ABOUT THE PARK
Protecting What’s Native and Natural
The park’s three acres encompass a rare and delicate ecosystem of floodplain and ravine forest – home to sycamores, green ash, native wildflowers, and a seasonal stream. These natural features provide vital habitat for birds, frogs, pollinators, and native bees.
Restoration and care are ongoing, led by dedicated volunteers from the Osborne Trail and Park Association. Invasive species are actively removed, native plants are reintroduced, and garden beds are planned to offer color and habitat year-round. Interpretive signage helps visitors of all ages understand and appreciate the park’s ecological richness.
But this space is more than a nature preserve – it’s a carefully crafted landscape where community, creativity, and conservation meet. Local artists and landscapers have shaped every element, from native garden designs to hand-built stonework (the amphitheater), artisan fencing, and custom StoryWalk® signs.
The park serves as an outdoor classroom – introducing children and adults alike to the beauty and resilience of native ecosystems and the value of biodiversity. Interpretive signs, seasonal nature events, and guided activities bring science and storytelling to life.
Through these efforts, the park is not just a place to walk – it’s a place where biodiversity is protected, where children can explore, and where a community comes together to nurture something lasting
A Living Tribute to a Trailblazing Woman
Mary Roberts Rinehart (1876–1958) was one of the most successful and influential American writers of the early 20th century – and a pioneer in fields rarely open to women of her era. Known as the “American Agatha Christie”, Rinehart was a master of mystery and suspense, credited with popularizing the phrase “The butler did it.”
But her achievements extended far beyond the page. At a time when few women were visible in journalism, Rinehart traveled to the front lines of World War I as a war correspondent – reporting from Belgium trenches and interviewing King Albert I. Her bold reporting offered American readers a first-hand account of war’s human toll, making her one of the first women to cover global conflict in this way.
She was also a successful businesswoman, playwright, publisher, and outspoken suffragist. Rinehart broke barriers in both content and career – writing strong female characters and forging a path in male-dominated literary and journalistic circles. During the early 1900s, while many women were expected to remain in domestic roles, she built a national reputation, supported her family during economic hardship, and never stopped challenging expectations.
Rinehart lived on this very land in Glen Osborne from 1911 to 1922. Today, this park honors her fearless spirit and her love of nature, storytelling, and community.
Why It Matters Today
Empowering Women and Girls: Rinehart’s pioneering roles as author, journalist, and land patron inspire current generations – especially women – to combine creativity, advocacy, and environmental stewardship.
Biodiversity at Home: Through intentional planting of native species and control of invasives, the park supports local pollinators, birds, and wildlife, reinforcing regional efforts to restore forest ecosystems and safeguard soil, water, and canopy health.
Interactive Learning: StoryWalk®, guided programs, and habitat signage make the park a vibrant space for discovery – echoing Rinehart’s own dedication to education and community.
Art and Nature Intertwined: From hand-built stonework to artist-crafted fences and interpretive installations, the park showcases how creative expression can enhance natural spaces – reminding visitors that conservation and culture thrive best together.
In essence, the Mary Roberts Rinehart Nature Park is more than a green refuge – it’s a living tribute to a trailblazing woman and a testament to the power of community to nurture both human and natural history in harmony.
Excerpted from “My Story” by Mary Roberts Rinehart
“I wanted that home (in Osborne) fiercely. It spelled peace and security. There was behind that desire, I think, all the insecurity of my childhood. I wanted safety and permanence, a sanctuary for me and mine.
So I went shopping for a home, and at last I found it, in the Sewickley Valley 12 miles from Pittsburgh and on a bluff overlooking the Ohio River.
It was a vast ruin, old “Cassella,” built some 50-odd years before by one of the early officers of the Pennsylvania Railroad.
When we moved into the Sewickley house, I had published five successful books and produced two plays, one of them a real theatrical hit, and I was practically bankrupt.
Nevertheless, now at last we began to live. We made friends; their houses were all about us. All the day the doors stood unlocked, so that they might come in when they would. And the valley was lovely.
On the hills above, where I had ridden with Uncle John so long ago over empty fields, now stood great estates, and the country club with its golf course. Below were the villages, which followed the river, Glen Osborne, Sewickley, Edgeworth. They were residential suburbs of Pittsburgh, but they lived a self-contained life of their own, and to this day I look back on the years there as the happiest I have ever known.”
“Sewickley Serenity: The Mary Roberts Rinehart Nature Park offers beauty, tranquility and education to its visitors of all ages.” Read the article in the IN Sewickley Magazine.
Osborne Trail and Park Association (OTPA)
OTPA is a tax exempt and non-profit organization comprised of local citizens. It was established in 2006 to develop and manage the park.
OTPA Board Members
William Boswell, President
Barbara Carrier
Kate Crouch
Matthew Doebler
Natasha Green
Burlton Griffith
Brian Jeffe
Janel Morrison
Lynn Popovich
Mary Scalercio
Thank You to Our
Wonderful Donors
The following donors and volunteers help make the
Mary Roberts Rinehart Nature Park such a special place:
Ampco Steel
Bartlett Tree Service
Bidwell Training Center
Child Health Association of Sewickley
Dominion Foundation
Garden Club of Allegheny County
Glen Osborne Borough
Jimmy Maslanka, Master Gardener
LES Polinko Studio
Penguin Bookshop
Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development
Quaker Valley School District
Reitmeyer Design
Sewickley Civic Garden Council
Sewickley Creek Greenhouses
Sewickley Valley Community Fund
Valley’s Best Tree Service & Landscaping
Wick Landscaping
Numerous Private Donors and Volunteers