Ruffs Dale, Pennsylvania, also spelled Ruffsdale, is an unincorporated community in East Huntingdon Township,

Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Westmoreland County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 364,663. The county seat is Greensburg. Formed from, successively, Lancaster, Northumberland, and later Bedford co ...

. It is located about forty miles from

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 ...

. Ruffs Dale has its own post office, with zip code 15679, located at 875 State Route 31.

Geography

Buffalo Run, a tributary of Sewickley Creek, runs through Ruffs Dale. In 1906, historian John Newton Boucher described Ruffs Dale as being located along "the South-West Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad" between Hunker and "Tarr" (perhaps Tarrs).In 2021 railroad tracks were still in place in Ruffs Dale.

History

During 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 ...

, the Braddock Expedition, led by General Edward Braddock and accompanied by

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

, is said to have crossed th
Big Sewickley Creek
between Ruffs Dale and Paintertown, with the goal of seizing

Fort Duquesne Fort Duquesne (, ; originally called ''Fort Du Quesne'') was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. It was later taken over by the British, and later the Americans, and developed a ...

from the French. In 1896 one of the first two rural mail routes in Pennsylvania was established at the Ruffs Dale post office. The other was based in New Stanton. A historical marker was erected to commemorate the event.

Industry

Mines once operated in the area around Ruffs Dale, according to a

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

map dated 1987. The S. Dillinger & Sons distillery, which produced "Dillinger Pure Rye" whisky, was located in Ruffs Dale. Constructed in 1882, it was still in operation in 1947, but was abandoned sometime prior to 1993. It was said to have been the second-largest distillery in Pennsylvania at one time.

Education

The majority of Ruffs Dale lies within Yough School District. One school is part of Southmoreland School District.

Nearby communities

* Hunker: 3 miles *

New Stanton New Stanton is a borough in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,173 at the 2010 census. New Stanton is often used as a control city in western parts of Pennsylvania, as I-70 joins the Pennsylvania Turnpike (I-7 ...

: 5 miles * Mt. Pleasant: 9 miles * Scottdale: 7 miles * West Newton: 8 miles * Tarrs: 4 miles

References

Unincorporated communities in Pennsylvania Unincorporated communities in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh metropolitan area {{WestmorelandCountyPA-geo-stub