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Along the northern shores of the Allegheny River, Shaler Township, Pennsylvania is a suburb of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. Long the hunting grounds for Native American tribes of the area, what is now Shaler Township didn’t see European-American settlers until the middle of the 18th century. One of the first in the area was Simon Girty who had been captured as a teenager by the Lenni Lenape during the French and Indian War. He was eventually given to a Seneca chief named Guyasuta who taught him how to hunt, fish and survive in the wild. He lived with the Sencea for eight years. Girty eventually was traded back to colonial settlers during a prisoner exchange in the aftermath of the Native American defeat in Pontiac’s Rebellion in 1764. Girty resented being returned to the “white world” and basically lived as a Native American for the rest of his life, coming to Shaler Township and living along a creek which bears his name. Girty’s Run is in the southwest part of the township on the border with the borough of Millvale. Girty’s life is immortalized in Charles McKnight’s historical novel Simon Girty: The White Savage. Conrad Richter’s novel The Light in the Forest tells a similar story of a young brave named True Son who was taken as a child by the Lenni Lenape and lived with them until his teens when he was, like Girty, traded back to the British. True Son despises the “whites,” describing their settlements as “the sad, incredible region where the Indian forest had been cut down by the white destroyers and no place left for the Indian game to live.” For the rest of his life Girty acted as a scout, first for the colonists in the revolution and then for the British and their Native American allies. After the war, he helped negotiate the freedom of colonists who had been captured by the Indians. Because he had sided with the British he eventually moved to Canada along with other British loyalists. Shaler Township takes its name from prominent 19th century Pittsburgh Judge Charles Shaler. Today, the township gets an overall grade of A from the real estate website Niche with an amazing 87 percent of residents owning their own homes.

It’s certain that a Shaler Township tutor will be able to keep you ahead of the academic curve so you can take some time away from the books to enjoy the variety of things to do in Shaler Township and Pittsburgh. There are eleven public parks within the township offering a wide variety of recreational opportunities. Kiwanis Park in the center of the community has Shaler’s only public swimming pool. The park also has the usual amenities such as playgrounds, athletic fields and basketball courts. Fawcett Fields along Little Pine Creek features hiking trails and soccer fields. The creek also has a children’s fishing area which is stocked with trout.

For the more adventurous, the Rachel Carson Trail winds its way through Allegheny County just north of Shaler Township. The park is named after biologist and conservationist Rachel Carson, whose groundbreaking book Silent Spring, published in 1962, is often credited with launching the environmental movement. The 35-mile trail blazes through densely wooded wilderness, meandering streams and open meadows. The trail hosts an annual “Rachel Carson Trail Challenge” with participants tasked with completing the length of the trail in one day.

Just across the Allegheny from Shaler, the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium is a popular destination for residents and visitors alike. Opened in 1898, the zoo offered visitors a look at animals and plants from all over the world. Today, the zoo has many more exhibits and natural habitats including the Tropical Forest, African Savanna and Jungle Odyssey. Water’s Edge features polar bears, sea otters and sand tiger sharks. The aquarium, built in 1967, contains displays portraying different marine ecosystems such as a tropical rainforest and the Allegheny River. One of the more popular areas of the zoo is the sea lion exhibit in the Kid’s Kingdom.