West Overton is located approximately southeast of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, in East Huntingdon Township, Westmoreland County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, United States. It is on PA 819 between the towns of Mount Pleasant and Scottdale. Its latitude is 40.117N and its longitude is -79.564W. It has long been known as the birthplace of Henry Clay Frick, the industrialist and art collector, and the original site of distillery of his great-grandfather

Henry Overholt Henry Overholt (born Henrich Oberholtzer; 1739 – 1813) was an American whiskey distiller and founder of the Overholt Whiskey distillery. History In 1800, Overholt moved to southwestern Pennsylvania from Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He is the gre ...

and grandfather Abraham Overholt, the namesake of Old Overholt rye whiskey. West Overton Village was established in 1800 by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Mennonites from Bucks County, who were led by Henry Overholt. Today it operates as a museum complex and is an example of a 19th-century rural industrial village. It is the only pre-

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

village still intact in

. The museum has undergone a complete renovation and will focus on the Overholt industries of whiskey distillation, grist milling and coal and coke operations. The museum was scheduled to reopen for tours in August 2012 with the Overholt Homestead to reopen in June 2013.

West Overton Historic District

West Overton Historic District is a national

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

located at East Huntingdon Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. It encompasses 19 contributing buildings in the village of West Overton. They are a collection of mid-19th century buildings in a vernacular

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

style. It includes the Christian S. Overholt Store and House, Abraham Overholt Homestead (1838), and Overholt Mill (1859). The

springhouse A spring house, or springhouse, is a small building, usually of a single room, constructed over a spring. While the original purpose of a springhouse was to keep the spring water clean by excluding fallen leaves, animals, etc., the enclosing stru ...

of the Abraham Overholt Homestead is the birthplace of Henry Clay Frick (1849-1919). ''Note:'' This includes It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1985.

References

External links

West Overton Museums websiteFrick Art & Historical Center website
All of the following

Historic American Buildings Survey Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...

(HABS) records are filed under West Overton, Westmoreland County, PA: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{authority control Historic American Buildings Survey in Pennsylvania Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Greek Revival houses in Pennsylvania Buildings and structures in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Museums in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Ghost towns in Pennsylvania Open-air museums in Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Populated places on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania