Quintessential Pennsylvania

(Fred Yenerall, 1975) With the recent passing of legendary musician, Glen Campbell, it's only fitting to share a post about the Pennsylvania village that shares his name.  The tiny Indiana County village of about 250 was founded in 1889 and named after Cornelius Campbell who was a superintendent with the Glenwood Coal Company. The borough flourished in the late 19th and early 20th century with over 1600 residents at the time of the 1900 census.  However, the town was hit hard by the Great Depression and never recovered.  The more famous Campbell made a surprise visit to Glen Campbell in 1971 giving the town its own five minutes of fame. 

Camptown was originally settled in 1793 by Job Camp , an early settler and carpenter by trade who came from Connecticut. Job Camp built the original homes that made up Camptown and as of 2004, one of his original barns that he built in Camptown was still standing. There are a few homes and a church of more recent vintage that made up today's settlement. Camptown, Pennsylvania is located some five miles north of Wyalusing in eastern Bradford County at the junction of PA 409 and PA 706. The small town may be best known for the inspiration behind Stephen Foster's classic American folk song Camptown Races .  In modern times, instead of a minstrel song, Camptown Races is the name of a local running race that mixes road and trail running. Sources & Links: (1) Tom Camp. " Person Sheet for Job Camp ." Accessed on August 8, 2017. (2) University of Pittsburgh. " Stephen Foster Biography ." Accessed on August 8, 2017. (3) ThoughtCo. " The '...

The Washington County Town of Claysville is like many along the National Road.  Small and rural with US 40 serving as its main street.  Numerous old homes that date to the 18th and 19th centuries. Small and unique businesses that celebrate the heritage of the National Road. Downtown Claysville along US 40. Claysville was founded by John Purviance.  Purviance started a tavern in the general vicinity of the town around 1800.  When he learned that the plans for the National Road had the road going near his tavern, he laid out the town.  The town's name of Claysville in in honor of Henry Clay who is considered by many as the " Father of the National Road ." One of many historic homes within Claysville. Claysville annually celebrates the National Road with their " Claysville Pike Days " held the third weekend of May.  This festival is one of many festivals along the National Road during National Road Festival, a celebration of the National R...

One of my favorite subjects are the old Mail Pouch Tobacco Barns that can be found throughout rural Pennsylvania.  This Mail Pouch Barn is located on PA 18 near Old Concord .

The Day Covered Bridge is similar in style and length to many other Washington County covered bridges.  The 36 and a half foot queenspost bridge over Short Creek can be easily accessed from PA 18 between Sparta and Prosperity.  The bridge was built in 1875 and in 1979 was added to the National Register of Historic Places.  In 1999, the bridge was closed until a rehabilitation project in 2003 enabled the bridge to once again carry vehicular traffic. Bridge Specs: Number: 38-63-12 Built: 1875 Design: Queenspost through truss Length: 36 1/2 Feet Crosses: Short Creek Sources & Links: Washington & Greene County Covered Bridges Driving Tours ---Washington & Greene County Tourism Promotion Agencies

As I have been going through old flickr albums that are providing the material for this blog, I come across various buildings and subjects that I didn't know much about when I took the photo, but now have an opportunity to learn more and obviously write about.  Such is the case with the former Washington Terminal Station for the Waynesburg and Washington Railroad.  The former Washington Terminal of the Waynesburg and Washington Railroad. I took photos of the former railroad station on a July 4th explore trip into Washington County.  On my blog entry describing the trip, I had posted about the abandoned building that appeared to be a railroad terminal.  Fortunately, I had a few comments that informed me that the building was the former Washington station for the Waynesburg and Washington Railroad (W&WRR). So now seven years later, I did some additional research and learned a lot about the history of this station and the railroad it once served. 1895 Ra...

The one room schoolhouse was a key part of rural life for much of Pennsylvania and America in the 19th and early 20th centuries.  Their are many in various shapes of repair throughout rural Pennsylvania.  One is the Archer No. 1 school house in Morris Township in Washington County. The school house appears to have been built around 1900 .  It currently sits within Morris Township Community Park in Prosperity. When I took these photos in July 2009, the building needed a little TLC.  Some more recent photos I have found online show that the schoolhouse has received a fresh coat of paint and additional upkeep. A nice feature of the Archer schoolhouse is that the original bell and bell tower remain.  You can understand why it may be easy to confuse these with small rural churches from the same era.