Editing Mount Oliver, Pennsylvania (section)

==History==
Mount Oliver was first settled by [[John Ormsby (Pittsburgh)|John Ormsby]], an officer in the command of [[John Forbes (British Army officer)|General Forbes]], who was granted 249 acres of land along the banks of the [[Monongahela River]]. In 1788 Allegheny County was divided into townships, with Ormsby's plot being part of [[St. Clair Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania|St. Clair Township]]. In 1800 Ormsby began selling parcels of land, while retaining rent and property taxes from residents. Ormsby named his growing settlement Mount Oliver, after his son, [[Oliver Ormsby]]. Later that year St. Clair Township would be divided with residents attempting to incorporate as a borough, however, the state ruled against the effort stating that the property owner quota was not sufficient to award incorporation, and Mount Oliver would become part of [[Lower St. Clair Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania|Lower St. Clair Township]].<ref name="HISTORY">{{cite web |title=HISTORY OF MT. OLIVER |url=https://mtoliver.com/about/ |website=mtoliver.com |access-date=18 March 2024}}</ref>

In 1872 [[Pittsburgh]] began expanding southward, annexation the boroughs of [[South Side (Pittsburgh)|South Pittsburgh]], [[Monongahela, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania|Monongahela]], [[Allentown, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania|Allentown]], [[Lawrenceville (Pittsburgh)|Lawrenceville]], [[West End (Pittsburgh)|Temperanceville]], [[Birmingham, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania|Birmingham]], [[Mount Washington, Pittsburgh (neighborhood)|Mt. Washington]], [[West Pittsburgh Pennsylvania|West Pittsburgh]], [[Pittsburgh Borough]], [[East Birmingham, Pennsylvania|East Birmingham]], [[St. Clair (Pittsburgh)|St. Clair Borough]] and [[Ormsby, Pennsylvania|Ormsby]]. Local residents began to feel threatened by this expansion, as well as feeling that Lower St. Clair Township was not properly dealing with their road improvements and public safety. As a result, in 1892 a petition circulated to incorporate Mount Oliver as a borough, which passed the courts on November 9, 1892.<ref name="HISTORY" />

In 1927 Pittsburgh began another expansion effort, annexing the boroughs of [[Knoxville (Pittsburgh)|Knoxville]] and [[Carrick (Pittsburgh)|Carrick]], completely surrounding Mount Oliver. The city of Pittsburgh attempted to force annexation through a lengthy legal battle, however, the borough ultimately prevailed due to its population being too high to annex the municipality without a referendum approved by its residents.<ref name="HISTORY" />

To this day residents of Mount Oliver fiercely defend their independence from Pittsburgh, seeing it as a point of local pride, which is helped by how approachable the local government is, and the rapid allocation of municipal services. However, there has been a noted decline from the 1980s, when the Borough was a local commercial hub.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Blackley |first1=Katie |title=How Mt. Oliver Borough eluded City of Pittsburgh annexation |url=https://www.wesa.fm/arts-sports-culture/2017-03-13/how-mt-oliver-borough-eluded-city-of-pittsburgh-annexation |website=[[WESA (FM)]] |publisher=[[NPR]] |access-date=18 March 2024}}</ref>