Town of the Week

Somerset, Pennsylvania
October 28, 2000

Head over to Somerset, Pennsylvania; just listen in.

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From the Pennsylvania turnpike, you can see the copper dome of the Courthouse in Somerset, Pennsylvania. The Courthouse is the highest county seat in the state, and the dome is a replica of that found atop St. Paul's Cathedral in London. Nicknamed "the Roof Garden of Pennsylvania" by the Governor of Pennsylvania, Somerset Borough and County took its name from the shire of Somerset in England 200 years ago.

Most of the buildings of the uptown historic district were built after a disastrous fire in 1876 leveled the commercial district and many residences. During the 1920s, Somerset was the largest coal producing county in the world, and a lot of coal is still mined there. But the county is also a strong agricultural area and a leading producer of oats and pure maple syrup. Among the area's attractions are the Phillip Dressler Center for the Arts, the site of Laurel Arts; the Somerset Historical Center and its Indoor/Outdoor Museum of Rural Life; the Mountain Playhouse presenting Broadway plays in the summer alongside the Green Gables restaurant.

You'll enjoy the 10 covered wooden bridges still in use; white water rafting on the Casselman River; the Allegheny highlands trail for biking; and skiing at the famous Seven Springs Mountain and Hidden Valley Resorts. This is a town of 7,000 people, home of the high school Eagles and Lady Eagles, and is this week's Town of the Week, Somerset, Pennsylvania.