Tag: history

Local Treasures

Recently we stayed close to home and visited a few local spots. The first was the Harlansburg Station Museum of Transportationhttps://harlansburg-station.business.site.

The owner, Don Barnes, is a retired US air pilot who loves history…specifically transportation related.

The vision was to recreate a small town train station that would also house his collection. So in 1989 tracks were laid and 4 train car were brought into the small village of Harlansburg The Barnes family spend the next 3 years renovating the train cars, building the train station and setting up the museum. In the fall of 1991 the museum open followed by the gift shop in Spring of 1992.

The train station and rail cars contain transportation related artifacts and memorabilia that include trains, Air Force, nautical, motorcycle and more.

One train car is filled with a H.O. Scale train layout highlights coal mine, steel mills and old small town living.

The gift shop has a large selection of transportation related items for every age group.

Take your time going through the gift shop and you’ll notice that it also contains many historical items.

The museum is located at the intersection of route 19 and route 108 just minutes from Volant, new Wilmington, McConnells Mills and the Grove City Prime Outlet. Please remember when you visit this is a cash only stop.

After the museum we headed south to Frew Mill Road. The road crosses a bridge spanning the Slippery Rock Creek and an old mill dam waterfall.

The view is beautiful but be careful the bridge is on a curve and there isn’t much room to pull off.

The property around the bridge and creek is private so the visit is limited to the bridge but the view is worth even the short stop.

After a little riding we headed to Racheal’s Roadhouse. If there’s a wait for the dining room you can head out to the patio and grab appetizers and drinks while you wait, or in our case that’s all I was wanting, so no wait at all.

Check out my Instagram for videos, and Facebook for more pictures.

Rail, River and Road

Our recent bike ride took us to some local historic spots. First stop was the Greenville Railroad Park & Museum in Greenville, PA. The park is located near a working track, currently operated by Norfolk Southern (the former Erie Railroad mainline). Started by volunteers in 1985 to preserve Greenville’s railroad history, the park is now part of the Greenville Museum Alliance.

The Union Railroad engine #304/604 was built by Baldwin Locomotive Work in 1936 at Eddystone, PA and retired in 1958. You can climb into the engine to check out the view from the driver’s seat and even ring the bell. Every instrument in in the driver’s compartment is labeled, and information on the engine is displayed on various signs inside and out.

Next climb aboard the 1985 Bessemer caboose and explore how the crew would have lived, complete with a kitchen and bathroom.

The Bessemer Ore Jenny #20567 (pictured far left) was built in 1952 at the Greenville Steel Car Company close to where the park sits today.

The Wheeling & Lake Erie Caboose #0205 (center 2 photos) was 1 of 60 built in 1948 by Wheeling & Lake Erie. Today you can explore the car when the park is open, but it can also be rented for events like birthday parties.

Attached to the party caboose is an open air car that has picnic tables (far right photo)

The park also includes an indoor museum and a gift shop. Inside you’ll find tons of railroad related items, a replica of a dispatcher station and an operating model railroad display.

Look closely at the display and you’ll notice it includes a replica of Main Street Greenville.

It’s amazing how many items they have at this museum, and the volunteers have done a fantastic job of labeling and providing the history and information on all the items on display. The volunteers are also very informative and friendly so take a moment to talk to them and learn a little of the history of Greenville and the railroad industry.

Next stop was The Canal Museum in Greenville which provides the history of the Erie Extension Canal that existed between 1854 and 1871.

Inside the museum you’ll find various items related to the canal, ore furnaces and other local history. The location of the museum is the site of Lock No. 22 of the canal.

Also in the museum there is a replica of a typical canal boat, the Rufus S. Reed. You’ll see how the cargo was stored, as well as a peek into the living quarters on the boat.

The last historic stop of the day was Kidds Mills Covered Bridge. Built in 1868, it is the last historic covered bridge in Mercer County, PA.

The bridge is 120 feet long and spans the Shenango River.

The Kidds Mill Bridge Park also includes a hiking/biking trail and dock designed for kayaks.

We wrapped up the day by grabbing a bite to eat at the Jug Handle in Transfer. The bar offers indoor dining, a patio and even has a drive-thru option.

This is a nice large bar with plenty of pool tables and skill games to keep you entertained while you wait for your food or if you just want to stop in for a few drinks.

We had the mozzeralla sticks while we waited on our pizza. It was a nice thick crust with plenty of cheese, but what I liked best was the toppings went clear to the edge.

With full bellies, we traveled the backroads home enjoying the weather and the beautiful countryside.

To view some videos from the day check out my Instagram page.

Vintage Motorcycles & More

Recently we took a ride out to Ravenna, OH to check out Bear’ s Vintage Motorcycle Museum. The museum is in a historic grain mill built in 1881. In 2006 Bear and his wife purchased the building and preserved the bins, shuts and machinery. As they put the museum together they put the items around the original pieces of the mill.

The museum has over 60 bikes, promotional items, memorabilia and much more. Although their passion began with Harley Davidson items, the museum encompasses many more brands and anything that has to do with motorcycles.

Leave yourself plenty of time because there is a lot to take in and if you don’t take your time it’s easy to overlook all the items tucked in every nook and cranny.

Bear himself came and showed us some of the more unique items, giving us the history and even the backstory of how he attained the items. He was super friendly, knowledgeable and it was clear how passionate he is about motorcycles and and the feeling of freedom he gets from riding.

The Harlette bike was a very interesting story. He was especially proud of having this one in his collection because it is the only one in the US. Check out the picture below for more about the bike. Bear and his wife also do an awesome job of writing up and labeling the items in the museum.

Another rare items is the Harley key. There were only three made and one resides in Bear’s Museum.

The museum is also home to two of the original “CHIPS” bikes signed by George Barris.

One of my favorite exhibits were the custom-built “Rat Bikes”. Now these are truly unique. Check out my Instagram post for videos that shows one of them up close so you can see the creative use of items not commonly found on a bike.

There are so many more items I could never touch on everything in one post. Check out my pictures here and on Facebook, and make sure to make a trip to Bear’s Vintage Motorcycle Museum. Trust me you will not regret it whether your a motorcycle nut, a fan or history or even someone like who’s just like seeing new and unique places like me.