Rennerdale is an unincorporated

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 community and census-designated place

Census-designated place

A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...

 in Collier Township

Collier Township, Pennsylvania

Collier Township is a township in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 7,080 at the 2010 census.- Geography :According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water...

, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania

Allegheny County, Pennsylvania

Allegheny County is a county in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,223,348; making it the second most populous county in Pennsylvania, following Philadelphia County. The county seat is Pittsburgh...

, USA, about 9 miles (14 km) southwest of Pittsburgh. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 1,150.

Geography

Set in the Allegheny Plateau

Allegheny Plateau

The Allegheny Plateau is a large dissected plateau area in western and central New York, northern and western Pennsylvania, northern and western West Virginia, and eastern Ohio...

, Rennerdale is built on a southward-facing hill that slopes from 1032 feet (314.6 m) down to 882 feet (268.8 m), where it approaches Robinson's Run, a creek that flows eastward toward Chartiers Creek

Chartiers Creek

Chartiers Creek is a tributary of the Ohio River in Western Pennsylvania in the United States. The creek was named after Pierre Chartiers, a trapper of French and Native American parentage who established a trading post at the mouth of the creek in 1743....

 and the Ohio River

Ohio River

The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...

. The surrounding area was mined for coal

Coal

Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...

 from as early as 1870, but the only currently active extraction enterprise is a quarry

Quarry

A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...

 east of the town.

History

An early settler of this region was James Ewing, who arrived in 1770 and built a grist mill on Robinson's Run. Gabriel Walker and Isaac Walker, Scots-Irish brothers from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

Lancaster County, known as the Garden Spot of America or Pennsylvania Dutch Country, is a county located in the southeastern part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of 2010 the population was 519,445. Lancaster County forms the Lancaster Metropolitan Statistical Area, the...

, arrived in 1772. Gabriel Walker's household was raided by Indians in 1782. Walker's Mill, the village east of Rennerdale, is named for Isaac Walker. Between 1760 and 1790, Gabriel Walker built a log cabin about 2 miles (3 km) northwest of present-day Rennerdale; today known as the Walker-Ewing Log House

Walker-Ewing Log House

The Walker-Ewing Log House in Collier Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, was built circa 1790. It is said that between 1760 and 1790, Gabriel Walker built a log cabin about two miles northwest of present-day Rennerdale, Pennsylvania....

, the structure still stands. In 1976, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

. Many Walkers have continued to live in the area up to the present day.

An 1876 atlas of Pittsburgh shows only these families residing on the land where Rennerdale is now located: Mrs. J. Maloney, James Hayes, J.E. Walker, E. Walker and G. Walker.

Rennerdale's origins as a town are connected to the railroad. A railway that followed Robinson's Run was known as the Panhandle Route, because it crossed the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia

Northern Panhandle of West Virginia

The Northern Panhandle is a culturally and geographically distinct region in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is the state's northernmost extension, bounded by the Ohio River on the north and west, along with the state of Pennsylvania on the east...

. Connecting Pittsburgh with Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...

, the railway was operated by the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad

Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad

The Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad, commonly called the Pan Handle Route , was a railroad forming part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system. Its common name came from its main line west from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania across the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia...

 (PCC&StL) and the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railroad. John W. Renner (b. ca. 1845 in Pennsylvania - d. after 1915) was a comptroller for the latter company and for the Pennsylvania Railroad

Pennsylvania Railroad

The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....

. In 1895, 60 acres on the PCC&StL line near Pittsburgh were purchased, and employees of the railroad's Lines West Accounting Department founded the town, which was named Rennerdale in honor of the comptroller.

The 1910 census does not list Rennerdale as part of Collier Township, but 72 persons are counted on Sunnyside Avenue. Of the 21 heads of households, 11 were clerks in the railroad.

The 1920 census enumerated 319 persons specifically in Rennerdale. Many heads of households were clerks in the railroad office; the others were either railway workers, miners or laborers. The following streets were extant: Sunnyside Avenue, Home Avenue, Linden Avenue, Maple Avenue and State Street (probably Noblestown Road). One of these clerks, William Kerr, was instrumental in establishing national Flag Day.

Description

Rennerdale has some 320 single-family homes, many built between 1920 and 1960, with the newest built in 2005, and the oldest built in the 1840s. Most homes sit on lots larger than half an acre, many with full-grown trees.

The town has one business, the Rennerdale Corner Store, at 148 Noblestown Road. The Corner Store sells groceries and serves sandwiches and pizza

Pizza

Pizza is an oven-baked, flat, disc-shaped bread typically topped with a tomato sauce, cheese and various toppings.Originating in Italy, from the Neapolitan cuisine, the dish has become popular in many parts of the world. An establishment that makes and sells pizzas is called a "pizzeria"...

.

Rennerdale's sole house of worship, Rennerdale United Presbyterian Church

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

The Presbyterian Church , or PC, is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. Part of the Reformed tradition, it is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the U.S...

, is located at 151 Noblestown Road. In addition to services, the church hosts community meetings, such as the monthly meeting of the Pittsburgh chapter of the National Railway Historical Society.

The Rennerdale Volunteer Fire Department

Volunteer fire department

See also the Firefighter article and its respective sections regarding VFDs in other countries.A volunteer fire department is a fire department composed of volunteers who perform fire suppression and other related emergency services for a local jurisdiction.The first organized force of...

