New Kensington was founded in 1891. In 1890 the Burrell Improvement Company considered the advantages of the level land south of its home in Lower Burrell, and deemed it a prime location for a city and named the area "Kensington" (later changed to "New Kensington" for postal purposes, because Pennsylvania already had another city with that name).

In an attempt to make New Kensington comparable to Pittsburgh, the streets were named with numbers. Avenues ran parallel to the river, while streets were perpendicular. 4th and 5th were the main commercial streets.

Once the land was surveyed, a public sale was held on June 10th 1891. Thousands of people flooded the area and investors began bringing industry with them. The first large company was the Pittsburgh Reduction Company (which later became ALCOA). They acquired a 3.5 acre that allowed them to exploit their closeness to the riverfront.

Eventually companies such as Adams Drilling, Goldsmith and Lowerburg, New Kensington Milling, New Kensington Brewing, Logan Lumber, Keystone Dairy, and many more were built late in the nineteenth and continuing into the early twentieth century.

Early achievements included a railroad station, the 9th Street bridge, a passenger boat that navigated the Allegheny, a street car line that ran to Natrona, the "Kensington Dispatch" newspaper, a fire department, hotel, opera house, and YMCA.

By 1906, 25,000 people occupied an area of seven miles. Schools and Churches flourished at the turn of the century leading the way to the modern era we are now a part of.

The City has grown and is proud of its Fire Department, Police Force and Rescue Team. There is also a Library, city newspaper "The Valley News Dispatch", over 15 churches, 9 banks, 3 elementary schools, 1 middle school, 1 parochial school, one high school, a branch campus of Penn State, and a post secondary school.

We invite you to be a part of our fine city as we continue to evolve and advance in the future.