Sterrett Township was formed from Wilkins, by decree of court, September 13, 1879. The proceedings in this case were begun November 18, 1876. Under the act of 1871, the Pittsburgh city councils admitted a portion of Wilkins township into the city, as the Thirty-seventh ward, by ordinance of May 2, 1873. After protracted litigation the courts annulled this proceeding, and the annexed district again became part of Wilkins township, so continuing until erected into a separate township. The name was conferred in honor of James P. Sterrett, eighth president judge of the common pleas court of the county, to which position he was appointed January 4, 1862, upon the death of Judge McClure. He was elected in 1862, re-elected in 1872, and resigned in 1877 to accept an appointment to the supreme court.