Visiting a Couple old Distilleries

Jupiter was the only object visible in the sky as I loaded my camera gear into the car. Haze had hidden the stars and the moon was too close to the western horizon to be seen from my house. The sun still had another hour before it peeked over the eastern edge of the world. Even though the stars were hidden, I was still excited about the morning. We were going off on another photo-expedition and I was definitely looking forward to it!

    Frank and I were being joined by another Frank today. We all share the same ideas about going out and looking for the things that are hidden all around us, just waiting for us to find and photograph them.

    We all arrived with-in 5-10 minutes at our meeting spot. We piled all our gear into Frank’s truck and hit the road. (You’ll have to guess which Frank it was!) Crossing the Alleghany on the Hulton Bridge, we headed towards Westmoreland and Fayette Counties.

    Our first stop was to get a geocache. Frank found it almost as soon as he got out of the truck. Pretty good for not even having our GPSs turned on!

    A little less than a mile away we could see the 160 foot tall smokestack of the old S. Dillinger and Sons distillery. Sticking up into the sky, it marked our next stop. Even though the buildings are surrounded with fencing and “covered” with cameras, it didn’t stop us from walking around outside of the fence. A near-by neighbor told me about sneaking into the buildings with his friends as kids, wouldn’t it be great to have something like this in your neighborhood? I would’ve loved it!

    It has been almost 80 years since they shipped any whiskey from this site. It was built in 1834; fifty years later a fire destroyed much of it. There are still remnants of the original buildings on the site.

    After roaming around the property, we got back in the truck and headed south again. BUT FIRST, we stopped for another cache.  This was located beside a historical marker telling the story about the Morewood Massacre.

    This was a confrontation between striking miners and the National Guard. Workers at the H.C.Frick owned Morewood Mine marched to the company store where the National Guard opened fire on them, killing six men and fatally wounding another three. This wouldn’t be the only time we came across Henry Clay Frick today!

     Back on the road, our heads full of history, we made our next stop at a conveniently located Sheetz. Coffee and a snack, just what I needed! It is also always good to take advantage of a restroom when you find one, you never know when you might need one!

    Our last planned stop was at the abandoned Overholt Brewery. Sitting mere yards away from the Youghiogheny River, the buildings have sat empty for the most part since it closed in 1951. Many of the buildings are gone due to demolition and fire. Built in the mid 1850’s, it originally produced Monongahela Whiskey. This changed to Old Overholt Whiskey in 1870 when Overholt’s grandson, Henry Clay Frick took over ownership of the plant.

    Sadly, every building there has been tagged. I always find it sad to see how the aging grace of buildings like these is tarnished by graffiti.

    A high, cracked smokestack towers over the buildings, most of which are hidden by the high weeds and trees growing in and around them.

     Some of the structures are nearly invisible when you are standing 20 feet away. Poison ivy is everywhere.  Spider webs are stretched across every path you take or make, deer prints are plentiful.  Nature has definitely taken back the area. The insides of some buildings looked like a jungle!

    Six large grain silos sit near the smokestack which sits alone, unattached to any buildings. Most of the steps to the upper floors have been removed. There are places that previous explorers have circumvented the missing stairs, but we all stayed on the ground level. The architecture is wonderful, made of brick with arched windows and spiral staircases, it reminding me of the way buildings SHOULD be made, unlike the architecture of the modern day.

    We spent quite a while wandering around through the various buildings. Taking picture and looking around. The time passed quickly.  Back on the road again, we stopped briefly in Dunbar where we took a few more pictures. Then we turned the truck towards Alleghany County. We spent about 7 hours driving and exploring, covering about 150 miles.

    Back at home, one of the first things I did was to search for ticks. (None found!) Then I washed my clothes and took a shower to wash off any poison ivy oils that might be on them or my skin.

    I think…NO, I know that the Franks and I all had a great morning. What a wonderful way to start a day, out on the road with friends!