monroevillehistorical.org

Brookside in 2006

Brookside Mobile Home Park 
Brookside Drive

 In eastern Monroeville, not far from the Murrysville line, Thompson’s Brook runs through a hollow along a busy highway – Old Wm Penn Highway.  In the 1870s this quiet backwater, once part of the Elliott farm, was the site of a one-room schoolhouse - Unity School, which served the farming community for many years.  Later the glen was the site of small store, and one of the first “portable” gas stations by the side of the road.

As time went on, the tree-shaded hollow was discovered by city folks looking for a place for a camping trip and getaway weekends in the country.  By the 1940s, small trailers of 8 to 10 feet would be hauled off to be parked at camp sites that rented space for a dollar or two a night.  In time, some were kept there on a more permanent basis, and eventually Brookside was to evolve from a camp ground to a trailer park that accommodated full-sized mobile homes.

In 1962, Brookside Mobile Home Park was acquired by its current owner, Sam Cosentino.  Today, the old camp grounds accommodates some 30 mobile homes, whose owners still enjoy their private alcove -- a little bit of country beside the running brook.