Sewickley Valley Historical Society

04/24/2026

As football fever takes over the Burgh with the NFL Draft in town, DID YOU KNOW that the Sewickley Valley has a direct connection to the professionalization of the sport currently taking over downtown?

In 1892 O. D. Thompson arranged to secretly pay Yale All-American “Pudge” Heffelfinger to play a game for the Allegheny Athletic Association against their rivals the Pittsburgh Athletic Club. Thompson was a founder of the Allegheny Athletic Association and former teammate of the legendary Walter Camp. It was the first time anyone was paid to play the game of football.

Thompson was graduate of Yale, where he met the future President William Howard Taft. Thompson served as one of Taft's companions on a visit to Western Pennsylvania in 1909. Together they visited the Allegheny Country Club (where this picture was taken) before taking in a Pirates game at Exposition Park -- the home of the Buccos for just another month before Forbes Field opened at the end of June, 1909, and located, interestingly enough, right about where the NFL Draft stage is located this weekend on Pittsburgh's North Shore.

O.D. Thompson lived in Sewickley from 1903 until his death in 1925. 🏈

04/16/2026

Come visit us this Saturday for our Sewickley Antique Appraisal and Donation Day ! From 9am - 1pm, get items from your personal collection appraised. Or if you kicked-off your spring cleaning and found some pieces of , consider bringing them down to SVHS for donation to the Collections at SVHS!

Antique Appraisal Scour the attic and basement for forgotten treasures
and bring them to the Sewickley Antique Appraisal and Donation Day on April 18 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Old Sewickley Post Office, 200 Broad St. The Sewickley Valley Historical Society will host professional antique ap...

03/26/2026

Join us tonight at the for the second screening in our "Lights, Camera, History!" series.

Starting promptly at 6:30 pm, our screening of "1776" is the perfect way to celebrate that it is exactly 100 days away today (3/26/26) that we will be celebrating the 250th Anniversary of the Signing of the Declaration of Independence! ❤️🤍💙

Tickets available online or in person at The Lindsay box office.

03/05/2026

TONIGHT! The SVHS 2025-2026 lecture series and America250 programming continues with "A Colony Sprung from Hell: Pittsburgh during the American Revolution."

Join us at 200 Broad Street, Sewickley at 7pm, tonight, Thursday, March 5, 2026.

Free and open to the public!

02/26/2026

TONIGHT!

Our partnership with The Lindsay Theater returns for its second year as we explore the history of the American Revolution through film .

For the first film of the season, join SVHS at The Lindsay Theater, in partnership with WQED, for a special, 1-hour screener presentation of the new documentary that has captivated the nation -- a special Sewickley screening of “The American Revolution” the film by Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein, and David Schmidt.

After the presentation, SVHS will welcome special guest Dr. Holly Mayer for “Reflections on the American Revolution via the Ken Burns Documentary,” via Zoom.

Dr. Holly Mayer, Professor Emerita of History at Duquesne University and consultant for the film will engage with attendees in an exclusive presentation and Q&A.

Tickets on sale now via

Hope to see you there!

01/27/2026

Day 2 of snow days means you get 2 snowy Sewickley scenes preserved in a scrapbook in the G.L. Simpson collection from the . ❄️🐾

As a reminder: SVHS follows QVSD and their weather closures, so when the schools are closed for inclement weather, the SVHS office is as well, including today, Tuesday, January 27, 2026.

And don't forget your snow day homework -- Send your "snow day in the Sewickley Valley" images to SVHS or tag us in them!

01/26/2026

SVHS will be closed today, Monday, January 26, 2026 for the very snowy reasons that are obvious to anyone in Western Pa today...❄️

But we have homework for you! Send your "snow day in the Sewickley Valley" images to SVHS or tag us in them! We only have vintage snow day photos to share with you, like this one from the G.L. Simpson collection or the second one of a young child sledding thru the streets of Sewickley with their dog, because Sewickley Valley Residents like you have donated them to the over the years.

Use the handles or email includes in the second photo to send your snow day in the Valley images to SVHS so that 100 years from now, residents of the Valley can also compare how you spent your snow day to theirs! ☃️

01/24/2026

You've got just over two hours to join us for our Historical Society Open House!

We're at 200 Broad Street until 2pm with the hot chocolate, coffee, snacks, Photo Booth and HISTORY!

We hope you'll stop by!

01/05/2026

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

SVHS is back and ready to celebrate 2026 and the America250 year with you, starting with our upcoming winter programming!

Visit www.sewickleyhistory.org and keep checking out our social media and website updates to learn more about our upcoming events and how you can join us!

12/19/2025

The SVHS office will be closed for the holidays starting, Monday, December 22, 2025 - Friday January 2, 2026.

The office will reopen in the new year on Monday, January 5 at 10am.

SVHS Staff and its Board of Directors wishes you and yours the happiest of holiday seasons!