Archives: Attractions

The leap is the best view located just a mile outside of town on Lover’s Leap Road.

The Leechburg Museum is the place to go if you’re into history. With countless artifacts of Leechburg’s past, it is a must-see when visiting Leechburg.

There are two floors to explore that are packed with things to see. Numerous copies of Leechburg’s former paper, The Leechburg Advance, are housed within. You can also find a copy of every yearbook published by the high school back in the 1920s. If you or someone you know graduated from the area, you can look up their photos from their high school days.

A trip to the Leechburg Museum

I recently visited the Leechburg Museum and was blown away by the depth and breadth of its exhibits. The museum is housed in a beautiful, historic building that has been lovingly restored to its former glory. Visitors can explore a fascinating collection of artifacts and displays that tell the story of Leechburg and the surrounding area.

One of the museum’s highlights is the collection of vintage photographs, which offer a glimpse into daily life in Leechburg over the past century. There are also exhibits dedicated to the town’s history as a center of industry, with displays of local factories and the people who worked in them.

For those interested in military history, the museum has a collection of artifacts and memorabilia from the various wars in which local residents have served. It also displays the town’s role in the Underground Railroad and the Native American tribes that once lived in the area.

Overall, I highly recommend visiting the Leechburg Museum for anyone interested in local history. The exhibits are well-curated and informative, and the staff is friendly and knowledgeable. It’s a great way to learn more about this fascinating corner of Pennsylvania.

The Museum is open Wednesdays and Saturdays from noon to 3PM. It is closed in January and February. It is located at 118 First Street.

Official Website for the Leechburg Museum

• Leechburg Area Museum and Historical Society – Official Website
• Museum Page – leechburgpa.org
• The Museums First Website

This is the main artery connecting Leechburg with Westmoreland County. A pedestrian walkway is on the Eastern side of the bridge.

You can get great views of the bridge from the island in the middle of the Kiskiminetas River during dry periods of Summer. You can also travel under the bridge where River Avenue connects to the Riverfront Park.

First erected in 1862, the original bridge was swept away by a flood only 13 years later. A second bridge was built in 1876, but it was also destroyed. The third bridge was built in 1889 and raised above the flood level in 1907. The final bridge was built in 1935, but not due to a destroyed bridge this time.

The bridge was rehabilitated in 1984. It is 669 feet long and 43 feet wide and carries three lanes of traffic across the river.

Further Reading about the Leechbrug Bridge

• Historical Bridges – Leechburg
• Article – Wikipedia
• In 2018, the lights were off for a while
• Bridge Hunter
• Drone Footage Over Bridge during Ice Jam – YouTube

Leechburg High School has been around in its current form since 1922. The elementary school joined the complex in the 1990s to house all of Leechburg’s students.

The building also features a skywalk to the neighboring Baker Building where the cafeteria and the school administration are housed.

The school district contains Gilpin Township, Leechburg Borough, and West Leechburg Borough.

Leechburg High School on the Web

• Leechburg Area School District
• The Trottyveck – The Student Newspaper since 1918

The Leechburg Cemetery has a long history here in Leechburg. The cemetery used to be located near the corner of 2nd Street and Center Avenue up to Siberian Avenue. In fact, that section of 2nd street did not exist until after cemetery was moved.

David Leech, the founder of Leechburg, is buried here. As is William Rogers (1827-1901), who was the first man to use natural gas in the manufacture of iron.

The cemetery now is located up off of 3rd street. It is on the edge of town, on a hill. The cemetery was moved due to fears of disease from poor burial methods. Not all the stones and markers were moved however, and every so often a resident digs a tombstone up out of their back yard.

The cemetery is very old and a number of graves have shifted or fallen over. A new board to oversee the cemetery was formed in 2011 and should be in better condition.

More information about Leechburg Cemetery on the Web

Find a Grave in Leechburg Cemetery