After several attempts during the early and mid-century to establish a historical society, an organization called Old Residents of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania was formed on January 10, 1859.
In 1911, society members oversaw the planning and implementation of special events held in conjunction with the centennial of the start of steam navigation services on western rivers.
[1] On February, 17, 1914, the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania opened its new building on Grant Boulevard near Parkman in Pittsburgh's Schenley district.
"[4] Now the region's oldest cultural organization, HSWP does business as and operates both the Senator John Heinz History Center and the Meadowcroft Rockshelter.
The History Center includes the Library & Archives, which preserves hundreds of thousands of books, manuscripts, photographs, maps, atlases, newspapers, films and recordings documenting over 250 years of life in the region; and the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum, a museum-within-a-museum documenting Pittsburgh's extensive sports legacy.