Broadford, Pennsylvania
Encyclopedia
Broadford or Broad Ford is an unincorporated community in Connellsville Township
, Fayette County
, Pennsylvania
southeast of Pittsburgh
in the United States
. Broadford is on the Youghiogheny River
downstream from Connellsville
.
Rye Whiskey once run by Pittsburgh industrialist H. Clay Frick. (The other was at West Overton, Pennsylvania
.) Ruins and some extant buildings are present in the town.
Broadford was also once the junction of the Pittsburgh & Connellsville Railroad which ran along the Youghiogheny and the Mount Pleasant & Broad Ford Railroad spur to Mount Pleasant
(both railroads later part of B&O
, now CSX
).
The town experienced a coal mining and coke production boom in the early 20th century but, by the middle of the century, the distillery, which had survived Prohibition
distilling medical spirits was the only major employer. National Distillers Products Corporation, which acquired the distillery in 1933, later shut it down and moved Old Overholt production to Cincinnati, Ohio
.
Connellsville Township, Pennsylvania
Connellsville Township is a township in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,483 at the 2000 census. It is served by the Connellsville Area School District....
, Fayette County
Fayette County, Pennsylvania
Fayette County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the2010 census, the population was 136,606. The county is part of the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area....
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
southeast of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Broadford is on the Youghiogheny River
Youghiogheny River
The Youghiogheny River , or the Yough for short, is a tributary of the Monongahela River in the U.S. states of West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania...
downstream from Connellsville
Connellsville, Pennsylvania
Connellsville is a city in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, USA, 57 miles southeast of Pittsburgh on the Youghiogheny River, a tributary of the Monongahela River. It is part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. In 1890, 5,629 people lived in Connellsville, which was a borough at that time...
.
History
Broadford was formerly the site of an A. Overholt and Company Distillery, maker of Old OverholtOld Overholt
Old Overholt is a long produced American rye whiskey distilled by A. Overholt & Co, currently a subsidiary of Beam Inc., at the Jim Beam distillery in Clermont, Kentucky. Old Overholt was originally distilled in Broad Ford, Pennsylvania, 35 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. It is one of the few...
Rye Whiskey once run by Pittsburgh industrialist H. Clay Frick. (The other was at West Overton, Pennsylvania
West Overton, Pennsylvania
West Overton is a ghost town located approximately southeast of Pittsburgh, in East Huntingdon Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is on PA 819 between the towns of Mount Pleasant and Scottdale...
.) Ruins and some extant buildings are present in the town.
Broadford was also once the junction of the Pittsburgh & Connellsville Railroad which ran along the Youghiogheny and the Mount Pleasant & Broad Ford Railroad spur to Mount Pleasant
Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania
Mount Pleasant is a borough in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It stands 45 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. Population in 1900, 4,745 people; in 1910, 5,812 people; and in 1940, 5,824 people...
(both railroads later part of B&O
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
, now CSX
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation operates a Class I railroad in the United States known as the CSX Railroad. It is the main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation. The company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and owns approximately 21,000 route miles...
).
The town experienced a coal mining and coke production boom in the early 20th century but, by the middle of the century, the distillery, which had survived Prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
distilling medical spirits was the only major employer. National Distillers Products Corporation, which acquired the distillery in 1933, later shut it down and moved Old Overholt production to Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
.
External links
- Broad Ford Aerial History
- Broad Ford Dismantled with photos of the Overholt distillery
- Henry Clay Mine & Coke Works formerly of Broad Ford