For Directions, click the Pennsylvania YTA Mile Marker Numbers below linking you to a real-time map.

PA-000.0 Ohio/Pennsylvania Line

PA-002.5 W. Springfield
(712 alt., 250 pop.), a one-street hamlet of small frame houses interspersed with occasional older dwellings of red brick; is dependent on farming, poultry, and livestock. WPA-PA*

NOTE: At PA-3.3 at Steinberg Rd., across US 20 from the Home Tavern, the YT headed northeast on a now mostly obscured road which bore east to meet the present US 20 at PA-3.6.

PA-006.2 E. Springfield
(741 alt., 391 pop.), a rural tree-shaded borough, was named for fresh-water springs found here by early settlers. WPA-PA*

PA-011.5 Girard
(831 alt., 1,554 pop.), a trading center and community for retired farmers and businessmen, is a quiet town, in many ways resembling an old New England village, inhabited before 1800; named for Stephen Girard, a Philadelphia merchant who owned land in the vicinity, it was incorporated as a borough in 1846. WPA-PA*

The Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument, believed to have been the earliest Civil War memorial, was erected in 1865 by Dan Rice, famous circus owner and clown of that period. The 25-foot cylindrical marble shaft surmounted with draped flags and an eagle, occupies a prominent position in a traffic island on the main street. WPA-PA*

The land in north Girard Township is generally rough, hilly, and in some parts quite mountainous. In the western part, at what is known as “The Knobs,” the hills reach a height of 2,230 to 2,280 feet, writes Roland Swoope in History of Girard, PA.

     522 E Main St./US 20. (the Yellowstone Trail) Hazel Kibler Memorial Museum. Offers a Candlelight Ghost Walk through Girard Saturday nights, Memorial Day through Labor Day. Featuring an Underground Railroad exhibit and a 19th century circus clown, Dan Rice, memorabilia display.
     436 Walnut St. three blocks south of US 20 (the Yellowstone Trail). The Battles Museums. Two house museums built by Rush Battles. The Battles Museum is next door to the Charlotte Elizabeth Battles Memorial Museum. Get a glimpse into 19th Century rural life, beautiful gardens and architecture. The museums are run by Erie County Historical Society. Rumors of ghosts abound in the museums.

PA-015.5 Fairview
(717 alt., 1,200 pop.), incorporated in 1868, is inhabited largely by retired farmers and Erie commuters. It has a basket weaving shop and a tool factory.
West of Fairview is clover hay country. The fragrance of clover fills the air in blossom time. Cultivation of strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, and currants is extensive. WPA-PA*

     4302 Cor. Avonia Rd. and Water St. (PA 98). Jeremiah and William Sturgeon House built 1838, having acquired land in 1797. It is a museum, depository of local historical and genealogical data and a meeting place. The Sturgeons operated “coach stops and taverns” in the area for travelers after the first road was cut from Erie to Cleveland, Ohio, in 1805.The simple house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

PA-026.7 Erie
(pop. 110,000, alt. 713 ft.), located on Lake Erie, has a safe, land-locked harbor, which is four miles long by one mile wide, and is protected by the island of Presque Isle, on which lighthouses have been erected. The city contains many attractive buildings, but it is mainly of a commercial character, producing particularly large quantities of iron and steel. The blockhouse, which is a facsimile of the old French fort under which “Mad Anthony” Wayne was buried, may still be seen. Commodore Perry built his fleet which won the battle of Lake Erie here. BB1920-3*

With its wide tree-lined streets, broad lawns, and pleasing architecture, perhaps no other feature so clearly marks Erie as its ample elbow room. Even in the city’s eastern and less pretentious section, each dwelling has its plot of ground and a few shade trees. WPA-PA*

The water front presents a scene of activity when the lake, ice-locked several months of the year, is open to navigation. Here 44,000 vessels annually warp into and away from the piers, carrying heavy cargoes of lumber, coal, petroleum, grain, iron ore, and fish; until 1925 more fresh-water fish were shipped from Erie than from any other port in the world. WPA-PA*

     811 State St. Warner Theater built 1930. It was used as a movie theater until 1976, when it was sold to the City of Erie. In the early 1980s, Erie converted the theater to a performing arts center, now a focus of a downtown revival. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.
     356 West 6th St. The Hagen History Center, a three-plus building campus with a stone castle-like exterior. A very active museum with programs for all ages and a large research facility.
     415 State St. The Old Custom House, 1839, for many years served as a customhouse, internal revenue office, and post office. It is now part of a five building complex of the Erie Art Museum, also on State St. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.

PA-034.3 Harborcreek
In the well-populated stretch between Wesleyville and Harborcreek the route crosses the western edge of the better grape-growing district. WPA-PA*

This is wine country! There are vineyards all along the Yellowstone Trail in this area straight to the New York border.

PA-041.5 North East
US 20, the Yellowstone Trail, parallels the Lake Erie shore line across the only important grape-growing section of Pennsylvania; west of Erie the raising of cattle and poultry supplants fruit growing. In winter, frequent mists swirl in from the lake to blanket the countryside. WPA-PA*

In North East is the WELCH GRAPE JUICE COMPANY PLANT (no visitors), 143 S Pearl St. In making juice, freshly picked grapes are inspected and cleansed before delivery to a stemming machine. After they have been heated in large kettles, hydraulic presses extract the juice, which is pasteurized and poured into five-gallon carboys for storage in cool dark cellars. At the end of three months, when the cream of tartar precipitate has settled, the juice is bottled. During the busy season, September and October, grape crops within a 20-mile radius are bought up, and more than 500 workers are employed. WPA-PA*

     25 Vine St., 1 block south of US 20 (the Yellowstone Trail). North East Historical Society in the Old Town Hall. The building was built in 1880 to be used for a town hall but it got sidetracked into being a fire station, complete with horses. Local history and a photo gallery are there.
     31 Wall St. Lake Shore Railway Museum (4 blocks south of US 20). The 1899 passenger depot, used until 1960, is the museum with rail pictures. Eight restored engines, some passenger cars, and more have been collected.

PA-045.9 Pennsylvania/NY Line