Kecksburg, Pennsylvania
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Kecksburg, Pennsylvania | |
|---|---|
  Kecksburg, Pennsylvania Location within the U.S. state of Pennsylvania | |
| Coordinates: 40°11′05″N 79°27′41″W / 40.18472°N 79.46139°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Pennsylvania |
| County | Westmoreland |
| Founded by | Johann Martin Keck |
| Elevation | 1,209 ft (369 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
Kecksburg is an unincorporated community in Mount Pleasant Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located in a heavily wooded area along PA Route 982, it is approximately thirty miles southeast of Pittsburgh at an elevation of 1,209 feet.
Sometime around 1860, the community of Kecksburg was laid out on five acres of land purchased by German merchant, farmer and businessman Johann Martin Keck. In 1868, Keck was appointed postmaster of the town, being the first to occupy this position after the establishment of the office, and held the role for twenty-six years.[1]
In August 1888, residents of Kecksburg established a Grover Cleveland Democratic society to increase Democratic voter turnout in future elections.[2]
During the fall of 1890, George H. Sewell, district deputy grand chancellor of the Knights of Pythias, established a new organizational lodge for the fraternal service group in Kecksburg.[3]
In March 1892, J.M. Keck & Sons purchased Jacob Rumbaugh's farm in Kecksburg, which was located adjacent to land owned by the Frick Coke Company in Mammoth. Newspapers stated that the owners of J.M. Keck & Sons intended to build "a large plant of ovens" on the former farmland, which was reportedly situated above a large coal deposit.[4] During early November of that same year, intense forest fires on the mountainside above the communities of Kecksburg and Waterford destroyed roughly thirty thousand acres of timber.[5]
