Historical Facts about Chartiers Creek . . .

The Chartiers Creek watershed lies in southwestern Pennsylvania. The main stream of the Chartiers Creek rises in South Franklin Township in southern Washington County. The course of the stream is northeasterly into Allegheny County where it empties into the Ohio River just below Pittsburgh. The main stream is 52 miles in length. In their winding courses through broken and hilly
country Chartiers Creek and its many tributaries flow through 35 municipalities. At some points precipitous hills 300 to 400 feet high overlook the stream. In other places the creek opens out into plains a mile wide.

The first settlers came to the Chartiers Valley before the American Revolution. A grist mill was established at the junction of Campbell's Run and Chartiers Creek before the Constitution was adopted. Coal, oil and gas contributed to the area's industrial development, and it naturally became the center for the steel industry. The principal communities on the main course of the stream are Washington, Canonsburg, Bridgeville, Heidelberg, Carnegie and McKees Rocks.