Skip to main content

Where was this old sign photo taken?

Image
By

A reader sent me the photograph above trying to locate where in Pennsylvania it would have been taken.  The photo was on the William Penn Highway (today's US 22), along the Allegheny Mountains at an elevation of 2430 feet.  The question is, what is the name of the summit, it is "(blank)N RIDGE SUMMIT".

I know of two major summits along the Alleghenies - Laurel Hill and Chestnut Ridge.  A look at the DeLorme Pennsylvania Atlas & Gazetteer doesn't show any ridges in the Alleghenies ending in 'N'.  So what ridge is it, and where along the William Penn Highway would this have been shot at.

Also, is there a modern version of this same highway sign standing today?
Labels:

Comments

Brian said…
Wikipedia lists a Penn Ridge (no article) with a ZIP code of 15235 (a Pittsburgh ZIP) in Allegheny County, but I wouldn't have any idea if that's anywhere close to where the photo was taken.
9:23 PM
Adam said…
Brian,

Penn Ridge would not be at an elevation of 2430' if it was with a Pittsburgh zip code. I think the highest point in Allegheny County is just over 1400' near where I grew up.

Penn Ridge and 15235 is in the Penn Hills area of Allegheny County.
9:27 PM
Froggie said…
Cresson Ridge (naturally in Cresson Township), just east of the US 22 freeway, and just west of the Cambria/Blair County line. There is a modern version there, lacking the keystone shape and the "William Penn Highway", of course. Don't have a photo of it, but that's the one.
9:47 PM
Larry G said…
well, I had no luck but another interesting thing about this locale is that it is near a place called Portage and Hollidaysburg which were the connect points for the Rail Portage for the Pennsylvania Canal that was supposed to connect eastern and western PA and compete with the Erie Canal in NY.

The Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site is accessed from U.S. 22 by the Admiral Peary Hwy out of Cresson.
9:53 PM
NateOMatic said…
You can see it on Street View; here's a link showing the modern sign and even the same high-tension line tower in the background. (Take one step to the west to actually read the sign!)

Link: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Pittsburgh,+Allegheny,+Pennsylvania&ll=40.456091,-78.559885&spn=0,359.89048&z=14&layer=c&cbll=40.456101,-78.559779&panoid=lSor0LYW0NuzPBrrB7wcpA&cbp=12,322.7,,0,-3.53
12:12 AM
Doug said…
Cresson Ridge sounds right in this case, considering that there is a ridge to climb to get to Cresson from the Altoona area.
8:21 AM
Unknown said…
Looks like the Wm Penn Highway used to take that older route over the ridge before the freeway was put in, then. But forget that... what's with calling William Penn Highway the "Admiral Peary Highway?!?"
10:54 AM
mike said…
Can someone around Charlotte help me out? Got an old postcard of a "Mary Lynn Motel" on Hwy US 601 and US 74 in Monroe, NC. It also showed a diner in the pic. Could someone see if the motel and diner are still there on your next drive through Monroe?
5:43 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What's In a Name?: When the Roads Really Do Tell a Story

By
  Our tagline on the Gribblenation blog is "because every road tells a story". Some roads tell different stories than others. Along our travels, we may see historic markers that tell us a little story about the roads we travel or the places we pass by. Some historic markers are more general, as to telling us who lived where or what old trail traversed between two towns. During my travels across New York State and other states or provinces, I pass by many historic markers, some with interesting or amusing references to roads. I wanted to highlight a few of the markers I've seen along my travels around the Empire State and help tell their stories. Those stories may be as specific as explaining the tales of a tree that was used to help measure a distance of eight miles from Bath to Avoca in Steuben County, as referenced on the Eight Mile Tree historical marker above. They may also help point the way along historical roads first used centuries ago, or may help tell a local l...
Post a Comment
Read more

May 2023 Ontario Trip (Part 3 of 3)

By
  Over the years, I have made plenty of trips to Ontario, crisscrossing the southern, central and eastern parts of the province. Living in Upstate New York, it's pretty easy to visit our neighbor to the north, or is that our neighbor to the west? Ottawa is one of my favorite cities to visit anywhere in the world, plus I've discovered the charm of Kingston, the waterfalls of Hamilton (which is on the same Niagara Escarpment that brings us Niagara Falls), the sheer beauty of the Bruce Peninsula, and more. But I hadn't explored much of Cottage Country. So I decided to change that, and what better time to go than over Memorial Day weekend, when the daylight is long and I have an extra day to explore. On the third and final day of my trip, I started in Huntsville and made my way through Muskoka District and Haliburton County, passing by many lakes along the way. I stopped in towns such as Dorset, Haliburton and Bancroft before making a beeline down to Belleville and then over th...
Post a Comment
Read more

2018 Mojave Road Trip Part 2; The deadly desert highway (California State Route 127 and Nevada State Route 373)

By
After leaving Barstow via Old Highway 58 my next destination was in Death Valley.  To access Death Valley from rural San Bernardino County required a trek on north on Interstate 15 to California State Route 127 which becomes Nevada State Route 373 at the state line. Along I-15 I encountered the road sign oddity that is Zzyzx Road about eight miles south of Baker.   Zzyzx Road is a four mile road that used to go to the Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Spa.   The spa was founded in the 1940s and the owner made up the name "Zzyzx" to claim it was the last word in the English Language.  The spa has been shut down since the 1970s and is now part of a Desert Studies Center for California State University. The southern terminus of CA 127 in Baker is located at I-15 exit 246.  CA 127 is a 91 mile north/south highway which runs to the Nevada State Line in Inyo County.  CA 127 is called Death Valley Road from I-15 northward.  South of CA 127 ...
4 comments
Read more