Train, auto arteries play central role in Youngwood's 125-year history

During much of the 20th century, most Youngwood residents worked either for the Pennsylvania Railroad, which gave rise to the town, or the Robertshaw thermostat plant.

Native resident Eleanor Hamrock’s family was represented in both camps.

Her father, Joseph Hamrock, was a railroad engineer while she and her three older siblings all worked for Robertshaw, which had a presence in the town beginning in 1914.

“I worked there for 40 years,” said Eleanor Hamrock, who retired from the company in 1989. “I was a file clerk and typist, and my brother, Stephen, was a supervisor.”

Hamrock is marking her 97th year while her hometown is celebrating its 125th anniversary.

She lives in a house near the top of a hill where she grew up during the Great Depression and war years.

“There were only a couple of houses up here then,” she said. “It was a dirt road.”

The pace of progress accelerated in Youngwood after World War II. But, during her youth, Hamrock recalled, “It was a friendly community town. We had one policeman and about 12 stores.

“My favorite store was Modern Dairy because they had ice cream cones.”

The town also had an A&P grocery on Fourth Street (now southbound Route 119) and Wineman’s Meat Market, which made rounds with a delivery truck to fill orders.

“When it snowed in the winter, the kids started where I live and went down the hill on a sled. You could go clear down to the railroad,” five blocks away, Hamrock said. “There were no cars then, and the fathers would watch at the corners.”

The town had its beginning in 1899, with the formation of the Youngwood Land Co. It purchased property that included the Young and Woods family farms lying east and west of the Southwest Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad.

The railroad, in turn, bought part of the land, at the east end of today’s Depot Street, to develop a rail yard.

Originally part of Hempfield, Youngwood incorporated as a borough in 1902 and, over the years, annexed additional areas from the township.

Since her father was an employee, Hamrock and the rest of her family got free passage on Pennsylvania Railroad trains.

There were annual summer excursions to a community picnic at Ligonier Township’s Idlewild Park when, she said, “The town almost closed up. You either went on the railroad or you drove to the park.”

The kids were able to stay in town to enjoy the yearly fire department carnival, as long as they didn’t stay out too late.

“We had a curfew,” Hamrock said. “The whistle blew at 9, and all the kids had to go home.”

Hamrock remains active at Youngwood’s Holy Cross Church, where she attended a Catholic grade school for eight years and now serves as the sacristan and the women’s guild president.

She walked to attend classes at the former Youngwood High School. She graduated in 1945, along with one of the town’s better-known citizens, — George Blanda, a quarterback and kicker who scored 2,002 points in a 26-season pro football career.

“He was a good football player and a friendly person,” Hamrock said.

Another native Youngwoodian and a former borough council member, Mary Ann Klingensmith, 86, is vice president of the town’s 125th anniversary committee and president of Youngwood Area Revitalization and Development. The latter group has completed a number of community projects, including installing an ornate town clock in the town’s parklet.

“I was in the last class to graduate from Youngwood High School, in 1956,” Klingensmith said. After that, students began taking the bus to Hempfield Area Senior High.

Built in 1917, the Youngwood school later housed junior high and elementary students.

Beginning in 1985, it housed the borough offices, town library and other community functions. It was torn down after those town facilities relocated to a new building next door in 2012.

A sign and archway over the school’s main entrance have been preserved as an outdoor memorial.

An all-class school reunion is held annually.

“We had around 60 people last year,” Klingensmith said. “It gets to be fewer every year.”

In 1960, Robertshaw moved its operations along Third Street out of town, close to the neighboring community of New Stanton. Since 2015, the same area of Youngwood has been occupied by a shopping plaza, anchored by a Shop ‘n Save supermarket.

Until then, with the A&P long gone and the Potter-Shoff Food Market having closed in 1990, “We were a food desert,” Klingensmith said.

In 1983, the town’s former train station on Depot Street was repurposed as a museum focusing on railroad history. In the 1990s, the Five Star Trail hiking and biking path was developed along the railroad tracks.

Last year, just in time for Youngwood’s 125th celebration, PennDOT completed a $23.5 million reconstruction of the Route 119 corridor in Youngwood, including the northbound lanes on Third Street. The project featured new sidewalks, with “bump-out” extensions into parking lanes that are meant to help slow traffic.

“It does make the center of town more presentable,” said Mayor Kris Long. “The sidewalks are nice, and a lot of the homes and businesses along Third and Fourth streets are trying to do better to maintain and keep up their own properties.”

The 125th celebration has included a different activity every month — among them a May event featuring music, crafters and food trucks, a townwide yard sale in June and a community picnic on Aug. 3.

A parade is set for Saturday. Next up will be a Sept. 6 evening of entertainment and historical displays beginning at 5 p.m. at the borough building, 17 S. Sixth St. At 6 p.m., officials will open a time capsule that was buried during the town’s centennial celebration in 1999.

“People are getting involved and taking pride in our town,” Long said.