In 1781, Jeremiah Murry came from Ireland to Pennsylvania, then onto Franklin Township. He acquired land near the Turtle Creek and build a cabin and grist mill, and he kept store near the current location of the Presbyterian Church. Soon after the Northern Turnpike was constructed through this area in 1819, Murry established the town of Murrysville in 1820. He originally purchased several hundred acres of land which he subdivided into streets and lots which he then sold to settlers. Michael Rugh, his wife Phoebe Hawkins, daughter Mary, and an infant son were captured by the Seneca Indians during the Revolutionary War in 1778. Mr. and Mrs. Rugh spent the remainder of the war in Canada, the infant died, and Mary was adopted by an old Indian squaw. Eight years later she was found with the tribe near the Susquehanna River and was later reconciled with her family.

In 1794, Mary married Jacob Haymaker. Their grandsons, Michael and Obediah Haymaker drilled the first gas well in the country in Murrysville in 1878. When gas was reached, there was a great explosion and fire extended 100 feet into the air. The fire burned for a year and a half before being controlled. Gas was later piped to Pittsburgh and other areas and used in place of coal.

The first school was established in the area now known as Murrysville in 1800. Turtle Creek Academy was organized in 1861 by Francis Laird Stewart. Classes were first held in his father's house, then moved to the basement of the Presbyterian Church. The Murrysville Grade School, now being used to house several businesses, was built in 1905. The high school, now Newlonsburg Elementary, was built in 1929. In 1954 the Franklin Joint High School was built. It has been remodeled to house elementary students and is now known as Heritage Elementary. Sloan Elementary was built in 1960. Other schools in the area, such as Murrysville, Sardis, White Valley, Delmont and Duff Schools were sold or demolished. The site of the White Valley school in the location of the newest of the Murrysville Parks, Pedora Park.

The Pennsylvania Railroad was extended through Murrysville to Export in 1866 with the financial assistance of Andrew Carnegie in order to haul coal and mining supplies. The Murraysville Telephone Company incorporated in 1905. The misspelling of the town's name on the incorporation papers was an inadvertent error which stayed with the company throughout its history. West Penn Power Company extended electric power lines into Murrysville in 1922, although outlying areas did not receive service until after World War II.

The first church in Murrysville was the Emmanuel Reformed Church, organized in 1820 by German settlers and known today as Hills Church on Hills Church Road. In 1830 the First Presbyterian Church was founded by Reverand Francis Laird in the home of Jeremiah Murry. That church was later moved to its present location on North Hills Road. The Murrysville Methodist Church was organized in 1832 and their first church was built in 1868. The present building was constructed in 1913 and was expanded in 1958. The United Presbyterian Church organized in 1880 was built on the corner of Route 22 and Vincent Hall Road before moving to the present location in Newlonsburg. The first Catholic mass was celebrated in Murrysville in 1935 and Mother of Sorrows Roman Catholic Church was dedicated in 1939.

*** Thanks to Ida Caldwell for her contribution of the above information***

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