Westmoreland 250: 10 things to see in North Huntingdon
(Editor’s note: To mark Westmoreland County’s 250th birthday this year, we’ve come up with a list of 250 things — 10 things in 25 communities — that we consider to be important to the makeup of our area. This series will appear each week through December. If you have a suggestion for a future installment, please email gtrcity@triblive.com.)
Several municipalities in Westmoreland County can lay claim to being carved out of Huntingdon Township, including East Huntingdon, North Huntingdon and South Huntingdon.
Huntingdon Township was formed on April 6, 1773, at Hanna’s Town, then the county seat. North Huntingdon did not come into existence until 1790, when the larger municipality was divided between North and South Huntingdon. East Huntingdon, in turn, was carved out of South Huntingdon in 1798.
North Huntingdon was further divided to form the boroughs of Irwin when John Irwin founded the town in 1864. North Irwin was founded in 1894, followed by Trafford in 1904. Part of Penn Township, founded in 1855, was once in North Huntingdon.
For much of the past two centuries, North Huntingdon was primarily a rural community. The municipality has a cluster of villages, some based around coal mines.
The creation of Lincoln Highway through Westmoreland County a century ago formed the primary east-west route through the township. That has evolved into the four-lane Route 30, which, along with the Pennsylvania Turnpike, serves as a main route into Pittsburgh.
The township does not have a singular Main Street, but Route 30 serves that purpose with its commercial activity stretching from the turnpike entrance in the eastern end of the township to North Versailles in Allegheny County.
Here are 10 unique things in North Huntingdon:
Big Mac Museum
There have probably been billions and billions of Big Macs sold worldwide, but as far as we know, only one Big Mac Museum and the Delligatti family can lay claim to that honor at its McDonald’s restaurant at 9051 Route 30, about a half-mile west of the turnpike interchange.
Michael “Jim” Delligatti created the Big Mac at his franchise in Uniontown in 1967. Legend has it that it took a year after Delligatti created the big burger — at a price of 45 cents at the time — to when it was incorporated into McDonald’s national menu.
To mark the 40th anniversary of the Big Mac Delligatti opened the museum, highlighted by a 14-foot sculpture of the sandwich. There is a lot of Big Mac trivia in addition to the really big Big Mac.
Kerber’s Dairy
Kerber’s Dairy on Guffey Road offers all the amenities of what you would expect from a dairy — milk and ice cream, along with entertainment such as miniature golf.
Edward Kerber opened the family owned business in 1961 in a building at the corner of their dairy farm, where customers could bring jugs from home to get filled with fresh milk.
The dairy is owned and operated by Thomas L. Kerber and his son, Thomas L. Kerber Jr. The dairy herd was sold many years ago and the processed milk now comes from local farmers.
Indian Lake and Oak Hollow parks
Indian Lake, the 25-acre township park along Clay Pike, features a path around a 5-acre lake where people have plenty of room to fish. The paved path offers visitors the opportunity to walk, run, hike and rollerblade around the water. A covered bridge sits atop the spillway.
The 127-acre Oak Hollow Park off Morris Avenue features soccer fields, playgrounds, picnic groves and one of the area’s only 18-hole disc golf courses, which has already hosted a tournament.
J. Howard Snyder Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 781
The J. Howard Snyder Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 781 on Billot Avenue is named for the only soldier from Irwin to die in combat in World War I.
Snyder was killed near Arras in northern France on Aug. 13, 1918, less than three months before the Nov. 11 signing of the armistice ending the war with Germany and the Austria-Hungary Empire.
The VFW Post has a jet fighter mounted on its grounds below the Norwin High School complex.
Salsa Sam’s
Sam Murray’s Salsa Sam’s restaurant at 200 Commerce Loop in the Banco Industrial Park gives customers a mix of traditional and shrimp tacos.
Murray, a former parole officer who started selling his salsa at farmers markets, opened his restaurant in downtown Irwin in March 2019. He moved to the current site, which offers more room to show the eclectic interior design tastes of his wife, Jodi Murray. He is assisted in the restaurant by his son, Keeghan, a Norwin and Penn State graduate.
The menu offers a wide variety of options, including a plant-based, vegan meat. Other options include homemade queso and salsa, Mexican street corn, avocado toast and ice cream from the popular Penn State Berkey Creamery at University Park.
Quinn Brewing Co.
The Quinn Brewing Co. at 3000 Commerce Loop, Suite 3200, is a both a brewery of craft beer and a taproom. The business has focused on traditional brewing and all-natural products.
Patrons can plays darts and pool while drinking the special brews, which at the moment include The Amber, Yinzenstiner Hefeweizen, Kwinn Kolsch, Braddock’s Blonde Ale, Horsi Stout, Tropiquito Hazy IPA, Pineapple Hard Seltzer and Grand Reserve Belgian Tripel.
The Quinn brothers operate the business — Alan is the owner and Art is the brewer.
Braddock’s Trail Park
The 148-acre Braddock’s Trail Park off Robbins Station Road in the southwestern corner of the township is known for its waterfall and abundance and variety of wildflower features and species. It is North Huntingdon’s largest park, with several hiking trails through dense woods.
The park gets its name from the ill-fated march led by British Maj. Gen. Edward Braddock, whose army is said to have traveled through the wooded area in July 1755 on its campaign to capture Fort Duquesne at the forks of the Ohio River. His troops camped in present-day North Huntingdon a few days before his army was defeated by French, Canadian and Native Americans at what is now Braddock.
Harff Christmas Light Show
It’s not unusual for a family to decorate their home with lights and seasonal displays during the Christmas holidays, but it is hard to find anyone who does it to a greater extent than Al and Cindy Harff and son Tim, at their home at 1907 Bernice Drive in the Markvue Manor neighborhood.
The family has been setting up its dazzling display of decorations with thousands of lights that shine on displays of snowmen, Santa Claus, candy canes, a Nutcracker, horses, swans, a village and a star for 17 years — all for a good cause.
Tim Harff has programmed songs to the light display so visitors can hear the music either with their vehicle windows down or through a radio. The family accepts donations in a collection box go toward Jamie’s Dream Team, a White Oak-based nonprofit that fulfills wishes of ill children.
Ackermann Natural Reserve
The 59-acre Otto and Mary Magdalene Ackermann Nature Reserve is nestled between Ardara and Leger roads in a hilly area in the western end of the township.
It offers visitors an experience of walking on trails cut through a high-quality deciduous forest with a former stone quarry dating to 1867. It has a forested floodplain and Brush Creek tributary that once fed water to the former Blue Dell swimming pool.
The descendants of German immigrants, Otto and Mary Magdalene Ackermann donated the land to the Westmoreland Land Trust in 2009 so that it would be kept as a nature reserve.
Fontana’s Cafe
Fontana’s Cafe, 7720 Pennsylvania Ave., has been a North Huntingdon landmark since 1947. Jessica and Brent Reamer were customers of Fontana’s 12 years ago when they met and now are the new owners, having acquired it in March.
“We met here and fell in love,” said Jessica Reamer.
The restaurant, which also has a full bar, has a variety of sandwiches, dinner entrees, pizza and homemade potato chips.
Reamer said Fontana’s initially was known for its Italian roast beef sandwiches and they are considering offer that again. The restaurant was owned by James Fontana for more than 50 years.
Joe Napsha is a TribLive reporter covering Irwin, North Huntingdon and the Norwin School District. He also writes about business issues. He grew up on Neville Island and has worked at the Trib since the early 1980s. He can be reached at jnapsha@triblive.com.
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