Town of the Week

Connellsville, Pennsylvania
March 27, 1999

The lush greenness of the Laurel Highlands provides a lavish setting for this lovely Pennsylvania town. Located in the Allegheny Mountains 40 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, Connellsville made a reputation as the "Coke Capitol of the World." Coal was discovered here in 1759, and in the post- Revolutionary war years, the beehive coke oven process for turning coal into coke made large-scale steelmaking possible.

Thousands of immigrants moved into this region to work in mining-related industries. When the steel industry went into decline earlier this century, the tourist industry blossomed for this town of nearly ten thousand residents.

The Youghiogheny River flows through town, providing some of the best whitewater rafting and kayaking in the United States, along with more placid canoing and boating. The Yough River Trail stretches from Pittsburgh to Connellsville, and soon to the West Virginia border, about 20 miles to the south. Old railroad tracks were uplifted to provide a pathway for bicyclists, runners, skiers and walkers. The Yough River Trail has been selected as one of the "19 Greatest Walks of the World" by Travel and Leisure Magazine.

Connellsville is the home of several former great football players including Johnny Lujack, and of the nation's first motion picture director, Edwin Stanton Porter. This is the seat of Fayette County, the home of the high school Falcons and Lady Falcons, and is our Town of the Week, Connellsville, Pennsylvania.

Websites:
Historic Connellsville
Wilderness Voyageurs
Regional Trail Company