Ligonier is a borough in 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. The population was 1,513 at the 2020 census. Ligonier was settled in the 1760s. The borough is well known for nearby

Idlewild Park Idlewild and Soak Zone, commonly known as Idlewild Park or simply Idlewild, is a children's amusement park in the Laurel Highlands near Ligonier, Pennsylvania, United States, about east of Pittsburgh, along US Route 30. Founded in 1878 as a ...

, one of the oldest

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

s in the country; and nearby

Seven Springs Mountain Resort Seven Springs Mountain Resort is an all-season resort located in the borough of Seven Springs, Pennsylvania. It has a relatively high elevation for a Pennsylvania ski area, at above sea level. Activities include biking, canopy touring, ziplining, ...

. Another tourist attraction is Fort Ligonier Days, a parade and craft market that takes place every fall over the course of three days, and the Ligonier Country Market in the summer months. Ligonier is part of the

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 ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...

. Ligonier is the site of a reconstruction of

Fort Ligonier Fort Ligonier is a British fortification from the French and Indian War located in Ligonier, Pennsylvania, United States. The fort served as a staging area for the Forbes Expedition of 1758. During the eight years of its existence as a garrison, F ...

, an example of a frontier fort of the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the st ...

. Ligonier is also known for its downtown square, the Diamond, which has a

bandstand A bandstand (sometimes music kiosk) is a circular, semicircular or polygonal structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts. A simple construction, it both creates an orname ...

in the middle.

History

In 1758, when British forces launched a major campaign to remove

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

forces from the forks of the

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

, now

, this spot on Loyalhanna Creek was the site of their westernmost camp before reaching the Ohio. The British maintained a large army, a virtual moving city of 6,000 people, that temporarily made Ligonier the second-most populated spot in Pennsylvania, second only to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

. Fort Ligonier was named after

John Ligonier Field Marshal John Ligonier, 1st Earl Ligonier, (7 November 168028 April 1770), was a French Huguenot exile, born Jean Louis de Ligonier in Castres, Southern France. He had a long and distinguished career in the British army and was appointed ...

, a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

noble of French origin who held the rank of

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

. Eventually, the name of the settlement that grew up around the fort was shortened to Ligonier. Fort_Ligonier3

In 1817, the Philadelphia-Pittsburgh Turnpike was completed, a gravel road that was the precursor to today's

US Route 30 U.S. Route 30 or U.S. Highway 30 (US 30) is an east–west main route in the system of the United States Numbered Highways, with the highway traveling across the northern tier of the country. With a length of , it is the third longest ...

. Fort Ligonier was a logical place for travelers to break their journey, and with such commercial opportunities in mind, a local resident named John Ramsay (sometimes spelled Ramsey) laid out the street plan, including the space now known as the Diamond. He initially called the town Ramseytown, later changed to Wellington (after the

Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister ...

), and finally the name was changed to Ligonier. Several decades of prosperity followed. On April 10, 1834, Ligonier was incorporated as a borough. However, in 1852 the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

was completed, which bypassed Ligonier and passed through the towns of Bolivar and Latrobe instead. Traffic shifted from horse-drawn vehicles to the railroad, causing the community's population to drop to 350 according to the 1860 census. Ligonier enjoyed a new attention when the Ligonier Valley Railroad was completed in 1877, linking the community to Latrobe where connections to the

were possible. The Ligonier Valley Railroad enabled lumber, coal, and quarried stone to be transported out of the Ligonier Valley, which spurred development of the town. Additionally, the railroad made it easier for Pittsburgh residents to visit Ligonier, causing the town to develop as a summer resort. Some major physical changes to Ligonier occurred during this period. In 1894, the Diamond, which had been used as a corral for horses and wagons, was transformed into a park with a bandstand. A large hotel, the Hotel Breniser, was built in 1900 where the town hall currently sits. In 1909–1910, the Ligonier Valley Railroad built an ornate station and headquarters building, which still stands at 339 West Main Street. In 1952, the Ligonier Valley Railroad ceased operation, due to a combination of overlogging, decline of the

coal industry Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dead ...

, and the loss of passenger traffic to motor vehicles. The

Pittsburgh, Westmoreland and Somerset Railroad The Pittsburgh, Westmoreland, & Somerset Railroad (PW&S) was a short-lived railroad that connected the Pennsylvania communities of Ligonier and Somerset, running over a mountain known as Laurel Hill or Laurel Mountain. On occasion the railroad's ...

also served Ligonier from 1899 to 1916, although it did not enjoy the success of the Ligonier Valley Railroad. Ligonier has three listings on 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 ...

: the Fort Ligonier site at 216 South Market Street; the Ligonier Historic District, which encompasses the Diamond and the oldest parts of the borough; and the demolished Ligonier Armory. Ligonier and its surrounding countryside are strongly associated with the Mellon banking family, which still owns considerable tracts of land in the area. The Huntland Downs estate, near Ligonier, comprises some of land and is the centerpiece of the Mellon land holdings in the region. Image:railroad-station-in-ligonier-pennsylvania.jpg, Former train station, now school district offices Image:FtLigonier.jpg, Fort Ligonier Image:Ligonier-pennsylvania-downtown.jpg, Ligonier's downtown with the Town Hall in the background.

Media

Ligonier is served by two media markets:

and Johnstown-Altoona.

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2000, there were 1,695 people, 827 households, and 459 families residing in the borough. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was 3,482.5 people per square mile (1,335.6/km²). There were 907 housing units at an average density of 1,863.5 per square mile (714.7/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 99.76%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 0.06% Asian, and 0.18% from two or more races. Of the population, 0.35% were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race.

Geography

The Borough of Ligonier is entirely surrounded by Ligonier Township, which is a separate

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

, the borough has a total area of , all of it land. Ligonier is located at (40.244518, -79.237067).

Notable people

Arthur St. Clair Arthur St. Clair ( – August 31, 1818) was a Scottish-American soldier and politician. Born in Thurso, Scotland, he served in the British Army during the French and Indian War before settling in Pennsylvania, where he held local office. During ...

, Major General and Patriot in the revolutionary war, 9th President of the Continental Congress (see also Fort Ligonier) *

Garrett Smithley Garrett K. Smithley (born April 27, 1992) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 78 Chevrolet Camaro for B. J. McLeod Motorsports. He has also competed in the ARC ...

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...

driver * R.K. Mellon, Financier

References

External links

Borough of Ligonier

Ligonier Valley Chamber of Commerce

Fort Ligonier Days Celebration
{{authority control 1758 establishments in Pennsylvania Boroughs in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh metropolitan area Populated places established in 1758