Ever since I was a little girl, I have been visiting the small town of Turtle Creek, PA on a regular basis. I attend church services every week and I visit the house of my grandparent's, which is located in the Electric Heights Housing Association. Going to this small town always led to an adventure. We used to play in the playground of the housing association for hours each day. We also used to enjoy ourselves at the playground of the Woodland Hills School District junior high school, which is located right down in the valley. My sisters and I marched in the Caballeros Baton Corps for a number of years. Turtle Creek parades were always our biggest performances. Today, I find myself still going to that same playground at my grandparent's house. I also find myself going to my church lawn fete every August, just like I did when I was younger.
Map highlighting the municipality within Allegheny...
English: Outline of Fort Duquesne, Point State Par...
English: Book engraving of Westinghouse Electric C...In my eyes, the town of Turtle Creek hasn't changed at all in the past twenty-two years that I have been experiencing it. But like every place, it has a history to it.
Turtle Creek is a small town, set in the valley between the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains. It is located about a dozen miles from Pittsburgh. The settlement grew up around Widow Myers stagecoach stop. Travelers coming from the East on their journey to Fort Pitt, and the river gateway to the West, would disembark and rest their weary bones at Widow Myers Wayside Inn. That rest stop was here back in the 1750's and is actually mentioned in the journals of George Washington when he was sent to survey this area for the English government. A small village grew around the tavern, but it was not incorporated as a town until 1892.
The...