Franklin Park is a borough in Allegheny County and considered a suburb of Pittsburgh. It is located in the northwestern corner of the county. When Allegheny County formed in 1788, Franklin Park was part of Pitt Township. The township consisted of all the land north of the Ohio River. By the year 1800, Pitt Township was divided in half to become the new Pine Township, which included what would eventually be Franklin Park. In the summer of 1823, Franklin Township was created. Franklin Township included what is today Franklin Park and Bradford Woods, as well as Marshall Township. Franklin would stay a second class township until August of 1961 when it became the Borough of Franklin Park. Throughout most of Pittsburgh’s history, Franklin didn’t have very much population-wise. There were some churches, one-room schools, blacksmiths and country stores and there was a thriving oil and gas industry. Post World War II, the first subdivisions appeared in the township. The population grew and the neighborhood ended up bringing about ordinances and building codes and installing public water and sewers.
In 1948, Franklin Township School District with Marshall, Bradford Woods, McCandless and Pine joined together to create North Allegheny School District. Pine left a year later but as of today, the school district houses two high schools, three middle schools and seven elementary schools. When Interstate 79 and 279 opened, it brought even more businesses and population to Franklin Park, transforming its once rural identity.