington Avenue.<ref name="official site">{{cite web| url =http://www.bridgevilleboro.com | title = Welcome to Bridgeville | access-date = 2007-11-25}}</ref>

The area was originally named [[St. Clair Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania|St. Clair Township]] in 1763, and the southern part was split off as [[Upper St. Clair Township, Pennsylvania|Upper St. Clair Township]] in 1806. For nearly 100 years, Bridgeville was a village within Upper St. Clair Township, known for its one bridge over [[Chartiers Creek]] where people frequently met to trade goods. An old saying, "Meet me at the bridge," provided an obvious name for the village that began to develop north of the bridge<ref name="historical society">{{cite web| url =http://www.geocities.com/bridgevillepennsylvania | title = A Brief History of Bridgeville | access-date = 2007-11-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091025052507/http://geocities.com/bridgevillepennsylvania|archive-date=2009-10-25}}</ref> around 1830.<ref name="phmc">{{cite web| url =http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/dam/counties/pdfs/Allegheny.pdf | title = Allegheny County - 2nd Class | access-date = 2007-11-25}}</ref>

Mining operations began in the 1880s, prompting growth.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=a4NIAAAAIBAJ&sjid=G24DAAAAIBAJ&pg=7226%2C2342598 | title=Town names carry bit of history | work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | date=May 10, 1984 | access-date=31 October 2015 | author=Ackerman, Jan | pages=6}}</ref> One impressive institution for the time was The Norwood Hotel. Of [[Victorian architecture]], it included about forty eight rooms for occupants, a dining room, a bar, and a ball room. Each room had a fireplace, and the entire hotel was provided with running water. A two inch pipeline led from Brandy Spring, high on the hill above [[Chartiers Creek]] at the end of Elizabeth Street, to the hotel. The spring was touted as a mineral spring, with the associated therapeutic properties claimed for its water.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Part 11 – Boom Town – 1875 to 1890 – Bridgeville Area Historical Society |url=https://bridgevillehistory.org/bridgeville-history/part-11/ |access-date=2025-01-28 |language=en-US}}</ref> The Norwood’s grounds were extensive. There was a covered outdoor bowling alley, well groomed lawns, an outdoor pavilion, benches and lawn swings, and a large stable where visitors could rent horses and buggies to tour the surrounding countryside.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Part 11 – Boom Town – 1875 to 1890 – Bridgeville Area Historical Society |url=https://bridgevillehistory.org/bridgeville-history/part-11/ |access-date=2025-01-28 |language=en-US}}</ref>

Even more significant to the development of Bridgeville was the advent of commercial [[coal mining]]. The [[Pittsburgh coal seam|Pittsburgh Coal Seam]] was perhaps the most valuable mineral resource in [[North America]] in the late 1800s. Ranging from forty inches to six feet thick it was located at an elevation that produced outcroppings on all the hillsides in this area.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Part 11 – Boom Town – 1875 to 1890 – Bridgeville Area Historical Society |url=https://bridgevillehistory.org/bridgeville-history/part-11/ |access-date=2025-01-28 |language=en-US}}</ref>

Bridgeville was officially incorporated as a borough on July 27, 1901, from [[Upper St. Clair Township, Pennsylvania|Upper St. Clair Township]].<ref name="phmc" />

[[2009 Collier Township shooting|A mass shooting]] took place on August 4, 2009, in an [[LA Fitness]] health club near Bridgeville in [[Collier Township, Pennsylvania|Collier Township.]] The attack resulted in four deaths, including that of the perpetrator, who took his own life. Nine other people were injured.<ref name="Channel">{{cite news |url=http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/20283352/detail.html |title=4 Dead In Collier Township Gym Shooting; Gunman Kills Self, Officials Say |date=August 4, 2009 |publisher=Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc |pages=1 |access-date=2009-08-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090814060514/http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/20283352/detail.html |archive-date=August 14, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref>