Incorporated as a town in 1889, this Allegheny River community began in 1816 when a farmer, Michael Bright, bought a large tract of land 15 miles (24 km) northeast of Pittsburgh.

The settlement took its name from a landmark tree, as the deed description reads, "Beginning at a black oak on the bank of the Allegheny River ..." The borough is best known for the nearby Oakmont Country Club, a premier golf course which has been the site of numerous U.S. Open golf tournaments, including the 2016 U.S. Open.

The business district of town is on relatively flat land near the Allegheny River, but the main residential area is on the upward slope headed toward Oakmont Country Club and the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

[5] Oakmont has three land borders, including Plum to the east, and Penn Hills and Verona to the south.

Last update: 6/4/2011 [17] This facility is one of EPA Region III's high priority Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) corrective action sites.

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) determined that with the removal of waste from the manufacturing buildings, the EI's would be under control (Sept. 2003).

The buildings were demolished in 2005, but some waste (dust) was apparently disposed on site during demolition activities.

Subsequent sampling in 2006 did not locate any dust or materials that exhibited a hazardous waste characteristic.

Additionally as part of a Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) Act 2 site characterization, limited TCE impacts to groundwater were found.

[17] PADEP allowed the Edgewater Steel Corporation to cease groundwater monitoring activities for the former EAF dust landfill because (1) it could not be properly monitored due to hydraulic influences from nearby Plum Creek and (2) Edgewater removed the EAF dust and contaminated soil, thus clean closing the unit.

Earth Sciences Consultants, on behalf of Edgewater, closed monitoring wells MW-903 through MW-906.

[17] At the site where Edgewater Steel once stood, a new greener residential neighborhood is rising.