Beaver County Firsts
April 21, 1794 - Service Theological Seminary (Eudolpha Hall) located in present-day Raccoon Township became the first seminary west of the Allegheny Mountains and only the second in the nation
1802 - Greersburg Academy in Darlington was established by the Erie Presbytery, becoming the first academy west of the Alleghenies. William McGuffey, author of the McGuffey readers, was its most famous student.
November 4, 1807 - The Minerva, published in Beaver every Saturday was the first known newspaper published in the county.
November 5, 1807 - The first murder trial in Beaver County was held when Nathaniel Eakin was charged and acquitted for the shooting death of James Hamilton.
November 4, 1812 St. James's Lodge in Beaver became the first Masonic Lodge permanently established in Beaver County.
1838 A group of men in New Brighton formed the Mechanics Fire Company, and were the first firemen in the county at that time.
1848 - "Water Cure Sanitorium was founded in Phillipsburg (Monaca) by Dr. Acker and became the first hospital in the county.
December 1860 Oil was discovered in the areas of Upper Dry Run and Island Run near Smith's Ferry. It was Beaver County's first oil well.
1866 The first college in the county was Thiel College founded in Monaca.
November 19, 1883 Bridgewater Gas Company became the county's first supplier of natural gas for fuel and lighting.
November 19, 1888 Beaver Valley Electric Light & Power Company built a power plant on the Beaver River and was the first commercial supplier of electric power in the county.
1903 Carnegie Free Library was built on 7th Avenue in Beaver Falls, becoming the first public library building in the county.
1904 - Beaver Falls, New Brighton and Geneva Preparatory schools formed the first formal football league.
January 1, 1906 J. N. Jarvis organized the French Point Street Railway Company in Ambridge and operated the county's first streetcar.
1919 - Patterson Heights Airfield opened as the first airfield in the county.
June 26, 1921 Old Economy Village officially opened to the public. It was the first historic site for the Pennsylvania Historical Commission, now PHMC.
June 16, 1936 On the Ohio River, opposite Industry, Montgomery Island Lock and Dam was completed and dedicated. It was the first non-navigable, high-lift gated structure to be built on the Ohio River.
1948 - WBVP became the first radio station in Beaver County.
1956 Northern Lights opened as the area's first major shopping center.
1970 Beaver Valley Mall, the first indoor HE shopping mall in Beaver County, opened,
2000 - Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School (PA Cyber) was founded in Midland. It was the first online school in Beaver County and the first in Pennsylvania to accept students from across the state.
May 21, 2014 Beaver County began issuing
marriage licenses to same sex couples.
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Location. 40° 41.88′ N, 80° 17.824′ W. Marker is in Beaver, Pennsylvania, in Beaver County. It is on East End Avenue, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Beaver PA 15009, 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, and in the Ohio River Valley. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Beaver County National Firsts (here, next to this marker); Properties On The National Register of Historic Places (here, next to this marker); Transportation (a few steps from this marker); County Growth Continues 1881-1900 (a few steps from this marker); Early Industry And Development 1815-1860
Credits. This page was last revised on July 15, 2021. It was originally submitted on July 11, 2021, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. This page has been viewed 642 times since then and 39 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on July 11, 2021, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
