Abel Colley Tavern helps preserve Fayette County history
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The former Abel Colley Tavern, five miles west of Uniontown in Fayette County, has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1995. It was recently restored. -
Abel Colley owned a Fayette County tavern just outside of Uniontown on U.S. Route 40. Volunteers have restored the 19th-century building during the past year. The former tavern will become the Fayette County Museum next year and also will provide office space for the Fayette County Historical Society. -
Jeremy S. Burnworth, president of the Fayette County Historical Society, stands inside the front door of the former Abel Colley Tavern, which has been restored and will become the society's new home next year.
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UNIONTOWN -- Five miles west of this Fayette County seat stands the Abel Colley Tavern, a red-brick beacon of hospitality to travelers along the National Road during the 1800s.
Just one mile from Searight's Toll House, the tavern was known for its moderate prices and hearty clientele of wagoners, who swapped many a tale over Monongahela Rye in its barroom.
By this time next year, it will be a place for even more stories as it becomes the Fayette County Museum. With 6,500 square feet, the restored building will have office space on the second floor for the Fayette County Historical Society, which currently has no regular space to meet; its members often house artifacts in their homes.
The last people to live there, Sue and Frank Dulik, left the property to Virginia and Warren Dick, who donated it to the society.
Jeremy S. Burnworth, the society's 31-year-old president, is a Markleysburg native who has developed a passion for Fayette County's rich history. At a convention in September of the American Association of State and Local History, Mr. Burnworth got excited when he learned about standardized software made by the Rescarta Foundation in Wisconsin that allows historical societies to photograph, log and archive materials.
"What a perfect opportunity to do it right from day one," he said.
An advisory committee will oversee the museum's operation and at least 30 people have volunteered to help staff the museum and toll house. One of Fayette County's best-known residents has also pitched in. At an opening ceremony in July, the temperature rose to 99 degrees in the 19th-century building. Joe Hardy, the 84 Lumber tycoon and former Fayette County commissioner, offered afterward to pay for a new heating and cooling system.
One person who knows the building well is Tom Buckelew, a retired physiology professor from California University of Pennsylvania. He figures he has spent 1,500 hours working on restoring the former tavern.
"It had been modernized with drop ceilings and acoustic tile ceilings," Mr. Buckelew said, adding that many of the rooms had four or five layers of wallpaper that had to be stripped before repainting with period-appropriate colors.
Just inside the front door is a large foyer with a staircase. On the ceiling is some of Mr. Buckelew's best craftsmanship -- a hand-carved ceiling medallion that lends elegance to the new chandelier.
First Published November 14, 2010 12:00 am
