Sarah Jackson Black Community Center
What is SJBCC?
The Community Center is a resource fostering community engagement and gatherings. It has been serving Swisshelm Park for generations. Current events include elections, dance classes, birthday parties, the women's gardening club, boy scout meetings, Halloween parties, and private rentals.
A group of passionate Swisshelm Park residents is working hard to revitalize the Center as a resource for our community. Our goal is to make the Center a hub for our neighborhood for generations to come. There are many opportunities to contribute and get involved; we would love to hear from you!
Meet the Interim Board
President
Paul Sabol
Vice President
Lauren Malacarne
Treasurer
Kurt Colborn
Secretary
Sarah Bartholomew-Fisher
Directors
Linda Binstock
Greg Barbish
Elaine Chosky
Christina Cerkevich
Rachel Cravotta
Sam Edelmann
Jo Ellen Welsh
Vacant
About
Swisshelm Park is named after the Swisshelm family, which moved to the area in 1800. John Swisshelm was a revolutionary war veteran who owned a grist mill in the area. The Swisshelm name gained fame and prestige from John Swisshelm's daughter-in-law, Jane Grey Cannon Swisshelm, who was a teacher, business owner, prominent feminist, publisher of the Pittsburgh Saturday Visiter (an anti-slavery newspaper) and an organizer of the Underground Railroad. In 1850, Swisshelm made history as the first woman in the US Senate press gallery.
A 35-acre portion of modern-day Swisshelm Park, including most of the area surrounding what is now Windermere Drive, was once owned by George Jackson, who died in 1854 and left the land to heirs. After the death of his last surviving children Mollie, who died in 1889, and Sarah Black, who died in 1912, a scandal erupted over the ownership of the land. Sarah left the land to a distant relative, Robert George Jackson, who was then sued in court by Alice Carey Jackson Cannon. Alice sued for partial ownership of the land on the grounds that she was the illegitimate daughter of Mollie Jackson and was therefore entitled to a portion of the estate. Although her true birth origins were kept secret from her through most of her childhood, Alice eventually learned that she was the child of Mollie and City Fire Bureau Chief, Samuel Evans. Having laid bare the secret origins of her birth and producing several witnesses who affirmed her account in court, the judge sided with Alice and awarded her half of the estate, then valued at 1.5 million dollars, in 1915. The former Jackson farm house still stands and the barn was converted to a community center still in use today, the Sarah Jackson Black Community Center.
As an homage to the Swisshelm Park neighborhood, the Sarah Jackson Black Community Center has a plaque lists the names of the hundreds who fought in World War II from the small community, including seven who died in action.
Information from Wikipedia.
In 1935 residents of the community, then known as North Homestead, met in the "community center" which was a cow shed donated by R. G. Jackson. It was named Sarah Jackson Black Community Center in memory of his aunt. In 1939 the community decided to band together to completely remodel the building into the community center we have now. Because most of the labor was free, the remodeling work cost about $12,000 instead of $30,000.
With the creation of this new community building, Swisshelm Park gained its name. The opening of the newly built community center was commemorated with a night dedicating the building and adopting the new name of Swisshelm Park. The new community name was picked from names submitted in a contest. The name Swisshelm Park was submitted by Helen Molyneaux, who was 12 years old at the time.
Information from The Pittsburgh Press Dec. 31, 1939 .