Hays (Pittsburgh)

Hays (Pittsburgh)

Hays is a neighborhood in the 31st Ward of southeastern Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is represented on Pittsburgh City Council by the representative of District 5 (Corey O'Connor). It occupies ZIP codes 15227, 15207, and 15236. It is named after James H. Hays, who opened a coal-mining operation called Hays and Haberman Mines in 1828.

Hays was first settled in 1789 when still part of Baldwin Township by John Smalls, who named the area Six Mile Ferry Village. The H.B. Hays and Brothers Coal Railroad was a narrow gauge railroad that ran from the coal mine along Streets Run to the coal tipple at Six Mile Ferry.

The neighborhood was formerly the site of an ammunition plant, built by the U.S. Navy in 1942. The plant was transferred to the Army in 1966, and during its heyday between World War II and the Vietnam War employed more than a thousand people. In 1970 the plant was put on standby status until disposition in 1988. In 1993 the site was donated to the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh. The closing of the plant has led to an enormous loss of population: In 1940 the population was 2238 - in 1990 the population was only 537.

Hays encompasses the area known as Hays Woods, a 635+ acre woodland, the largest undeveloped tract of land in the city of Pittsburgh (larger even than Frick Park). Hays Woods is the best example of the City's natural environment and has six streams, including a waterfall. The future of a 613-acre (2.48 km2) parcel of land including Hays Woods is uncertain, as developer Charles Betters' application to strip mine the area was declined. Still, the developer's plan for a thoroughbred racetrack and housing development called Pittsburgh Palisades Park may come to fruition.