Historic Delmont 'traffic dummy' on display at Greensburg Street park

Delmont residents passing by the Rose Wigfield Parklet in recent weeks may have noticed a stone pillar, with a small glass fixture set into a spherical opening, has been moved to a much more prominent spot.

While it certainly bears little resemblance to its modern cousins, the pillar controlled traffic at the main crossroads in Delmont for several years in the early 20th century.

But when electric-powered traffic lights came to town, it was discarded and tossed over the hillside.

“From what the old (borough) workers told me, they found it behind the old Rock Spring skating rink,” said borough public works Director Bill Heaps. “Somebody in Delmont knew it was there and went to retrieve it in the mid-’90s.”

The pillar was referred to as a “traffic dummy.” The first dummies were built in 1868, gas-lit traffic lights installed outside the House of Parliament in London. They replaced police officers who typically stood in the center of busy intersections to direct traffic.

In Delmont, it was placed at what was formerly known as “Salem Crossroads,” the modern-day intersection of Freeport, Pittsburgh and Greensburg streets. Back then, it was the intersection of the north-south Greensburg-Kittanning Pike (modern-day Route 66) and the east-west Northern Turnpike (which became Route 22).

The pillar was placed directly in the center of the street, creating a sort of de facto roundabout, with the phrase, “Keep To Right” carved or painted onto all four sides.

As the local roads were paved and improved, their use dramatically increased, according to local historian Bob Cupp of North Huntingdon, a Delmont native and author of “A Valley in the Hills: Delmont, Pa., 1833-2008.”

“In spite of the traffic light dummy installed at Delmont’s crossroads, there was frequently a long line of traffic there,” Cupp wrote in an essay for the Delmont Historical Society. “It may be hard to imagine now, but this was a very busy intersection.”

Cupp was not able to determine precisely when the dummy was installed or when it was removed.

“A 1902 picture of the First National Bank building showed no evidence of the traffic dummy,” Cupp said. “Since the roads at that intersection weren’t paved until 1920, ’22 and ’24, it would make sense that the dummy wasn’t installed until then or later.”

Once it was rediscovered, public works crews placed it in what is now the Rose Wigfield Parklet, set into the grass. In late summer, Heaps moved it closer to the front of the parklet and built a stone wall around it.

“The bottom of it was all rough from being buried about 2 feet in the ground back in the day,” Heaps said. “We moved it closer to the street so people could see it.”