Borough of Etna - Centennial Festivities Yearbook (Etna, PA)

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''CWVIIYTIEtl't!Ll!ll'F!W Tl!YZ!tl'!2?lYHlllt ' W... .kgy -. e . ..,.,.-ii, l -.- W... ,.. ,, , fl ,I Q f' V. N A ' V 5 '. - lg.4' vf, Q ,fu 'ft if f .sm .M y . TRANsPoRTAT1oN tgmt- 3 ' g we 9 fu l, BY PACK TRAIN .5 It V ,gf J , !:-I nl. V 1 cr. -A . will f-v' l ,fl 3 i.l7'1'ill?B 'mit f! i may I ' ' I r! ow U X, - gig K Ae v . hx LE W - X 'X - K. :ila i 7 A 7 A , . 7 A lx!! -Q up .V 1 ' 'S ' - R M.. Y 'T The trading post established by George Groghan, King of the Traders, was the first settlement of Big Pine Creek Valley in Shaler Township. The pack trains used lndian Paths and where they existed, early roads. Most of these early roads were not even worthy of the name. Some of them were dangerous and unsafe even for pack horses. A pack train usually consisted of 12 to 15 horses, each horse fastened to the pack saddle of the horse ahead with 2 men to attend them. Transportation north of Pittsburgh in our area remained in the pack horse are longer than in many parts of the State. The Pittsburgh and Butler Road and the Butler-Freeport Road were both authorized by the State about 1804-, but years went by and about all that was done towards their construction was to remove trees, stumps and undergrowth. East to west and west to east there were no roads at all, only pack-saddle trails were available. Early travelers in our immediate area used an lndian path which went through this area and eventually reached Erie. Allegheny County was formed in 1788 to include all the lndian lands beyond itis present boundaries west of the Allegheny River to the Ohio State Line and North to New York and Lake Erie. ln 1822, the first coach and four stage line whirled into Butler. By 1827 the Pittsburgh and Erie Mail Stage Line was being operated by McGill Company. The route was Pittsburgh to Butler, Butler to Mercer and from there to Meadville and on to Erie. The fares in 1827 were: Pittsburgh to Butler, 31.50, Pitts- burgh to Meadville, 34-.00 and Pittsburgh to Erie 36.50. The stage left Stewartls Hotel in Pittsburgh at LL olclock A.M. and arrived at 6 o'clock P.M. at the earliest. Next morning at 4- A.M. it left Butler for Meadville arriving there in the evening. Next morning at ll- A.M. it left Meadville for Erie, arriving there about noon. lf the weather and the roads were bad, the journey took longer. Night travel was avoided. as it was too dangerous. The stage hauled four, to six passengers along with the mail. The stage was pulled by four to six horses, depending on road conditions, and horses were changed every ten miles. lt traveled through Sharpsburg and Etna, then proceeded over the Pittsburgh and Butler Turnpike, which is the present Mt. Royal Blvd. Plank roads were an improvement over former roads. ln 1852 the Butler Plank Road was placed in service. This road did not follow the original road. present Mt. Royal Blvd., but opened a new route now followed by present Route 8. The road was built by ,ludge Braden and Thomas Wilson Shaw with John H. Miller as engineer. Although called The Butler Plank Roadfi planks were not used until the early 1870's. Originally part of the road be- tween Etna and Allison Park was paved with flagstones quarried at Undercliff. This road, because of heavy vehicles became full of ruts, and had to be replaced with planks. The road was said to be a single lane road of planks and at intervals was planked to two lane width to allow for passing. Vllhen two vehicles approached one another, one of the drivers would pull off at the wide spot and allow the other to pass. The original planks were 3 inches thick, 8 feet long, and various widths. ln rainy weather pedestrians frequently experienced a stream of water shooting up their legs when they stepped on a loose plank. :t'l.,,t,?'I1Q?'4' i ,-, ,ig -G - '51, T' .3 .YQ 1.,l',f Ln, H' J, 1. ,. ' '- Q, , 7, lla . . wt 31' t' 2' W 1 5 ,-13 QS.:-Qj,ff.',1i. ,,',,,.,i.V.:, yt, 1 tt5j.t it-155 E . p A i iL5f . 'I V The Plank Road period lasted about teniyears. gn, .iaY'1f5.3 qt ij L -st,t.gIfll,lf.f,', l 1 Shown here are the offsets in the plankmg to 1 ' 'A -' Y, M H I allow the wagon to climb back on deck after 'fgggggjig-Ll 'A -gtvitvtvti-1'.f-Aft' L 1 at-' I turning off to pass another team. 5i: 'fj,',,l'f It., ' . ff -42 , ' F' ' V. 5,-,sg-sf 1,7 r p Ke , u gn , 1 . ,.,.---f, ,- , , .. L :,.:?::,o F 4.-. .rf+-exit, if -. ,-71 ' ' ' .- . . -.li ...TV .,,,. ,fu fy- -v-W.,v.......,, l ' -7-T' t r ' usttludn'-J 1 T'

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M 1 a 1 4 ,vt iw The Railroad is thc Pittsburgh and Western. 64 754711355 ' 1' Kid '51 , n . 1 ' t, ...rf ,,,,-- Old Undercliff Hotel at corner of Route 8 and Saxonburg Blvd. There were three toll-houses in all along the routeg the first being located at Evergreen Road and Butler Plank in Shaler Twp., the second located where the old Etna Theater now stands and was operated by a man named Deer. The final one was at the bridge crossing Pine Creek to Willows' Street with ,lohn 1V1cCoohney in charge. It was a common sight in the 189075 and early l900,s to see many loads of hay moving along the Butler Plank Road to be weighed on wagon scales at the Etna General Store owned by the Spang Chalfant Company. Many of the farmers lived too far north to make the trip in one day, so they would spend the night at the 'ccutw fsee picture of Cutl located below the intersection of K.D.K.A. Blvd. fpresent Saxonburg Blvd.l and route 8. The ucutw was made when con- struction of the Butler Plank Road required cutting through a solid rock formation a distance of about 150 feel. The cut was 30-35 feet high. There were two hotels in the immediate vicinity where stables and hay sheds furnished shelter for the wagons and animals. One of the hotels was built by Robert Thompson and was operated by George Beet. The other was operated by lVlr. Schoepher. 1 Butler Plank Road operated as a toll road between Allegheny fNorth Sidel and Butler for 53 years. In 1905 the Allegheny County Commissioners bought that portion of the Butler Plank Road between Etna and the Allegheny County Line. This portion of the road became a free road. The part in Butler County con- tinued as a toll road. At the time of this sale the Butler Plank Road was the oldest and one of the most successful plank roads in the United States. In 1910 to 1912 the portion of this road in the Allegheny County was bricked and warrenited and became one of the first paved roads in Allegheny County. People of today, unless they have read about it have no idea of the early railroad era. The first passenger railroad service here was inaugu- rated in 1877 when the Pittsburgh-New Castle and Lake Erie railroad was constructed as a result of the reorganization of the Pittsburgh Northern Co. The following year, the road was completed between Etna and Zelienople, hauling both passengers and freight. Two years after the road began service, it failed and was sold at sheriffis sale. After reorganization the railroad was called Pitts- burg and Western railroadf' gt-, - the llutlf-r Plank Ruud ip l902.