Driving U.S. 30 from Gettysburg to Somerset Pennsylvania

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Last week I started a road trip, traveling on U.S. 30, west bound, across Pennsylvania. The route covers a section of the Lincoln Highway, the countries oldest coast-to-coast highway. This week I will continue that trip, through the center of the state.

Mr. Ed’s Elephant Museum and Candy Emporium


 

I started this leg heading west out of Gettysburg, PA. Twelve miles along I found Mr. Ed’s Elephant Museum and Candy Emporium. In 1975 Ed and Pat Gotwalt opened general store along Route 30, selling a wide variety of food and souvenirs. When that store closed in 1983, Ed, Pat, and their son Michael, found a nearby property, and opened a new business. This time they concentrated on two things. One was Ed’s elephant collection, which had grown to over 2000 pieces. They also decided to limit their inventory to candy. Today these have created a wonderful place for families to enjoy both visually, and to stock up on snacks for the road.








Chambersburg PA



My trip continued west along U.S. 30 until I arrived at the town of Chambersburg, PA. The city has served as the county seat for Franklin county for over 200 years. For this reason, it has also been home to the county jail for all of that time. On my recent visit, I visited the Old Jail there. This building served as the county jail from 1818 until 1971. In addition to showing the conditions of different eras of the jail, there is also a historical exhibit for the city.


Sarah Brown Chambers by Unknown








As the Lincoln Highway carried me west through Pennsylvania’s farmlands, I spied a beautiful old stone house sitting in the middle of nowhere. It was Toll House No.2, a remnant of the days when this road was the Chambersburg - Bedford Turnpike, a toll road between the two towns.


Toll House No. 2


Allegheny Mountains



Moving towards the western part of Pennsylvania, U.S. started to take me up and over the Allegheny Mountains., with peaks topping out at over 2000 feet. Some of the climbs are very steep, gaining over 1500 feet in just a few miles. The first of the mountains I encountered was the Tuscarora Summit at 2123 ft (647m). Tuscarora Mountain is a long ridge that runs in a northeast-southwest direction. At the highways’s highest point you will find the Mountain House Bar & Grill. The restaurant has a long history as a rest stop on the highway. It was needed back in the 1900’s because the steep climb was very difficult on early automobiles. Drivers needed to give their cars a rest, cool their engines and replenish water, so each summit on the highway had a restaurant to give drivers a place to recover.




Everett PA



As I traveled down the west side of Tuscarora Mountain, I arrived at the town of Everett. While U.S. 30 was once again in bypass mode, I took Business-30 and was greeted one of the things I love about road trips - a “roadside giant”. These were statues that were created to draw travelers to stop and visit a town. The Lincoln Highway Historical Society in Pennsylvania has taken it on to create a new generation of these statues. In Everett is “The World’s Largest Quarter.” This 20-foot diameter quarter has been placed here to commemorate the role that George Washington played in Franklin County during the French and Indian War and the Whiskey Rebellion. 





The town of Everett was founded in 1787, as Waynesboro, then Bloody Run. Its name was changed in 1873 to Everett. 








Bedford



Continuing west I arrived at Bedford, PA. Fort Bedford was established in 1758 and played a base for the British Army in the French and Indian War. The town was also a staging area for government troops during the Whiskey Rebellion. The town became a vacation haven in the 19th century when mineral springs were discovered nearby, and President James Buchanan made Bedford his “summer White House.”




It is also home to The Coffee Pot, an example of Novelty or Progammatic Architecture. It was built in 1927 as a lunch stand for travelers passing through. In 1990 the building was moved across the road, to the entrance of the Bedford County Fairgrounds.




Schellsburg PA



Nine miles west of Bedford is the small town of Schellsburg. It was founded in 1737 by John Schell as a farm for his extended family. In the 1950’s the town became home to Storyland Park, an amusement park for children. Storyland featured oversized statues of characters from stories and nursery rhymes. The park closed in the 1980’s, but several of its statues are still present, including the Pied Piper along U.S. 30.




Leaving Schellsburg on U.S. 30 west, I climbed to the summit of Grand View Mountain. At 2462 feet (751) this is the tallest pass on U.S. 30 in Pennsylvania.  I continued past the Flight 93 Memorials and made Somerset PA (10 miles south of the Lincoln Highway) my stop for the night.




Nuts and Bolts


  • This leg of the trip was about 120 miles.
  • Mr Ed’s Elephant Museum is open every day from 10:00 Am - 5:00 PM (6:00 PM on Fri and Sat).
  • The Old Franklin County Jail is open Thur - Sat 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM (2:00PM Sat). Tours are given every hour. Entrance fee is Adult $10/ Child $6 
Location: Bedford, PA 15522, USA

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