A history of Avalon,
since 1800
Postcards, papers and photographs of Avalon from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗On December 9, 1874, a group of 29 property owners met and decided they wanted to separate from Kilbuck Township, which itself split from Pine Township in 1869. They petitioned the Court of Quarter Sessions of Pennsylvania for incorporation papers. The petition was drawn up by Noah Shafer, who eventually became West Bellevue's first solicitor. The group was notified that it first had to hold an election so officials of the petitioning body could make the request for incorporation. The first election was held December 26, 1874. James Semple was elected the first burgess, a position he held three different times. When the petition was submitted the second time, the court was in recess. The court met again in April, and on April 7, 1875, approved the petition and West Bellevue's right to incorporation. It was named after the legendary island of Avalon ("land of apples") on account of there…
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Avalon’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
2 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewUS 1916 University Pittsburgh to …, 1916: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Avalon, decade by decade
1950s
1990s
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as US 1916 University Pittsburgh to Avalon Cover (1916) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Historic places
National Register · via Wikidata
From Wikimedia Commons (5) and the National Register (1). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.