About this site

Since the completion of the Streetscape Program, thousands of personalized objects have been placed along the business section of Third Street to commemorate the beautification of the historic town of Beaver Pennsylvania . These memorials, consisting of engraved bricks, commemorative trees and commemorative lampposts, were bought and personalized by the public to be erected as lasting reminders of the people and groups to whom they are dedicated. However, the memorials were placed in no particular order, and due to the large number of them – over one thousand – are exceedingly hard to find.

This site is intended to aid the public in locating these objects and to serve as an easily accessible record anyone can use to find information about the numerous donations along Third Street. It is the product of an Eagle Project led by Sean C. Donahue of troop 495, stationed in Beaver Pennsylvania, and was conceived as a way to alleviate frequent complaints from people who were unable to find their object.

The streetscape layout drawings which appear in the search section were provided by Bill Witkouski and Hancock Architecture, and the site itself was designed by Charles 'Chuck' Benscoter. The entire project is nonprofit and is intended to aid the ongoing revitalization of downtown Beaver by promoting tourism and community support.

The rank of Eagle Scout is the highest rank in the Boy Scouts of America. To obtain this rank all participants are required to lead a service project of significant merit which aids the community. This Eagle Project took over two hundred hours of combined work from numerous people to complete and had to be approved by both local Boy Scout and community leaders before it could be started.

The Streetscape Project is a nationwide initiative under the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. It is aimed toward beautifying community business districts in order to encourage consumers to shop within their hometown, thereby creating a greater sense of community. In our area, approximately ten communities, including Beaver, have been or will soon start revitalization under the Streetscape Project.

Much of Beaver’s Streetscape was funded by the federal government, but because of their aggressive plans, Beaver needed supplemental funds which they acquired from the Borough and numerous donations. Of the total cost of $3,447,000 for the project, $390,000 was acquired through donations and the purchase of the commemorative objects catalogued on this site by numerous individuals. In turn, multiple companies were contracted to install new sidewalks, curbs, storm drains, handicap ramps, crossing signals, traffic lights, lamp posts, shrubbery, trees, and underground watering systems in addition to moving utilities toward the back of the business district, constructing a new bell tower, a corner office, and adding a Victorian fountain; all to form downtown Beaver as it is today. The entire project took three years from conception to its completion in 2002 and required the special casting of the lamp fixtures and bell tower at foundries based on antique pictures. Commemorative bricks are still available. You can purchase a commmemorative brick to be engraved. Print an order form by clicking on a link below, fill out the required information and send it to the address at the bottom of the form.     Click PDF Form if you have Acrobat Reader® installed or     Click HTML Form if you do not have Acrobat Reader®.

Beaver is a small town in Western Pennsylvania at the confluence of the Beaver and Ohio Rivers. It was established in 1802 by the Pennsylvania Legislature to further western expansion around the site of Fort McIntosh, former home of the First American Regiment.

Designed by Daniel Leet, Beaver is one of the few planned towns in Pennsylvania and remains rather unchanged in design to this day. The area is prominently marked by the Pennsylvania & Lake Erie Railroad Ohio River Bridge, once the world’s largest cantilever-truss railroad bridge, and the Beaver County Courthouse. Today Beaver is recognized as a historic community and in 1999 was voted number four in the United States for livability by Money Magazine.

Some prominent citizens are former Mayor Robert P. Linn, who is in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest serving mayor in the United States, Michael Baker Jr. (founder of the Michael Baker Corporation), Emmy Award-winning broadcaster Don Kennedy, KDKA radio broadcaster Ed Schaughency, National Geographic Senior Editor Priit Vesilind, numerous athletes such as pitchers John Burkett and Hugh Mulcahy, and Amber Brkich of the Survivor television series.

Troop 495 has been the local troop of The Boy Scouts of America for the town of Beaver in the Beaver Valley District since the 1950's. We are hosted by Park Presbyterian Church and are part of the Greater Pittsburgh Council. Since January 21, 1953, there have been 33 boys to attain the rank of Eagle Scout in our troop.

Sean C. Donahue was born in 1988 and moved to Beaver from Pittsburgh in 1997. He currently attends Beaver Area High School and participates in such activities as Scouting, mock trial, civil war club, the KDKA sponsored Hometown High-Q quiz show, chess club, and writing for the school newspaper. He currently aspires to pursue a career in sociological study, psychology, or writing.         He enjoys reading, writing, philosophizing, education, camping, occasionally golfing, playing videogames, listening to an eclectic variety of music, viewing the cultural arts, drawing, traveling, watching films, cooking, and carousing with friends. Above all, Sean values his education, thought, and family.

Many thanks to all those who have helped me in completing this project; to all my friends for their help, to Mr. Bill Witkouski and Hancock Architecture for the streetscape layout drawings, to Mr. Barret for his help with the original information, to my scout master Mr. Cliff Conklin, to Mr. Charles 'Chuck' L. Benscoter for building this site, Alps Controls for hosting the site and to my parents for all their help and support.

None of this would have been possible without the cooperation of the Heritage Foundation, the Beaver Borough, and various members of my troop. I thank all those involved for their time and support.