Robert Vance, who settled in the vicinity of Montour's tract around 1773, just prior to the beginning of the American Revolution.

Vance, a Virginian, had been a member of the regiment commanded by George Washington at the Braddock expedition during the French and Indian War.

[7] One of the most important early industries in the area was begun by the Watson family, English immigrants who arrived in America in 1830.

However, an old newspaper uncovered by longtime resident and local historian Dr. Frank Braden, Jr. suggests it more likely took the appellation from a Greek word for "maiden city".

With a borough now being established, the Reverend Josiah Dillon, a pioneer clergyman, suggested the name to be changed to Coraopolis.

"and, under his careful and interested administration the departments of the new government and were, in an astonishing short time, working with great lubricity and resulting high efficiency.

As he took the lead in the matter of establishing the new form of government, so it was his energetic championing of the projected laying of the tracks of the Pittsburg and Lake Erie through the borough that made that enterprise possible, his active assistance in securing rights of way being an important factor in its success.

"[9] Community development in Coraopolis moved along gradually with the building of the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad in 1877.

Eventually the P&LE spun off the Montour Railroad as a subsidiary to bring coal in from the many mines south of town.

The railway ran from downtown Pittsburgh through McKees Rocks, Neville Island and Coraopolis to Sewickley.

Along with the railway came Consolidated Lamp and Glass Company to Coraopolis, moving from its location in Fostoria, Ohio.

Shafer Bus Line was headquartered in Coraopolis and served the western part of Allegheny County south of the Ohio River until 1960, when it was bought out by the government agency PennDot, which continues to run buses between Coraopolis, the Airport and downtown Pittsburgh.

In 1955, Dr. Harry Houtz published a six-year study in the National Education Journal demonstrating that phonics was a more effective way of teaching reading, and in 1957, Herbert Snell published his study of performance-based academic tracking in junior high, which became widely adopted.

In 2017, two new brewpubs, a craft distillery, a coffee shop, a restaurant, and several other small businesses opened their doors.

Coraopolis also shares a new athletic complex with neighboring Robinson and Moon Townships that will feature soccer, rugby, and lacrosse fields, when completed.

[11] The 1896 Richardsonian Romanesque train station is also being restored, and will become a community center and event space once completed.