Salem Crossroads Historic District

Traveling Through the Crossroads

The Salem Crossroads Historic District in Delmont, Pennsylvania is a preservation of 1800’s Westmoreland County history. Originally named ‘New Salem,’ the town was settled in 1814. From 1830 to 1870, the town was a rest stop for travelers along what we know today as Route 66, however New Salem’s heydays ended with the introduction of the railroads that passed by the town. Today, the Salem Crossroads Historical Society works to preserve the town’s humble beginnings by restoring the national historic district and teaching its history. This historic district contains many of the preserved original buildings, activities that would have taken place, and shows how the town would have functioned in its prime. Preservation efforts began in the 1970s and are still going on today.

The Crossroads of Delmont

The town of Delmont, like many other towns, has seen many changes over the years. Within the town is the Salem Crossroads Historic District, which allowed many of the changes the town saw to enter and pass through. The crossroads were an essential part of the town of Delmont, having been the town’s main connection to the rest of the world for many years. Being a tourist stop and a place to stay along Route 66 and Route 22, the development of Delmont relied on the Salem crossroads and continues to influence its development today. 

The town of Delmont is a small suburb 25 miles east of Pittsburgh, sitting between two highways; Route 22 and Route 66. Delmont was settled in 1814, and originally was named New Salem but was locally referred to as Salem Crossroads. This is because eleven years after the founding of Westmoreland County, William Wilson received 300 acres (about half the area of Central Park in New York City) in Salem Township. After he died in 1796, his son Thomas Wilson measured out 48 lots of land that formed a crossroads town, which is where the nickname ‘Salem Crossroads’ came from. The town carried the two names until May 16, 1967, when the town voted to change the town name to Delmont. Delmont originates from the French words ‘Dale’ meaning valley and ‘Mont’ meaning hills, which means ‘Delmont’ means valley in the hills. 

To preserve the Salem Crossroads, many of the buildings in the area have been restored or are planned to be restored. Restored or soon-to-be restored sections of the town represent the domestic, commercial, industrial, agricultural, and community activities of the town during the historic period of the town’s heyday. Other buildings that are to be restored will house artists, craftsmen, restaurants, and gift shops themed to the restored community. Within the restored town, there are two-story log houses, Greek Revival-styled buildings throughout, a Gothic Revival church, a simplified Queen Anne-style house that now houses the Salem Crossroads Historical Restoration Society, and the Central Hotel. The restoration of these buildings allows the preservation of the architectural history within the town, as well as their historical importance to the town in its heyday. 

Currently, there are also plans to restore the old steam-powered mill, the wooden mill, the wagon shop (which is the third oldest building in the town), the brickyard, the livery stable, and the Blacksmith shop. The historic district will also hold activities for the public to interact with to see what the town would have looked like in this historic period. Such activities include craft and household demonstrations like leather craftsmen, silversmiths, cabinet makers, metal workers, pewter craftsmen, churning butter, grinding coffee, preparing apple butter, cheese processes, and quilting processes. There are also plans to have a farm with a display of farm equipment and farming methods, as well as a horse-drawn stage line to carry tourists from the parking area to the various restored sites.  

Though it may not seem like it at first, the Salem Crossroads has created a lasting legacy for the town of Delmont. The crossroads were the town's connection to major highways, which allowed travelers to come through the town, stay there, and help create economic prosperity for the town. From 1830 to 1870, New Salem was a thriving community that provided a place for travelers to stay, that is, until the railroads came in and passed right by New Salem. Route 66 and Route 22 allowed the town of Delmont to flourish uniquely and even continue to be an influence on the town today. Since the 70s, the Salem Crossroads Historical Restoration Society has planned to have the town restored as a working open-air museum, depicting commercial and cultural aspects of the community during its prosperity from 1830 to 1870. While some of the restorations planned have been done, there is still more that the Restoration Society would like to do to preserve the unique history of the town. Today, the Delmont Historical Preservation Society hosts events within town like living history days, which are meant to show how the daily activities of the town when it was New Salem and in its heyday.

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