Leechburg Area Museum and Historical Society

06/12/2026

What's New at the Leechburg Area Museum?

Former employees of Allegheny Ludlum's West Leechburg mill will immediately recognize the message board that once greeted workers and visitors at the plant's main entrance. Complete with its original hand-painted sign, created by the mill's own sign department, this piece of industrial history has found a new home at the Leechburg Area Museum.

The message board has been incorporated into our Allegheny Ludlum display alongside the plant's shift-change whistle and the mechanical clock that controlled it. Together, these artifacts help tell the story of daily life at one of the region's most important industrial employers. The display now stands proudly in our Industrial Room, preserving a tangible connection to the generations of men and women who worked at the mill.

Don't Know About the West Leechburg Plant?

The Allegheny Ludlum West Leechburg Plant was one of the most important industrial employers in the Allegheny-Kiski Valley for more than a century. Founded in 1897 as the West Leechburg Steel and Tin Plate Company, the mill grew alongside the region's booming steel and coal industries before becoming part of Allegheny Steel and later Allegheny Ludlum Steel.

Specializing in the processing and finishing of stainless and specialty steels, the plant supplied materials used in products ranging from household goods to industrial and military equipment. For generations, the mill provided thousands of jobs and attracted workers from across Europe, helping shape the growth and character of West Leechburg, Leechburg, and the surrounding communities.

At its peak, the sprawling complex along the Kiskiminetas River stood as a symbol of the region's industrial strength and innovation. Although production ceased and the plant was idled in 2006, its legacy remains deeply woven into the history of the Leechburg area. Generations of local families earned their livelihoods behind its gates, helping make the Allegheny Valley an important center of American steelmaking.

We invite visitors to stop by our Industrial Room and experience this new addition to our Allegheny Ludlum exhibit, where the story of the mill and the people who built our community continues to be preserved for future generations.

06/09/2026

What's New at the Leechburg Area Museum?

Last year, during Leechburg's 175th Anniversary celebration, artist Pipka Ulvilden generously donated her time and talent to create a special painting titled The Leechburg Gift-Bringer. The artwork was unveiled during the week-long celebration, and prints were made available to residents who wanted to add a little more Leechburg spirit to their holiday traditions. In yet another act of generosity, Pipka has donated the original painting to the Leechburg Area Museum, where it is now proudly displayed.

Who is Pipka Ulvilden?

Pipka Ulvilden is an internationally recognized artist, author, and designer best known for her collectible Old World Santa figurines and her celebration of European Christmas traditions. Born in what was then Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia), she spent part of her childhood in Germany before immigrating to the United States with her family after World War II. Drawing inspiration from her Slovak and Bavarian heritage, Ulvilden began her artistic career as a decorative painter specializing in traditional Bauernmalerei (German folk art).

After moving to Sister Bay, Wisconsin, in 1981, she developed her signature Old World Santa designs, depicting Father Christmas traditions from cultures around the world. In 1995, her artwork was transformed into a successful line of limited-edition collectible figurines sold in hundreds of stores nationwide. Beyond her Santa collections, Ulvilden has worked as a teacher, author, entrepreneur, and mixed-media artist. Her work reflects a lifelong commitment to preserving cultural traditions, storytelling, and the warmth of family heritage through art.

For Leechburg, Pipka created The Leechburg Gift-Bringer, a Santa-themed painting that incorporates local landmarks and historical elements, demonstrating her unique ability to blend community history with the rich traditions of Old World Christmas folklore. The original painting is now on display in the Museum's Market Street Room, and Christmas cards featuring the artwork are available for purchase at the Leechburg Area Museum.

We invite everyone to stop by, view this beautiful addition to our collection, and celebrate the artistic legacy of a remarkable artist who has given Leechburg a truly special gift.

06/08/2026

In case you didn't know, the Leechburg Museum's calendars are back for 2027 with all new photos and updated historical dates. Calendars are available at the museum for $10 during regular hours (Wednesday and Saturday 12pm to 3pm).

