Beaver

Beaver is a rural county located minutes northwest of Pittsburgh, featuring rolling hills and spectacular valleys typical of Western Pennsylvania. It celebrates European cultures and traditions and is considered the fourth most livable county in the United States, offering conveniences typically found in a world-class city.

Outdoor enthusiasts will marvel at four state and county parks, enabling activities for all ages in Beaver County. In winter, options include cross-country skiing and snowmobiling. Summer offers a range of essentials, including swimming, boating, and fishing. Collectively, parks offer hiking, jogging, and bridle trails, ballfields, tennis courts, picnic areas, shelters, camping, and acres of beautiful, secluded areas. Golfers rarely have to wait at any of the seven public courses, which are both fun and challenging for beginners and avid players alike.

Culture and history also play a significant role in the County's visitors' experience. Old Economy Village in Ambridge was the definitive residence of the Harmony Society. It is a national historic landmark, where interpreters wearing Harmonist dress take visitors through the seventeen original buildings and view over 16,000 landmarks. With over 200 paintings from the American Hudson River School and the European Romantic Period, the Merrick Art Gallery is a must-visit location in New Brighton.

With water transportation provided by the Ohio River, heavy industry, including steel mills and processing plants, is located in the valley. River traffic increased tremendously from the coal and steel shipped on it, aided by a series of locks and dams, five of which were built in Beaver County. Atomic energy made its mark on the County in 1955 when the first peacetime nuclear power plant was built in Shippingport, on the Ohio River, whose waters were needed to cool the reactor.

Today, the rivers play a different role. The era of heavy industry is a memory of the past. People are taking and enjoying more leisure time activities, and they now look to the rivers for recreation. New docks on the Beaver River and water skiing on the Ohio now allow the rivers to play a different role in people's lives. With pollution a thing of the past, fish have returned to the waterways, providing additional recreational opportunities.

Beaver County is not the same place many people used to envision. Just as Pittsburgh has transformed itself from the stereotypical "smoky city" it once was, it is no longer just a series of mill towns. Proud of its history and culture, yet forward-moving in the vision for the future in business and recreation expansion.

The sights and events in the County are unlike any in the surrounding areas. But to truly experience the feel of the fairs and festivals, the beauty of the parks, the excitement of the attractions and recreation, and the history of the museums and sites.