Patterson Heights Incline

Operated between January 19, 1896 and 1927. One of the shortest and most unusual trolley car lines in the United States. The line operated with one car built by J.G. Brill of Philadelphia. A dummy car counterbalanced by scrap metal ran on a parallel track.

If you are one of the lucky ones who spent your entire childhood in our little corner of the world, you probably recall the absolute wonderment that a trip into the city of Pittsburgh brought. Although Beaver County has carved out quite legacy for itself, it has always orbited Pittsburgh like a planet circling the sun.

One of the great treats for tourists visiting the city continues to be a trip up the Duquesne Incline. Around the turn of the century, there were 17 working inclines in Pittsburgh. They were originally built as a practical way for industrial workers to get back and forth to their homes on “Coal Hill” -- now Mount Washington. The Duquesne Incline was opened to the public in May 1877.

Did you know that Beaver County had an incline of its own? Patterson Heights Railway Co. opened its Patterson Heights Incline in 1895. The incline ran steadily until 1927, when the proliferation of automobiles and improved roads had sapped the operation of its needed revenue.

The Patterson Heights Incline was a single-track railway that connected Bridge Street in Beaver Falls with the area of Sixth Street and Fourth Avenue in Patterson Heights. It ran by a counterweight system, where a weighted dummy car would counterbalance the weight of the carriage to send passengers up or down. The ride cost a nickel, and riders would wait for the carriage at a terminal building near the base of Ross Hill.

The incline was just one of the trademarks of the Patterson Township/Patterson Heights area, two communities nestled high above Beaver Falls that trace their origins back to the earliest days of Beaver County and one of its most important families.

When we look back through the most iconic public figures in our local history, the name James Patterson stands very high on the list. Patterson arrived in our area in 1829, a 30-year-old family man and entrepreneur who had made his money through a manufacturing interest in Philadelphia. He found a sparsely populated region that had seen its early growth shattered by the first great American financial crisis of 1819.

Patterson purchased around 1,300 acres of land along the west bank of the Beaver River. He was a shrewd businessman who retained a frontier quality, which earned him immediate respect. In what is now the lower portion of Beaver Falls, he built a flour mill, cotton mill, saw mill, metal shop and a charcoal furnace. He also built the first dam on the Beaver River to harness the natural power of the water for his industrial complexes. Along with predecessors the Hoopes, Townsend and Co., Patterson’s dealings laid the groundwork for what would eventually become “Brighton” in 1849 and Beaver Falls thereafter.

Much of the land that would become Patterson Township and Patterson Heights was owned by the heirs to James Patterson. Patterson Township was originally part of South Beaver Township, then bounced between Ohio and Brighton townships until 1829, when the borough of Fallston was formed.

The community then became known as “Brighton District," a suburb of the industrial hub in Fallston. On Oct. 15, 1841, the 44 residents of Brighton District petitioned for township status and decided to name their new community after James Patterson. Patterson Township was born.

Patterson Township would lose territory to the creation of Beaver Falls in 1868, and then some of its southernmost tracts were annexed by Fallston in 1869. It would lose its final piece to the incorporation of Patterson Heights in 1899. These moves left Patterson Township as it is today.

Darlington Road was one of the most heavily traveled routes between Pittsburgh and Cleveland. Even into the early 1900s, residents would wake up to cattle drives traipsing along Darlington Road as cowboys took herds from their Ohio farms to the Pittsburgh slaughterhouses.

Coaches ran through this area throughout the first half of the 19th century with coach stops along Darlington Road. The McHattie Farm was located near present-day Fairway Drive, across from the Beaver Valley Golf Club. This was a prime stop for weary travelers needing a hearty meal and accommodations.

During this time period, there were only a dozen houses along Darlington Road between the top of Fallston Hill and the top of Steffen Hill. Over a century later, it is home to more than 3,000 residents and is still anchored around Darlington Road.

Patterson Heights was incorporated in 1899 by the petition of 27 citizens of Patterson Township, including members of the prolific Patterson, Reeves and Townsend families. At the first council meeting, the very first order of business was to enact an ordinance against horses, cattle, sheep and swine from roaming free in the streets. That should give you an indication of the rural setting of the borough in those days.

Many Patterson Heights men were employed by Penn Bridge Works on Bridge Street in Beaver Falls, Mayer China Co. or the Keystone Driller Co. Hence the reason why the incline was constructed -- it was a simple way for residents to get to work in even the worst weather. The other option was the muddy and treacherous Hillside Avenue.

The Patterson Heights Airport operated where the country club now sits, and was a primary aviation center for Beaver County starting in 1927. In 1957, heirs of the McHattie family sold the land to a group that wanted to build a golf course.

Surely, James Patterson knew how big an impact he made in his lifetime. Imagine his surprise if he knew that 139 years after his death, the name Patterson still lives on in two Beaver County communities.

Jeffrey Snedden is a local writer, researcher and historian.