Life Before: The Abandoned Houses of Pine

First, a disclaimer. I, in no way, suggest you go walking around abandoned buildings no matter where they are. Enjoy this blog and imagine yourself there.

These properties were not the easiest to walk around. Between overgrown weeds, crumbling sidewalks and patios, and open wells, it can be dangerous.

These are two abandoned houses in Pine. There were two others I tried to take pictures of but the sun was shining bright and I couldn’t get any shots.

There is a certain beauty to abandoned buildings, especially in a township that constantly expands and builds new houses and shopping plazas.

I haven’t done any research about these houses and suspect I won’t find much unless one of you, my loyal readers, knows about them.

So enjoy. I hope you can see the beauty and it takes you back to a time when Pine was smaller and quieter.

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On Brown Road near Wexford Elementary School. I don’t know when it was abandoned but it was vacant on Google Maps in August 2013.

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Views of the barn. Love the color of the barn doors.

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Inside the barn there are tons of treasures (and trash). I WANT that fireplace mantel. The floors of the barn are rotted out and you can’t walk into the barn anymore. The walls are buckling and obviously the roof is collapsing. It was once, a beautiful barn.

The driveway continues a long way. I didn’t walk it so I have no idea where it goes. Obviously, people still drive on it otherwise it would all be overgrown.

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As you can see the barn is missing a support leg. It is only a matter of time before it call comes crashing down.

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Views from the barn.

I mentally renovated this house and moved in. I LOVED it!

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Views of the back and side of the house. It is amazing to look at. There are newer aspects of the house that actually still look pretty good. The roof looks fine until you look at the gutters and the awings. The windows and doors look fine until you realize the glass is broken. I’ve seen amazing things on home renovation shows and I’m if I had the money I could save a decent portion of the house. But, like most things, this will be torn down someday.

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More views of the house.

The front porch was gorgeous! I could picture a few rocking chairs on the porch, a few pots of colorful mums, and a pumpkin or two. I would totally paint the front door aqua.

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I didn’t go in (even though I really wanted. I know better though) but I did take a few pictures from the window. I couldn’t get any pictures of the kitchen that you can see through the door beyond the stairs. But this entry way was amazing. I immediately saw a large built in bench and coat hangers for a sort of mudroom/entryway.

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Livingroom beside the entry and a dining room through the large opening. Obviously some people go inside because there is a bit of graffiti throughout.

On the other side of the road are remains of an old fence and perhaps an orchard or maybe once a field.

This house was torn down in April 2020.

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This house is on Warrendale Road across from the Turnpike. I don’t know when it was abandoned but it was vacant on Google Maps in 2012.

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This was a difficult property to walk around. The front had a brick stairwell that led to a paved patio. This house was built on a steep hill so I imagine this patio expanded the house a bit.

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The windows of this house were so beautiful. They had a special charm and it is such a shame they are completely ruined.

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I wish I had a better picture of the door knob. I WANT it! The fireplace was huge.

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This house is HUGE! It is clear they added on to this house at least one time but I would say more like two or three times. There is a basement level as well as the main level.  Again, it was quite difficult to walk around this house. So much broken glass and crumbling stairs.

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The house is quickly losing the battle with nature.

To finish it off, a baby deer nursing on its mommy. And my windshield. For the record, my husband was driving.

This property was torn down but I don’t know when. I discovered it was gone in April 2020.

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Read an old blog:

Do Pine Residents Care?

Sometimes stories take longer than I anticipate, mostly because my life gets in the way. My husband and I took our first ever vacation last week (we’ve been together for 13 years this year and never been on vacation). My oldest started pre-school this week. My baby has his first cold. My yard is a wreck. I’m painting my kitchen cabinets. Lots of other things.

I am working on three stories at the same time. I work on them based on my mood which is not helping any of them get finished.

The first is a story about the Wexford General Store Antiques. I am doing some research before I hopefully interview the owners. The second story is about Cole’s Tavern. I am doing research before the (hopefully) interview. The third story is about Jonas Salk.

The Jonas Salk story is unrelated to the point of this blog but it was an opportunity to tease that future article.

The point is, do Pine residents care about local history?

I’m not talking about my loyal readers (there are a few of you out there and I appreciate your dedication. Thank you). I’m talking about as a whole, do the residents of Pine care about the local history?

I’ve never told a Pine story to someone and they didn’t like it. They almost always think it is cool but does that interest go beyond chit chat? I have to say, I doubt it.

The Wexford General Store and Cole’s Tavern are the two oldest buildings in Pine. There could be a few buildings that are technically older but I am going to declare these two the oldest buildings. The buildings are two examples of survival.

I don’t know if you know this but the Wexford General Store was a general store. (Sarcasm.) It went out of business in 1961 because of road realignments and the rapidly growing trend of supermarkets.

Cole’s Tavern was originally the Wexford Hotel.

Wexford, people would be surprised to hear was a major weekend getaway for the socialites of Pittsburgh. Wexford Hotel was named as the location for several socialite gatherings and debutante balls.

Wexford Station was next to Wexford Park which would bring in thousands of people for events.

But things change.

The train was demolished by a man who owned a bus company. The grocery store closed due to supermarkets. The hotel did not have the same amount of traffic and today is a bar. There were mansions that once lived here but have all been torn or burned down under the guise of being too expensive to renovate.

Honestly, Pine should be thankful that the economy didn’t become dependent on a huge mall because retail is going to be the next massive unemployment crisis in this country. Physical shopping locations are dying because of online shopping. Things change. People change.

Frankly, as a historian, I am fine with all of this. Most things from the past do not survive and future generations make the world they want to live in. But a few historical things would be nice as well.

In 1993, the Post-Gazette reported a major road construction project that threatened the Old Wexford neighborhood. The Wexford General Store, Cole’s Tavern, and the Wexford Station (no longer there) were threatened with demolition.As I read the article, I did not get the impression that the community cared much.

There was talk about making the area an historic district but nothing ever happened. The individual buildings are not designated historical and therefore could be torn down at will.

This year, a few concerned citizens tried to save one of the old schoolhouses. But, like most things in the township, it was torn down.

The question still remains. Do Pine residents care about the local history? Is there actually a desire for local history? Do the residents want to see old historic buildings and businesses survive? Is there a desire for something to be included in the historic register?

Even though I believe the answer to be no, I still persist in my mission. I am one woman who loves history and has really enjoyed creating this blog.

I still have big goals for this blog.

My next big milestone is to have 100 Facebook followers and blog followers. In the long run I would like hundreds of followers. After all, there are 11,000 people who live in Pine so to have 700 or 800 followers isn’t a crazy goal.

I want to develop local history curriculum for the school district.

I want to be listed as a reliable local resource by the Heinz History Center and possibly have a story or two published in their magazine Western Pennsylvania History Magazine.

I want to transform local history records and integrate it with technology so more people have access to the information.

I am still pushing forward with the Pine Historical Committee. There are only two of us left but I have big plans for that as well.

Even though I ask, do Pine residents care, I still push forward. I am just not sure people care about the physical history. Reading stories and maybe someday seeing pictures and artifacts and maps would be where the interest stops.

And that is okay.