About Us
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Moon Township has something to offer for everyone; corporations looking to build a new headquarters, business owners hoping to provide products or services to a new market, or families searching for the perfect community to call home.
Moon Township offers a variety of amenities, including churches, hotels, restaurants, and recreation. Listed in the quick links menu on the left are descriptions of the amenities and services located within the township. Moon’s proximity to Pittsburgh and several of its suburbs ensures that nearly every type of business or service is just a short car ride away.
Mooncrest Historic District
Moon Township’s Mooncrest Neighborhood was developed in 1943 as a housing development for workers who contributed to war production efforts during World War II. As a significant example of war production housing and residential planning design, Moon Township declared the Mooncrest Neighborhood a local Historic District in 2005. More info...
Moon Township Historical Society
The Society’s mission is to research and accumulate data, educate as well as promote and preserve what we can of our local historical heritage.
moontownshiphistoricalsociety.com
Historic Preservation Plan
Historic Preservation Plan Moon Township’s Historic Architectural Review Board and Community Development Department have been working with professional consultants over the past year to complete a Historic Preservation Plan. The work was funded by a Keystone Historic Preservation Grant from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. One of the main goals of the project was to determine which sites and structures in the township have historic value, as opposed to being labeled as old. The consultants undertook a comprehensive field survey over the past spring and summer and after an exhaustive evaluation 147 resources were identified as having local historic value.
Examples include log cabins, 19th-century oil wells and pumps, institutional and commercial buildings, residential homes, and 14 neighborhoods. The field survey was a monumental effort making Moon Township one of the few communities in Southwestern PA to have a comprehensive list of its historic resources. The Preservation Plan is completed and was approved by the Board of Supervisors in March of 2014. Anyone interested in learning more or finding out if their property is included in the inventory can contact Code Administrator, Lora Dombrowski at 412.262.1700.
Find out more here: Preservation Plan
Origin
Moon Township has evolved significantly since its beginnings as a farm-based community. As one of the oldest townships in Allegheny County, founded in 1788, Moon Township had a total of 143 square miles. Some reports indicate that it would take one man on horseback two days to travel from one end of the community to the other. This geographically large township eventually spawned into 55 smaller municipalities, including the current neighboring townships of North Fayette, Findlay, Crescent, and the Borough of Coraopolis.
In its early days, settlers in Moon Township depended heavily on the hunting and farming economy for survival. The excess of farm production at the end of the 18th century brought about a need for industries such as gristmills, sawmills, and fulling mills. By 1803, the Industrial Revolution had arrived in Moon Township. The Township continued to experience significant economic growth into the 20th century when roadways and railroads opened the gates to Moon, making it an attractive place for people to settle and raise their families. Both the Sewickley Bridge, which was originally constructed in 1911, and the Pennsylvania & Lake Erie Railroad contributed significantly to Moon Township’s tremendous population growth.
During World War II, the industrial plants located within Moon Township and the surrounding communities became major suppliers of armor plates and munitions. This boom in production created a great housing need for workers who were stationed in factories on Neville Island along the Ohio River. Thus, the United States government build the Mooncrest neighborhood to house these individuals.
Growth
Moon Township’s largest percentage of growth came in 1952 when the Greater Pittsburgh Airport was completed, dedicated, and opened for business in Moon Township. One year later, construction on the Penn Lincoln Parkway was complete, making the commute to downtown Pittsburgh from Moon Township possible in about 20 minutes. These two large development projects not only contributed to a population increase of 24 percent between 1950 and 1957 but also led to a housing boom that created more than 1,250 homes in a decade-long span.
The construction of the Greater Pittsburgh Airport, which was later named Pittsburgh International Airport, is perhaps the most significant contributing factor to the economic growth Moon Township experienced. The growth was challenged in the early 1900s, however, when the airport relocated to Findlay Township. At that time, the Moon Township Board of Supervisors developed a forward-thinking plan that would help sustain growth in the township. Although Moon lost a great source for business development, the township has continued to experience growth and today is home to several high-profile national corporations, including FedEx Ground, GlaxoSmithKline, Eaton Electrical Group, Nova Chemicals, Inc., and Michael Baker Corporation. In addition, Moon Township also serves as the home of Robert Morris University, which has a very strong business curriculum and educates nearly 5,100 students annually.
Future
Members of the Moon Township Board of Supervisors and the administration continue to market this community as an exciting place to start or develop any type of business. Moon Township has a rich history as an economically strong community over the past 225 years and hopes to continue to experience tremendous growth that will keep the tax-base strong while maintaining green space and allowing the Township to offer a variety of services to its residents.