A Brief History of Castle Shannon
The first families settled in Castle Shannon back in 1786. They ventured there for farmland and timber. Farmer David Strawbridge owned one of the most prominent ones and he named it Castle Shanahan. One can guess, this is how the neighborhood earned its name. In 1872, the Pittsburgh and Castle Shannon Railroad line was completed. It provided a link from Pittsburgh to the village of Castle Shannon. Castle Shannon’s population blew up when development because of two years of free transportation and lumber on the railroad. Later, in 1877, a second railroad was constructed from Finleyville all the way to Castle Shannon to West End in Pittsburgh. About 30 years later, a portion of the railroad was purchased by Pittsburgh Railroad. This allowed the community to become a center for coal mining, with eight mines in the neighborhood. The First National Bank in Castle Shannon was the site of a famous bank robbery in 1917. $18,500 was taken but $10,500 was recovered after a man got shot while trying to escape. The full amount was never found. The neighborhood was incorporated as a borough in 1919.
Facts about Castle Shannon
Castle Shannon has five borders including Baldwin Township, Whitehall, Overbrook, Bethel Park and Mt. Lebanon. Castle Shannon’s school system is Keystone Oaks School District, a joint venture with Green Tree and Dormont. In addition to public schools like Keystone Oaks Middle and High, Myrtle Elementary, Aiken and Dormont Elementaries, there is one Catholic school—St. Anne’s.