, located at 30 Suburban Avenue, provides emergency and firefighting services. It also sponsors an annual Halloween

Halloween

Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...

 parade. Next to the fire station is a small spring-fed pond

Pond

A pond is a body of standing water, either natural or man-made, that is usually smaller than a lake. A wide variety of man-made bodies of water are classified as ponds, including water gardens, water features and koi ponds; all designed for aesthetic ornamentation as landscape or architectural...

, where there is some recreational fishing (with a traditional catch and release

Catch and release

Catch and release is a practice within recreational fishing intended as a technique of conservation. After capture, the fish are unhooked and returned to the water before experiencing serious exhaustion or injury...

 policy). When the pond freezes over in winter, the townspeople use it for skating

Ice skating

Ice skating is moving on ice by using ice skates. It can be done for a variety of reasons, including leisure, traveling, and various sports. Ice skating occurs both on specially prepared indoor and outdoor tracks, as well as on naturally occurring bodies of frozen water, such as lakes and...

 and ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

.

On the eastern end of town, Webb Field has two baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

 fields (Little Webb and Big Webb) and a pavilion

Pavilion

In architecture a pavilion has two main meanings.-Free-standing structure:Pavilion may refer to a free-standing structure sited a short distance from a main residence, whose architecture makes it an object of pleasure. Large or small, there is usually a connection with relaxation and pleasure in...

 for community events. (Webb Field is named after Edward N. Webb, one of the original founders of Rennerdale Little League. The field was dedicated in 1967).

Rennerdale belongs to the Chartiers Valley School District, which includes Chartiers Valley Primary School, Middle School, Intermediate School and High School.

As an unincorporated community, Rennerdale has no mayor or police force.

Environs of Rennerdale

Less than a mile northwest of Rennerdale is Settler's Cabin Park

Settler's Cabin Park

Settler's Cabin Park is a county park in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a part of the county's 12,000 acre network of nine distinct parks....

, a 1589 acres (6.4 km²) Allegheny County park, which includes the Walker-Ewing Log House, a wave pool

Wave pool

A wave pool is a swimming pool in which there are artificially generated, reasonably large waves, similar to the ocean's. Wave pools are often a major feature of water parks...

, a diving

Diving

Diving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, sometimes while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime.Diving is one...

 pool, tennis courts, groves, shelters and trails.

Immediately south of Rennerdale, the Panhandle Trail is a hike/bike rail trail

Rail trail

A rail trail is the conversion of a disused railway easement into a multi-use path, typically for walking, cycling and sometimes horse riding. The characteristics of former tracks—flat, long, frequently running through historical areas—are appealing for various development. The term sometimes also...

 that follows the bed of the old Panhandle railroad. The Panhandle Trail currently runs 29 miles (46.7 km) from Walker's Mill, Collier Township, to just outside of Weirton, West Virginia

Weirton, West Virginia

Weirton is a city located in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia, United States. Most of the city is in Hancock County, with the remainder in Brooke County. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 20,411...

. It connects with the Montour Trail

Montour Trail

The Montour Trail is a multi-use recreational rail trail near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.It has a crushed limestone surface, appropriate for bicycling, walking, running, and cross-country skiing. Eventually, this trail segment will extend from Coraopolis, Pennsylvania to Clairton, Pennsylvania.The...

 between McDonald, Pennsylvania

McDonald, Pennsylvania

McDonald is a borough in Allegheny and Washington counties in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, 18 miles southwest of Pittsburgh. In the past, manufactories of bottles, oil-well drilling tools, flour-mill products, etc., existed here. Oil and coal were and still are procured in the area...

 and the village of Primrose. An abandoned quarry alongside the trail serves as a backdrop for picnics and community parties. In the woods south of the trail is Fossils Cliff, notable for its plentiful fossil

Fossil

Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...

s, mostly of fern

Fern

A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...

 leaves.

Atop the ridge south of Rennerdale is a private, Jack Nicklaus

Jack Nicklaus

Jack William Nicklaus , nicknamed "The Golden Bear", is an American professional golfer. He won 18 career major championships on the PGA Tour over a span of 25 years and is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional golfers of all time. In addition to his 18 Majors, he was runner-up a...

-designed golf course, The Club at Nevillewood, with a surrounding community.

Atop the western ridge is a former Project Nike

Project Nike

Project Nike was a U.S. Army project, proposed in May 1945 by Bell Laboratories, to develop a line-of-sight anti-aircraft missile system. The project delivered the United States' first operational anti-aircraft missile system, the Nike Ajax, in 1953...

 missile site. Now known as the Charles E. Kelly

Charles E. Kelly

Charles E. Kelly was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II...

 Support Facility, it previously provided headquarters for the Army's 99th Regional Readiness Command (RRC). The facility was scheduled for closing by the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure

Base Realignment and Closure

Base Realignment and Closure is a process of the United States federal government directed at the administration and operation of the Armed Forces, used by the United States Department of Defense and Congress to close excess military installations and realign the total asset inventory to reduce...

 Commission. In 2008, the Kelly Center Local Redevelopment Authority (KCLRA) oversaw the development of a re-use plan for the base. This plan envisioned a small town center; recreation facilities, including ball fields, hiking paths and picnic areas; a small retail center; a small office/warehouse complex; a local emergency medical services center; and a public library. In April, 2009, the 99th RRC relocated to Fort Dix, New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

.