A History of Czechs in the Burgh
 Between the years of 1880 and 1914, a significant concentration of Czech families settled in the eastern neighborhoods of Allegheny City in a section of Pittsburgh known today as Troy Hill. A small section of this hilltop community became the destination of many Czech immigrants and was called “Bohemian Hill.” It is believed that some Czech immigrants used Bohemian Hill as a gateway to communities in the Midwest and Texas. Others came and stayed, creating one of several Czech clusters in Western Pennsylvania.
Troy Hill, also known as "Deutschtown," was primarily a German community. However, the Czech immigrants were accustomed to having German neighbors. Many Czech immigrants, who spoke no English did speak some German, so these two ethnic groups were compatible in many ways. Both groups created the kind of community that reflected the lifestyle of a small European village, establishing shops and businesses that made them self-sufficient, frequently shopping in each other's stores. Grocery stores, tailors, pharmacies, bakeries, and a thriving meatpacking industry all populated the area, in addition to jobs at the nearby Heinz factory.
Czech immigrants also established religious and fraternal organizations which supported their community in times of need. Most religious Czechs were Roman Catholic and by 1871 property had been purchased along Progress Street, at the bottom of Bohemian Hill near the river, for the establishment of St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church. Construction of the current building began in 1900, and it was reported to be one of the most beautiful churches in the city. In 1887 a building was erected next to the church to serve as a parish and school. Church records show that in 1894, 400 infants born to Czech parents were baptized at this church. The dedicated St. Wenceslaus congregation closed the doors of their church in 1973. The building is used today as a daycare center.
At the top of the hill, in the small community of “Cesky Vrsek” or Bohemian Hill, Czechs, with the support of the Presbyterian Western Theological Seminary, established a Protestant church. At the westernmost point of Troy Hill, on an abandoned stone quarry, a small group of Czechs, who followed the teachings of Jan Hus in 15th century Prague and the beliefs of the Bohemian and Moravian Brethrens, built a small church. It was called Bethlehem Chapel and was dedicated on November 17, 1901. In 1908, the church was expanded and reorganized as the First Bohemian Presbyterian Church. Changing its name again in 1923, the Troy Hill Presbyterian Church, now conducting services in English, continued doing so until October 24, 1999, when it too closed its doors.
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When first organized, both churches conducted services in the Czech language and also established societies which acted as a social safety net for families of the community. Without the support of extended families in the new world, immigrants relied on the support of churches and benevolent societies in times of need.
Czech freethinkers founded the oldest continuous benevolent organization in the United States, known as the Cesko-Slovanske Podporujici Spolecnosti (C.S.P.S.) in St. Louis in 1854. By 1870, the C.S.P.S. fraternal lodge Cechie #4 was organized in Allegheny City and, by 1888, with the support of Sokol Rip and a ladies lodge, Daughters of Liberty, construction of the large four-story Bohemian National Hall had begun. During the next fifty years, the “Bohemian Hall” was home base for the various Czech lodges and fraternal societies in the area. Located at 1000 Vinial Street, the Bohemian National Hall offered its members educational, cultural, and social programs. The C.S.P.S. lodges also provided disability and life insurance programs through an organization which is still in existence today; the Czechoslovak Society of America (C.S.A.) with a home office in Chicago. The Bohemian National Hall on Vinial Street, which for decades provided a vibrant social scene for Czechs in the area, was destroyed by fire in 1966.
Many of the homes and shop storefronts of the Czech families who lived on the Bohemian Hill streets of Braebec, Goettman, and Province, remain as physical reminders of the larger Czech community that existed in this part of the city. During the 1940s, the Czech cluster of Bohemian Hill fell victim to urban sprawl. With the increasing popularity of the American automobile, many Czech families purchased cars and moved to the suburbs. Today it is estimated that between seven and eight thousand people of Czech heritage live in the Allegheny County area.
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