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CONWAY

COURTESY OF BEAVER COUNTY BICENTENNIAL ATLAS

 

The history of the Borough of Conway may be traced back to the 1825 sale to Michael Conway of part of 800 acres of land which had been granted to General John McKee for his services in the Revolutionary War. At the time of the sale to Conway, the area was part of New Sewickley Township.

McKee had been the first white settler in the present Crows Run area, and was buried there. (In 1942, his remains and tombstone were removed to Oak Grove Cemetery, Freedom, along with those of some other veterans of the Revolution.) The Conway graves, on the other hand, are still located on the bluff at Crows Run, and plans are underway to restore this area as a permanent historical landmark and park.

Another early family was the John Dean family, Mr. Dean establishing the area's first general store and saw mill in 1830 and Mrs. Dean organizing the first school in 1833. By this time, the region was a part of Economy Township, which had been formed from part of New Sewickley in 1827.

Some Conway-family money went to help finance railroads building through the area, presaging Conway's future role as the hub of a gigantic railroad system. In 1881, a post office was established in the Remington Station of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad located near Crow's Run; the first postmaster was Charles Cheney. Industrialization along the Ohio River brought numerous railroad "feeder lines" to the area, out of which the present Conway Yards, or "Conrail" system would grow.

In 1902, Conway was incorporated as a Borough. Addru Bepler was the first mayor. That year the People's Electric Street Railroad built a single track line on the Beaver-Pittsburgh Road. In 1909, the Borough Building and fire station was built.

In 1952, the Conway school system joined those of Baden and Economy, but the jointure lasted only one year. Today, Conway is part of the Freedom Area School District.

The most striking feature of the Borough today is the "Conway Yards" rail system, renowned as one of the most modern and sophisticated rail systems in the world, making use of the latest automated techniques.