Hickory Heights, Pennsylvania

Geobox|Settlement
name = Hickory Heights
native_name =
other_name =
other_name1 =
category = Neighborhood
etymology_type =
etymology =
official_name = Hickory Heights Neighborhood, South Fayette, PA
nickname =
motto =


image_size =
image_caption =


flag_size =
symbol =
symbol_type =
symbol_size =
country = United States
country_

state = Pennsylvania
state_

region = Allegheny
region_type = County
district =
district_type =
landmark =
river =
location =
lat_d = 40
lat_m = 20
lat_s = 27
lat_NS = N
long_d = 80
long_m = 08
long_s = 27
long_EW = W
elevation_imperial = 1120
elevation_round = 0
area_imperial = 5
area_land_imperial = 5
area_water_imperial = 0.0
area_water_percentage = auto
area_percentage_round = 2
area_round = 1
population_as_of =
population =
population_density_imperial =
population_density_round =
established_type = Settled 1770
established =
established_note =
established1_type = Incorporated at part of South Fayette, PA
established1 =
established1_note =
mayor =
mayor_note =
timezone = EST
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = EDT
utc_offset_DST = -4
postal_code = 15017
postal_code_type = ZIP code
area_code = 412
area_code_type =
code2_type =
code2 =
free_type = School District
free = South Fayette

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map_caption = Location of Hickory Heights in Allegheny County
map1 = Pennsylvania Locator Map.png map1_caption = Location of Hickory Heights in Pennsylvania
map1_locator = Pennsylvania
map2 = Map of USA PA.svg
map2_caption = Location of Pennsylvania in the United States
website =

Hickory Heights is an autonomous section of South Fayette, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States.

Geography

Hickory Heights is a neighborhood in the South Hills of Pittsburgh. It is located in the South Fayette school district and is serviced by the Bridgeville post office. It is located just south of the intersection of Route 50 and Interstate 79 at coor dms|40|20|27|N|80|8|27|W|city.

The Hickory Heights neighborhood has an approximate total area of convert|5|mi2|km2, all of it land.

Its average elevation is roughly Unit length|ft|1120 above sea level GR|3.

Community Overview

Even though Hickory Heights is linked to the communities of Bridgeville and South Fayette, the neighborhood is geographically separate because of its elevated location spread around the Hickory Heights golf course. The autonomous neighborhood has a community swimming pool (Hickory Heights swimming pool), central golf course (Hickory Heights golf course), horse stables (Rolling Hills Ranch), a sportsman's club (The Alpine Club) and a farmers market (Original Farmer's Night Market). The rolling hills and scenic views provide some of the nicest suburban scenery in Pennsylvania.

History

Hickory Heights has a rich, unexpected and truly interesting history. In approximately 1770 General George Washington (later to become first President of the United States) acquired a convert|2813|acre|km2|sing=on parcel of land in Western Pennsylvania known as Millers Run [Achenbach, Joel: "George Washington's Western Adventure", "Washington Post.com", "http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A10634-2004Jun2?language=printer" ] . This property includes Hickory Heights as well as lands farther south. This property was given to Washington by his neighbor John Posey in exchange for the forgiveness of debt. George Washington was essentially an absentee landlord who treated the property in the wild western frontier of PA as an investment. In September 1784 he traveled to Miller's Run to survey his holdings, and discovered a population of Scotch-Irish squatters residing on his land. Over the next few years Washington methodically went about initiating legal proceedings to evict them. He eventually won a judgment against the group. In 1796 George Washington attempted to sell the property, but the sale collapsed when the purchasing agent defaulted on the mortgage. Washington then held onto the property until his death. Because of the extended legal proceedings, it is very clear that this property consumed quite a bit of Washington's time. It is clearly documented that he visited the property at least once, but he was not active in the regular maintenance of the area.

Until the 1980s, most of Hickory Heights was quiet farm land. The development of the Hickory Heights Golf Course and associated housing developments around the course formed the original nucleus of the current neighborhood.

Education

Hickory Heights is served by the South Fayette School District. The public high school for the area is South Fayette High School. In 2006 the South Fayette Middle School was named a No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education ["www.southfayette.org", "http://www.southfayette.org/brs.html"] . It is only one of six public schools in Pennsylvania that year to earn this award ["www.southfayette.org", "http://www.southfayette.org/brs.html"] . In 2005, the school earned the Charles Gray Award for Excellence in Arts Education ["www.southfayette.org", "http://www.southfayette.org/brs.html"] . On the 2006 Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) results, South Fayette’s 6th grade students ranked first in the state in Math (the second consecutive year for this group of students); and the 5th, 6th and 7th grade students ranked first in Allegheny County in Math. South Fayette’s 6th grade students also ranked first in Allegheny County in Reading. The District was also named an “Outperformer” in 2007 by Standard & Poor’s for their exemplary achievements over the past three years ["www.southfayette.org", "http://www.southfayette.org/brs.html"] . The Highschool is also highly ranked with a strong acedemic record, solid sport programs, and a well know marching band (The Green Machine) which performs throughout the country. Local Universities include University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University and others.

Notable residents

Because of its close proximity to the ICEOPLEX at Southpointe, which is a practice facility for the Pittsburgh Penguins, a number of members of the Penguins have resided in the neighborhood. Farther north is the neighborhood of Nevillewood, which is also a popular Penguins neighborhood.

urrounding communities

* Cecil Township
* South Fayette Township
* Bridgeville Township

References

External links

* [http://www.hickoryheightsgolf.com/ Hickory Heights Golf Course]
* [http://www.rolling-hills-ranch.com/ Rolling Hills Ranch]
* [http://alpinehfc.com/ Alpine Club, Hunting and Fishing]
* [http://www.theoriginalfarmersmarket.com/home.html The Original Farmer's Night Market (Hickory Heights)]
* [http://www.southfayette.org/ South Fayette School District]
* [http://www.south-fayette.pa.us/ South Fayette Official Site]
* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A10634-2004Jun2?language=printer George Washington's Millers Run Property]
* [http://www.bridgevilleboro.com/ Bridgeville Site]
* [http://www.sfandneighbors.com/ South Fayette Neighbors Magazine]
* [http://www.geocities.com/bridgevillepennsylvania/ Brief History of Bridgeville]
* [http://www.iceoplexatsouthpointe.com/ Southpointe Iceoplex]
* [http://www.southfayette.org/brs.html South Fayette Middle School Awards]
* [http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&cp=qqq8jb89ngb2&style=o&lvl=1&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&scene=23895514&encType=1 Microsoft Virtual Earth Aerial View of Neighborhood]

Photos