Leet Township near Sewickley in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

D.T. Watson Home for Crippled Children

Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, October 30, 2018

1. D.T. Watson Home for Crippled Children Marker

Inscription. Founded here in 1917 at Sunny Hill, the former home of David and Margaret Watson, it began as a residential school for disabled children. In 1952, Dr. Jonas Salk, assisted by medical director Dr. Jessie Wright, began the first human testing of his polio vaccine here with patients, staff, and local children. Successful testing led to the 1955 approval and use of the vaccine and the eventual eradication of the debilitating disease.

Erected 2018 by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Charity & Public Work • Science & Medicine. In addition, it is included in the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1917.

Location. 40° 34.367′ N, 80° 12.086′ W. Marker is near Sewickley, Pennsylvania, in Allegheny County. It is in Leet Township. It is on Camp Meeting Road 0.1 miles north of Pilgrim Drive, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 301 Camp Meeting Road Sewickley PA 15143, Sewickley PA 15143, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Greater Pittsburgh.

It is also in the American Northeast,

in the Mid-Atlantic,

in the Ohio River Valley,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Northern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France,

the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

and one of the original Thirteen Colonies.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: In Memory of Daniel Leet (approx. 0.6 miles away); Honoring the Four Heroic Chaplains

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(approx. 0.7 miles away); Leetsdale Armed Forces Memorial (approx. 0.7 miles away); Leetsdale Veterans Memorial (approx. 0.7 miles away); Shields Presbyterian Church (approx. 1.2 miles away); Allegheny County (approx. 1.4 miles away); Shousetown Cemetery Memorial (approx. 1.4 miles away); Shousetown Boatyard (approx. 1½ miles away).

Also see . . . The Watson Institute. (Submitted on October 30, 2018, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.)

Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, October 30, 2018

2. D.T. Watson Home for Crippled Children Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on October 30, 2018, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 2,190 times since then and 135 times this year. Last updated on February 12, 2019, by John Linko of Leetsdale, Pennsylvania. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 30, 2018, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.