My son got off the bus after his second-grade field trip to Compass Inn Museum with a stagecoach-shaped pencil sharpener and a million things to tell me. There were stories about creaky floors, a bearskin rug, a waffle iron and a wooden mouse trap. He told me how much he loved watching a real blacksmith work his metal with “old-timey tools,” and how thrilled he was to make doughnuts over a fire in the Cookhouse. He proudly showed me his candle that he dipped himself.
Compass Inn Museum, a restored stagecoach stop located about 5 minutes east of Ligonier, in the quaint town of Laughlintown, is an important glimpse into the not-so-distant past of our country. A tour of this 2 1/2-story log and stone Georgian-style building, built by Philip Freeman in 1799 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, offers the public a chance to take a walk through everyday life in the 19th century.
In 1814, the inn was purchased by Robert Armor and his wife Rachel, who named it for an inn the family previously owned in eastern Pennsylvania. They married in 1805 and went on to have eleven children - nine of whom survived, and one who became a stagecoach driver himself.
The completion of the Philadelphia Pittsburgh Turnpike in 1817 brought stagecoach travel past the inn on a regular basis. In 1820, Mr. Armor put a stone addition onto the original log section to accommodate the increased volume of visitors. From its purchase until 1862, the Armor family's inn served as a place of respite for weary travelers who had endured a lengthy, bumpy, dangerous ride to arrive on their doorstep. Guests were mainly wagoners and drovers - young men who "drove" animals to market. By 1862, the roads and railroads were well established and the route was less traveled, so the inn closed its doors to the public, but the Armor family continued to live in the home.
In 1966, the seventh generation of the original owners sold the building to the Ligonier Valley Historical Society. LVHS, formed in 1964 by the Ligonier Valley Women’s Club, maintains significant artifacts, historic places, and oral histories of the area. Using a gift from the Richard King Mellon Foundation, the Society purchased and restored the inn, and Compass Inn Museum was opened to the public in 1972.
After my son’s rave reviews of his experience, I decided it was time to take my five-year-old daughter through the museum. We arrived just as an elementary school field trip was coming to a close, and volunteer ‘docents,’ along with LVHS Executive Director Theresa Gay Rohall, (below, in green) were waving farewell to the departing buses of smiling students from the front porch of the museum. Even though it was the end of a very long day for the staff, we were warmly greeted and promptly sent on our tour.
It began in an out-building known as the Cookhouse, which dates back to the early 1800s and contains an open hearth and a 'beehive oven' that can be heated up to 900 degrees. Docent Susan Woolridge, a former educator and chef, told us how S-hooks could be linked together to lower pots closer to the fire in the hearth if they needed more heat, and how women would put their arms inside the oven to test the intensity of the heat. “It was hot, and a very labor-intensive type of cooking that required a lot of focus, unlike today,” she said. Mrs. Woolridge was a key player in the sold-out "Hearth To Table Cooking Class" events that the museum hosted back in March, where they taught lucky local foodies how 19th century women made food such as roasts, cornbread, and pound cake without the luxury of electricity.
We were then led by veteran docent Gloria Nelson through the main house, first into the Common Room where hungry travelers were fed, and next into the Serving Room, where ladies known as ‘serving wenches’ prepared favorites such as chicken & waffles.
Ms. Nelson leaned down to my daughter's level often, explaining in a lively way how life for a five-year-old was more work than play in those days. I asked her what drew her to become a docent at the museum, years after she had officially retired from her previous occupation. "Well, you know, I enjoy it, because it's hands-on. You're learning something all the time, and I like to teach the kids," she said. (Volunteers are always welcome, contact the LVHS for details!)
She led us up the original staircase to the three bedrooms, the most fascinating of which was the men's bedroom, which contained a chamber pot and three double straw-mattress beds, each with a trundle bed underneath. Ms. Nelson told us that "the rule at the inn was there could be no more than FIVE men to a bed, head to feet!" In that tiny bedroom, as many as 18 men, who washed themselves once a week if they were lucky, could be sleeping at max-capacity.
After the tour of the house, we ventured to the Blacksmith Shop. The museum was fortunate to have local blacksmith Ed Appleby and his son that day, demonstrating their trade for the field trip kids. Ms. Nelson explained that the area had all the resources - iron mines, coke ovens, limestone, and foundries - needed to run the essential blacksmith shop. Horseshoes were crafted, as well as pots and utensils, and any other metalware needed onsite.
Last, but not least, was the Barn, where an authentic stagecoach and a Conestoga wagon are proudly positioned. Ms. Nelson described in detail what a long trip in a stagecoach was like, with dust or snow pouring into the open windows, and on particularly crowded rides, some passengers being seated on the roof with the luggage. Rides were not smooth, as some passengers' accounts described hitting their heads on the ceiling as the six-horse coach rode over bumps. You can see why these travelers were in so much need of restful accommodations after such a trip.
Our fascinating tour came to an end, and my daughter badly wants to go back. Luckily, the museum offers more opportunities with special events and programs!
With the recent hiring of a new Program Coordinator, Amanda Seim (a recent graduate of Duquesne with a Master’s Degree in Public History), their summer camp is sure to be great! Junior Stagecoach Adventures, for grades 1-3, runs from June 24 to June 28. Admission is $110 for LVHS members, and $125 for non-members. Camp starts at 9:00am and ends at 2:30pm for the entire week.
Another recent addition to the staff is Marketing Assistant Elliot Chimelewski (a 2017 graduate of IUP with a degree in Marketing). He'll keep you up-to-date on all the LVHS and Museum happenings. Make sure you like and follow the Museum's Facebook page and Instagram account @compassinnlvhs!
Living History Weekends are the third weekends in June, July, and August! Family-friendly tours are enhanced by special early 19th-century games and activities.
Looking for something unique and entertaining to do for Father's Day weekend? Come to Compass Inn Museum to witness the 6th Annual "Hammer In" on Saturday, June 15th. For this popular event, up to 30 blacksmiths from the Pittsburgh Area Blacksmith Association will be onsite with portable forges demonstrating their trade. Every father that comes will have their name put into a drawing to win something that’s created during the event!
Currently, the museum is open every day except Mondays. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 11am to 4pm and Sunday 1pm to 5pm. Come, leave your modern amenities behind, and transport yourself back in time!
Written by Susie Kramer
Photos by Mariah Fisher where noted;
All other photos by Susie Kramer