06/05/2026

"Before smartphones fit in our pockets, a quarter and a payphone could connect you to the world."

To most of us, payphones don't seem old enough to deserve a place in a museum. To people under 25, however, they are a relic from another era.

The telephone was invented in 1876. In its infancy, it was considered a luxury rather than a necessity. Its primary purpose was to connect businessmen with their factories and suppliers. Newspapers also embraced the new technology, using it to stay ahead of competitors and report breaking news more quickly. Yet people on the move still had no easy way to stay connected while traveling.

That changed in 1889 when the first public payphones were introduced in Hartford, Connecticut. Not long afterward, payphones appeared in Leechburg as well. As a growing industrial center, the borough recognized the value of public telephone service and embraced the new technology.

The payphone would go on to become a fixture of American life. As automobiles transformed the nation, payphones became a lifeline for travelers. They were where you called for a ride home, asked your parents if you could stay out a little later, contacted a tow truck, arranged a date, or a meet up with friends. For many Americans, payphones played a small but memorable role in everyday life. Their anonymity also made them useful for less honorable purposes, including gambling, scams, and other illicit activities that left no personal paper trail.

Then came the cellular phone. Introduced in 1983, it finally cut the cord. It took more than a decade for mobile technology to become affordable for the average consumer, but by the late 1990s cell phones were becoming commonplace. During the following decade, the need for both landlines and public payphones rapidly disappeared.

Leechburg's last remaining public payphone stood outside the Sunoco station at First and Market Streets. It was decommissioned in 2016. For nearly a decade afterward, the drive-up style phone booth remained in place, leaning on its bent and rusted mounting as a silent reminder of a bygone era.

Last fall, the payphone was acquired by the Leechburg Area Museum and Historical Society. After restoration, it was installed in our Market Street display room, preserving a small but important piece of local history.

Visitors can now experience the payphone for themselves. For a 25-cent donation, you can place a call anywhere within the 724 area code. Some visitors use it out of nostalgia; younger guests simply want to know what it was like to make a call before smartphones existed. Be warned, however—you may have forgotten what a hassle payphones could be. Ours has already "eaten" several quarters.

06/03/2026

06/03/2026

Join us for this timely and moving Patriotic Flag Day Program presented by the Tarentum Elks Lodge members at the AK Valley Heritage Museum.

Bring your children! America 250! Catch the spirit!

06/03/2026

What's new at the Leechburg Area Museum?

During the off season three rooms and a hallway on the second floor were renovated. The “Garment Room” has been moved and redesigned. The former “Boudoir” was incorporated into the “Garment Room”. Much of this work was done to create the “Besharo Room”.

The new space honors Leechburg’s most famous of artists, Peter “Charlie” Besharo. Besharo is the subject of a Pennsylvania State Historical Marker slated to be installed in Leechburg this fall. His work is on display in museums around the world, most notably the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Born Peter Attie Besharo in 1898 he immigrated to the United States and settled in Leechburg in 1912. As a teenager he worked in a local haberdashery and later as a traveling peddler selling items to coal miners. After raising enough money, he opened a tailoring shop on Market Street in the rear of the Parks building at the corner of 2nd Street. At the conclusion of WWII, he closed his tailoring shop and worked as a house and sign painter.

It was during his time as a painter that it is believed he began to tech himself to paint portraits and landscapes in a garage on Diamond Avenue.

When Peter died in 1960 the owner of his rented garage contacted Peter’s only two relatives living in the US, one in New Hampshire and the other in Michigan. Both relatives declined to come to Leechburg to take possession of Peter’s belongings. The owner of the garage made entry to remove the contents and it was then that 69 of Peter’s paintings were discovered. Feeling they were of interest to the art community he sought a buyer. Phyliss Kind took ownership of the collection and used much of it in the opening of one of the country's first galleries dedicated to self-taught artists, the Phyliss Kind Gallery. It opened in 1967 and from there his work would begin to receive the attention it commanded.

