Throughout western Pennsylvania, Cranberry Township is considered a new community, and in many respects it is. But Cranberry was actually incorporated in 1804. Artifacts of its past, including a one-room schoolhouse next to the Municipal Center, have been meticulously documented and restored by the Township’s historical society.
How did Cranberry get its name?
Cranberry Township was named for the wild cranberries, which at that time grew along the banks of Brush Creek – the Township’s primary water source. The berries attracted deer, and the deer attracted native American hunters, although there is no evidence of permanent Indian settlements within the Township’s boundaries. Drought and farming combined to eliminate the Township’s namesake fruit by the 1880s, but deer are still abundant.