Baden occupies some of the land included in Depreciation Tract No. 2, surveyed by Daniel Leet in 1785. According to this survey, Lot No. 22 through Lot No. 26 make up the town, but it was not until William McCallister surveyed the area in May, 1838, that a town was laid out. Christian Burkhardt, the proprietor, recorded the plot on April 20, 1839, showing 104 lots and called the village "Baden" for a city and state in Germany, Baden- Baden. A post office was established in 1852, and in April, 1868, the village of Baden, together with the adjoining farms of the Hill, Moore, and Bryan families, was incorporated as the Borough of Baden. The Ehrman farm was also included in the Borough by an Act of the Assembly of Pennsylvania, February 29, 1872.
Land records show that Jonathan Hill in 1819 became the first land owner to settle in the town. Part of his property remains as the oldest landmark in Baden-the Hill family burying ground (now the Hillcrest or Logan, Cemetery) located along the Ohio River Blvd. directly across from the Jones & Laughlin Steel Plant. When General Anthony Wayne and his troops were camped at Legionville, a blockhouse or redoubt was situated in one corner of the Hill Cemetery. Hill was soon followed by three other settlers: James Moore in 1823, William Bryan in 1825, and Christian Burkhardt in 1852.
Although historical records do not show the exact location of an Indian village or trading post in the area occupied by the Borough, it is obvious that many Indians, along with French, English, and Colonial fur traders, must have come through the area. State Street (known to early settlers as "the Big Road") provided a main thoroughfare for travelers and traders taking their stock from farming areas toward the north and west to the markets in Pittsburgh. In fact, George Washington may well have travelled along what is now State Street on his way to Fort LeBoeuf, following his 1753 conference with Indian leaders in Logstown.
One of the most picturesque landmarks in Baden is Mount Gallitzin Academy. It was named after a Russian Prince, Demetrius Gallitzin, who became interested in Catholicism after his arrival in America in the early nineteenth century. He eventually renounced his title and inheritance and became a priest. As a missionary among the mountaineers of Western Pennsylvania, he established an academy for boys in Ebensburg in 1869, staffed by the Sisters of St. Joseph. Thirty-two years later, when the facilities in Ebensburg became too limited, the Sisters of St. Joseph purchased 86 acres of land in Baden. Starting as a boarding school for boys, Mt. Gallitzin Academy opened its doors on January 13, 1902 with an enrollment of 137. From 1934 to 1967, Mt. Gallitzin also provided a high school for girls. Today, it remains a motherhouse for the Sisters of St. Joseph as well as a private elementary school.
Many of Baden's early residents were rivermen, including Captain Calvin glazier, whose stone house is one of the borough's principle landmarks. The Conway railroad yards, established in 1887, also saw many of its workmen come to live in Baden. Since 1900, the town's character has not changed very much. It is still predominantly a residential community even though its turn of the century population of 427 has grown substantially-both in number and in ethnic diversity.
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