[6] The historical character of Chartiers Township has been significantly influenced by its agricultural history, its natural resources such as coal and oil and its location along major transportation routes.

The US Congress declared this creek navigable and in fact some local entrepreneurs used it as a means of shipping flour to New Orleans.

The emergence of the Chartiers Valley Railroad and then the local Interstate Highways mitigated the creek's use for transportation, but its significance at the end of the 18th century is demonstrated in the name for the Township.

In May 1790, John Canon, the founder of Canonsburg, loaded two boats with forty barrels of flour from his mill and shipped them to New Orleans via Chartiers Creek and the Ohio River.

On April 8, 1793, an act was passed by the state legislature declaring "Chartiers Creek a public highway for boats and rafts.

"[10] When coal was discovered in Washington County in the 1880s, it was shipped down Chartiers Creek to the Ohio River in times of high water.

[11] The wealth of coal drew interest in the Township for its solid employment opportunities, though the work could be dirty and dangerous.

The Railroad Company started to build rail lines from Pittsburgh in 1857, to Canonsburg in 1869, finally completed to Washington in 1871.

In 1886, Ewing Pump Station was erected by the Southwest Pennsylvania Oil Company and was located in the Meadow Lands.

One tank exploded sending thousands of barrels of burning oil floating down Chartiers Creek, killing all vegetation and trees along the stream for a mile.

The Hagan Stock farm at Arden was chosen to purchase as the fair's location due to its excellent race track.

This trolley system served as an important link for the south hills of Pittsburgh and Washington County residents who traveled for work, shopping, and recreation.

The museum was opened to the public in June 1963, providing visitors with short demonstration trolley rides and an informal tour of the car house.

The Pennsylvania Trolley Museum exceptionally preserves the historical significance of this once vital form of transportation through the region.

The Chartiers-Houston School District services the educational needs of the Township in addition to the residents of Houston Borough.

Residential development pressures have increased from nearby growth areas such as Peters Township, North and South Strabane and Allegheny County.

New residential development in the Township over the past ten years includes Arden Mills, The Ridgeview Plan and The Summit.

There are a number of light industrial sites between the Washington County Fairgrounds and Chartiers-Houston High School.

Historically, the Township is best known for the two important cultural amenities of the Washington County Fairgrounds and the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum.

Chartiers Township's resources and convenient location in the regional transportation network has attracted increased development pressures.

The easy access and proximity of these employment and commercial activities make the Township even more attractive as a place to reside.

These centers provide employment, shopping and cultural opportunities while their proximity will continue to place growth and development pressures upon the Township.