During the 1970’s and 1980’s, some of his work was sold off and began to circulate into exhibitions. In his hometown of Leechburg there were only a handful of people that knew him to be an artist. In the art world little about him was known at all. Stories began to circulate that Besharo was a hermit or a recluse who scratched out a living by doing sign and house painting. Perhaps these stories were told to add further intrigue to his already intriguing work. Maybe they were embellished to drive up the price of his work. And it is possible that having seen his paintings, they could not imagine the artist in any other way.
By the 1990’s his art was beginning to receive national attention. Some of his works had found their way into the National Museum of American Art. In reviewing the exhibit, Washington Post columnist Hank Burchard exclaimed “No more 100-percent American ever lived than Peter Attie “Charlie” Besharo”. In describing one of his most famous paintings, “He has enriched us with a painting, “Lady Liberty of 1953 to 1962?” which portrays the symbol whizzing along on wagon wheels with rockets in her heels, a torch in each hand, a headlight on her forehead and a couple of extra eyes peering from her bosom.” Even for those with no passion for art, the description is compelling. It is important to note that none of Peter Charlie’s paintings were officially titled by Peter himself, often the titles have been derived from chosen phrases inscribed into the work.

Since the closure of the Phyllis Kind Gallery, many of the works have been sold at auction in such places as Christie’s of New York, NY and the TAJAN Auction House in Paris, France. His works currently command prices between $3,000 and $25,000 dollars. Several of his paintings are now in the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC, the Minneapolis Institute of Art in Minneapolis, MN, The American Folk Art Museum and The Cavin-Morris Gallery in New York, NY, the Fleisher/Ollman Gallery, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia, PA, and many others. From the 1960’s up to the time of this writing his paintings have been shown in 100’s of exhibitions across the county. Several paintings have been sold to European collectors earning him international fame for less than 70 paintings that originated in a garage in an alley in Leechburg, PA.

As his entire portfolio had been sold none of Besharo’s paintings remained here in Leechburg to be displayed at the museum. Scattered around the world, it is simply not possible to view them all. Wanting to rectify that, the museum has had nearly 40 of his works printed on canvas to create a space where viewers can observe as much of his work as could be collected.

06/02/2026

What's new at the Leechburg Area Museum?

During the off season three rooms and a hallway on the second floor were renovated. The “Garment Room” has been moved and redesigned. The former “Boudoir” was incorporated into the “Garment Room”. Much of this work was done to create the “Besharo Room”.

The new space honors Leechburg’s most famous of artists, Peter “Charlie” Besharo. Besharo is the subject of a Pennsylvania State Historical Marker slated to be installed in Leechburg this fall. His work is on display in museums around the world, most notably the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Born Peter Attie Besharo in 1898 he immigrated to the United States and settled in Leechburg in 1912. As a teenager he worked in a local haberdashery and later as a traveling peddler selling items to coal miners. After raising enough money, he opened a tailoring shop on Market Street in the rear of the Parks building at the corner of 2nd Street. At the conclusion of WWII, he closed his tailoring shop and worked as a house and sign painter.
It was during his time as a painter that it is believed he began to tech himself to paint portraits and landscapes in a garage on Diamond Avenue.

When Peter died in 1960 the owner of his rented garage contacted Peter’s only two relatives living in the US, one in New Hampshire and the other in Michigan. Both relatives declined to come to Leechburg to take possession of Peter’s belongings. The owner of the garage made entry to remove the contents and it was then that 69 of Peter’s paintings were discovered. Feeling they were of interest to the art community he sought a buyer. Phyliss Kind took ownership of the collection and used much of it in the opening of one of the country's first galleries dedicated to self-taught artists, the Phyliss Kind Gallery. It opened in 1967 and from there his work would begin to receive the attention it commanded.
During the 1970’s and 1980’s, some of his work was sold off and began to circulate into exhibitions. In his hometown of Leechburg there were only a handful of people that knew him to be an artist. In the art world little about him was known at all. Stories began to circulate that Besharo was a hermit or a recluse who scratched out a living by doing sign and house painting. Perhaps these stories were told to add further intrigue to his already intriguing work. Maybe they were embellished to drive up the price of his work. And it is possible that having seen his paintings, they could not imagine the artist in any other way.

