Barnabas Hilands

Barnabas Hilands was another early settler. He moved into the West View/Ross area in 1794, shortly after the land was opened to settlement, and established a farm. The following year, he died from exposure to the elements. After his death, his family moved onto the land. In 1808, his widow, Martha Hilands applied for her husband’s patent for depreciation lands. Her application was approved in August 1809. Much of this land became a part of West View.

Highland Avenue gets its name from the family. The spelling was likely changed due to a push to standardize the spellings of place names in the United States during the late 19th/early 20th century. This is the same reason that Pittsburgh's spelling was briefly changed to "Pittsburg" in the early 1897. The Highland Park neighborhood is also named after the same Hilands family.