In 1947, there were many members of Pittsburgh Presbytery that felt that the Presbytery needed its own camp and conference site.  At this time, Dr. Hugh Thompson Kerr of the Shadyside Presbyterian Church announced that he had command of $25,000 from the estate of Miss Margaret Pfeil.  Dr. Kerr purchased a 59 acre farm outside of Slippery Rock, Butler County, known as Crest View Farm.  In November, 1947, Dr. Kerr informed the Presbytery that he was prepared to turn over the title of the property to the Board of Trustees.  Crest View Farm sold for $25,000.  At the November 11, 1947 meeting of Pittsburgh Presbytery, the proper officers were directed to accept title to Crest View Farm and record the Presbytery’s thanks for the good work done by Dr. Kerr.  The Pitcairn-Crabbe Foundation notified the Presbytery that it was making $30,000 available for the rehabilitation of the new site for camp and conference purposes.

The first meeting of the Board of Managers for Crestview was held on November 18th, 1947 at the Duquesne Club of Pittsburgh.  There were work camps held at Crestview in the summer of 1948 to begin transforming the farm into a camp.   The following summer of 1949 saw an eight week schedule for Juniors and Junior Highs.

The next few decades brought about significant change for Camp Crestview.  When the Presbyterian Church in the USA and the United Presbyterian Church of North America merged to form the UPCUSA, the Board of Crestview was incorporated into the Pittsburgh Presbytery Camp Association.  In 1959, Jack Lewis was hired as the Crestview Administrator to handle the camp and conference programs.  Mr. Lewis initiated many new camping programs to reach the diverse population of Pittsburgh Presbytery.  For senior highs, off-site programs such as canoeing, trailer trips, trails hikes, and sailing were started.  Family Camps were successful and year-round use of the facilities for retreats and conferences became possible due to the winterization of most building around the existing campus.  In addition, 80 acres of land were purchased in 1961 and the total acreage increased to 208 acres in 1967.