By the 1990’s his art was beginning to receive national attention. Some of his works had found their way into the National Museum of American Art. In reviewing the exhibit, Washington Post columnist Hank Burchard exclaimed “No more 100-percent American ever lived than Peter Attie “Charlie” Besharo”. In describing one of his most famous paintings, “He has enriched us with a painting, “Lady Liberty of 1953 to 1962?” which portrays the symbol whizzing along on wagon wheels with rockets in her heels, a torch in each hand, a headlight on her forehead and a couple of extra eyes peering from her bosom.” Even for those with no passion for art, the description is compelling. It is important to note that none of Peter Charlie’s paintings were officially titled by Peter himself, often the titles have been derived from chosen phrases inscribed into the work.

Since the closure of the Phyllis Kind Gallery, many of the works have been sold at auction in such places as Christie’s of New York, NY and the TAJAN Auction House in Paris, France. His works currently command prices between $3,000 and $25,000 dollars. Several of his paintings are now in the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC, the Minneapolis Institute of Art in Minneapolis, MN, The American Folk Art Museum and The Cavin-Morris Gallery in New York, NY, the Fleisher/Ollman Gallery, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia, PA, and many others. From the 1960’s up to the time of this writing his paintings have been shown in 100’s of exhibitions across the county. Several paintings have been sold to European collectors earning him international fame for less than 70 paintings that originated in a garage in an alley in Leechburg, PA.

As his entire portfolio had been sold none of Besharo’s paintings remained here in Leechburg to be displayed at the museum. Scattered around the world, it is simply not possible to view them all. Wanting to rectify that the museum has had nearly 40 of his works printed on canvas to create a space where viewers can observe as much of his work as could be collected.

05/29/2026

What's new at the Leechburg Area Museum? Technically nothing, we are a museum. There are some new displays however…

This grain auger or screw conveyor was removed from the former Leechburg Milling Company on Third Street, now home of Dans Appliance Store. It was used to move grain from the grain hoppers to the roller mills at the Leechburg Milling Company. The auger was donated many years ago but had been in storage as displaying the 17-foot-long auger was a challenge. It now hangs in the museum’s industrial room.

It originated at Leechburg’s second flour mill, established in 1879 by A.J. Elliot, D. B. Ashbaugh, H. H. Wray, John Young, John Williams, and J. P. Klingensmith. Known as the Leechburg Milling Company, the firm began construction of the new flouring mill at 168 Third Street, 13 years after the closure of the Leech Flouring Mill on Canal Street.

The Leechburg Milling Company was the first mill east of the Mississippi to adopt a new roller mill method that eliminated the stone mill and replaced it with two or more metal rollers to crush the grain into powder. Originating in Hungary, the steel rollers enabled gradual reduction, breaking wheat in stages to efficiently separate the bran and germ from the endosperm, producing fine, white flour faster, and with a longer shelf life.

The fully mechanized operation stood three stories tall and was powered by a 35 hp steam engine. The boiler was originally fueled by natural gas and later converted to run on electric motors. The mill had an output of fifty barrels per day. Its purpose was to supply local farmers with a milling option and distribution when requested. They branded their flour as “Kiskiminetas Flour” and sold it as far away as Johnstown.

The Leechburg Milling Co. operated at Third Street until 1944.

05/15/2026

The Leechburg Area Museum will reopen for the season on May 23rd. Our staff has been hard at work and there are lots of changes including new displays showcasing our local artists to include our most famous artist, Peter Besharo. Hours are set for Wednesday and Saturday from noon to 3 pm and by appointment.