Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania
N 39° 52.144 W 079° 29.584
17S E 628879 N 4414311
Ohiopyle is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 59 at the 2010 census. The borough building is shared with the community fire department, and is located at the rear of the fire department on Park View Lane.
Waymark Code: WMPFEJ
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 08/23/2015
Views: 1
some information excerpted from the Wikipedia Article, Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania:
Ohiopyle is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 59 at the 2010 census. While Ohiopyle has a tiny year-round population, it is often filled with tourists on the weekend, who come for the outdoor recreation opportunities at the surrounding Ohiopyle State Park. The borough is served by the Uniontown Area School District.
The first known group of people to inhabit the Ohiopyle area were the Monongahela, a clan of the Mound Builders. These Native Americans disappeared from the scene just as European colonists were beginning to arrive in North America. As the east coast was settled, the Native Americans who lived closer to the Atlantic Ocean were exterminated or forced to flee to the west. Various tribes inhabited the Ohiopyle area at this time, preceding their ultimate removal following the French and Indian War. One of the few remnants of American Indian culture that can be found in the area is in the name. "Ohiopyle" is derived from the Lenape phrase ahi opih?le which means 'it turns very white', referring to the frothy waterfalls.
The earliest settlers to the Ohiopyle area were farmers, trappers and hunters. The population of the area expanded after the building of the National Road in 1811. This road that passed near Ohiopyle increased the accessibility of the area and connected it to eastern markets. Lumbering became the dominant industry. Cooperages, tanneries, salt mining and coal mining were some of the smaller industries in the area.
The construction of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and the Western Maryland Railroad greatly accelerated the progress of the lumbering operations in Ohiopyle. Both railroads had stations in the borough. Several narrow gauge railroads were built up into the surrounding mountains. These smaller railways were able to efficiently transport lumber to the sawmills and rail stations of Ohiopyle.
The railroads also brought tourists to Ohiopyle. The round trip ride from Pittsburgh to Ohiopyle was one dollar. Tourists flocked to the area to see the waterfalls and stay at the resorts that quickly sprouted up along the Youghiogheny River. The resorts had boardwalks, dancing pavilions, bowling alleys, fountains, tennis courts, and hiking trails. The rise of the automobile brought about the end of the resorts at Ohiopyle. The buildings were torn down and the forests were allowed to regrow.
In 1963, Ohiopyle entered the current chapter of tourism. Wilderness Voyageurs, under the ownership of Lance Martin, began commercial whitewater rafting on the Youghiogheny River. This was the first commercial whitewater rafting company east of the Mississippi River. In 1963, 400 people experienced the rapids of the Lower Youghiogheny, in 2007 over 100,000 people came to "shoot the rapids" in rafts, kayaks, and canoes. Ohiopyle is also near Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpiece, Fallingwater, built in 1936, and this nearby attraction brings tourists through the town.
Today, the borough office is only open one day a week for only a half-day, furthermore one of those days are for a council meeting and another is for the collection of the town's water bills.