Exurb of the Week: Delmont (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh: homes, school district, restaurants)

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Delmont is an exurban borough located in Westmoreland County about 7 miles from the Allegheny County line and 25 east of downtown Pittsburgh, on the east-central edge of suburban Pittsburgh. It shares the highly ranked Franklin Regional School District with neighboring Murrysville and Export, though some of the students in the surrounding areas attend Greensburg-Salem School District. It is a smaller borough (1.06 sq. mil.) with a population of about 2,500.

Delmont was originally known as New Salem when it was first settled in 1812. It was incorporated as that in 1833 and the area became known as Salem Crossroads, as it was a busy stagecoach stop at the east-west Northern Turnpike (Old William Penn Highway), linking Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, and what is now local Route 66 built in 1800, with travelers from the northern part of the state meeting in town. The town featured several inns and taverns where travelers would stop as well as watering trough (which still exists as a famous historical landmark in the town today). In 1853, the Pennsylvania Railroad was completed from Westmoreland County to Pittsburgh, which passed through Delmont and ended the stagecoach era for the town and boosted its economy and growth, along with coal mining nearby in "patch towns" such as Ringertown, Trees Mills, and Slickville. The mailing address was Salem Crossroads, until 1871, when the town's postmaster changed it to Delmont. The borough's name was officially changed in 1967.

Delmont is currently divided by its main road through it, Route 66. Route 66 is a four-lane highway, with the right side of the borough being the more traditional town portion, with older homes and a few businesses with sidewalks, but no traditional downtown. The left side of the borough includes mostly a little bit more modern suburban housing developments, that are similar to the surrounding portions of Murrysville and Salem Township. Most of the area's development is centered to the southwest of the borough, near the former "cloverleaf" interchange of routes 22 and 66, that was replaced by a single-point diamond interchange in 2000 as part of the route 22 widening project. There are several housing developments, businesses, restaurants, shopping centers, and a Walmart Supercenter. Some popular recreational opportunities in the area include a large ice rink complex, Apple Hill Playhouse, Cloverleaf Golf Club, West Penn bike trail, as well as the annual Apple and Arts Fest.

Delmont had seen population growth almost every decade until now, due to the borough being nearly built out and its aging population, along with exurban growth seemingly slowing down in the surrounding areas as compared with the north and the west. Nonetheless, it is still a nice exurban area with good schools, highway access, sense of community, and a diverse mix of suburban and rural opportunities nearby.