Like many pioneer towns in Western Pennsylvania, West Newton earned its early historical relevance by playing a key role in the westward expansion of the United States. The Simerals, the first family to settle in the area, operated a small ferry on the banks of the Youghiogheny River halfway between Connellsville and McKeesport. In 1788, a group of Revolutionary War veterans from Ipswich, Massachusetts spent the winter at Simeral’s Ferry, making boats in order to travel west.  Those veterans went on to settle the first town in the Ohio Territory: Marietta.