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Broad Ford
Broad
Ford is the location of the
remnants of the A. Overholt
and Company distillery,
commonly known as The Overholt Distillery
at Broad Ford. To those who know the
history, this enterprise was considered
to be one of the most important
distilleries in Western Pennsylvania
history. In its finer days, the
distillery provided hundreds of jobs for
local citizens, and operated long enough
to provide an impressive amount of
financial prosperity and stability for
the families of the men and women who
drew paychecks there.The most famous
product of the Broad Ford distillery was Old
Overholt, a distinctive
Pennsylvania pure rye whiskey named for
master distiller Abraham Overholt, and
launched around 1896, when grandson Henry
Clay Frick had control of the business.
The quality and fame of Abraham's rye
whiskey did not fall victim to
Prohibition laws. In fact, A.
Overholt and Company
maintained a full production schedule
during the era when only a few
distilleries were permitted to produce
beverage alcohol for "medicinal
purposes."
The
Broad Ford distillery site is currently
in a very sad state (see articles and
photos at Karen's Branches),
but its signature product,
Old Overholt, still lives
on! Sadly, it is not distilled and aged
in Western Pennsylvania. The folks at Beam
Global hold the trademark
rights (see Beam
Inc.), and they
designate the beverage as a straight rye
whiskey. Judging by the attention they
are now giving Old Overholt
on their web site, perhaps they are
learning to appreciate its history.
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The Story of
Broad Ford
Native Americans gave Broad Ford its name, and a
lot of important events in American history are
associated with this "crossing-place,"
not the least being its use by a young George
Washington, who crossed the Youghiogheny River
there, while on his way to accidentally start the
French and Indian War.
In fact, young George is believed to be the first
white man to set foot on the ground whereon the
Broad Ford Overholt Distillery was built.
If you are
looking at a map of Western Pennsylvania, you
will find Broad Ford at the top of a great
horseshoe shaped curve in the Youghiogheny River,
just up the river from Connellsville. It is
roughly seven miles south of West Overton,
"as the crow flies." In 1856, Abraham
Overholt's distillery at West Overton was already
into its 46th year of business success, when his
son, Jacob, and his nephew, Henry O. Overholt
(son of Abraham's older brother Martin), decided
to launch a second and larger distillery complex
at Broad Ford. History books credit Jacob as the
master builder at Broad Ford, but after three
years of intense activitiy, he died in the spring
of 1859. Abraham bought into the project,
partnering with his nephew, and operated the
Broad Ford facility as A. Overholt
and Company, maintaining his
interest until his death in January 1870.
During the
mid-1960s to the early 1970s, several Western
Pennsylvania distilleries were
"absorbed" by large corporations, and
then summarily closed down. The Overholt
distillery complex at Broad Ford came to an end
quite suddenly, as did the Dillinger distillery
at nearby Ruffs Dale (see The
Overholt-Dillinger Connection at Karen's
Branches). After that, there were a
few owners who cannibalized the buildings for
anything that could be ripped out and sold,
including its copper distilling equipment and
whiskey-aged wood. There were absentee property
owners who failed to protect and preserve the
site from vandalism and the ravages of weather
and seasonal floods. The future of the site has
been seriously questioned for decades, as one
building after another has been demolished. But
in recent years, the region has developed a
growing tourist industry, with care given to
natural resources and waterways, and new
wilderness and bicycle trails. Local interest in
developing Broad Ford has steadily increased, and
we shall see what happens next.
To learn more
about the A. Overholt and Company
distillery at Broad Ford, visit The
Overholt Family Tree ~~ Karen's Branches, where you will find
many articles and photographs from the past and
present.
You are cordially invited to
visit the Broad Ford Blog,
a new site hosted by Karen's Branches.
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