History of the Route 228 Project Study Area, including properties eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP)

Historic Background
Initial settlement of the study corridor occurred during the mid-seventeenth century by the French. However, during the eighteenth century European settlement of Western Pennsylvania was met with hostilities among Virginia, France, England, and Native Americans who all held claim to the region, causing English settlers to either move east or not settle the area at all. After the French and Indian War, England gained political control of the region until after the American Revolution. Agriculture immediately became an important economic influence to the region. Farmers relied on grains such as corn, wheat, and buckwheat. To process these crops, milling was an important industry within the study corridor.

Other industries that influenced the region were the oil industry that started slowly during the mid-eighteenth century. A century later, the first oil for lighting was refined, and by the 1880s the oil boom in Western Pennsylvania had begun. Natural gas and coal were also extracted within the region. The railroad established during the mid-nineteenth century was important in carrying these goods and services to locations in Pennsylvania and across the nation. By the late-twentieth century, developers began replacing farmland with residential neighborhoods that served the Pittsburgh area, as well as constructing hotels, strip malls, and large retail centers.

Valley Farms
Valley Farms is located on the north side of Old Mars Crider Road north of Route 228 in Cranberry Township. The farm includes a five-bay wide, two-and-one-half story dwelling. The original section of the dwelling was constructed circa 1837 as a single pen log house. Subsequent additions were constructed between 1900 and 1940. The property is now sided with weatherboard and aluminum. The windows are a mixture of single, six-over-six, double-hung sash and multi-pane bay and sash windows. A modillion block cornice is located above the second-story windows was likely added during the 1930-1940 addition. Exterior brick chimneys on the west and east gable ends frame the asphalt shingle side gable roof. The original log dwelling is the middle portion of the west elevation. An exterior brick chimney is on the northern end of the log portion. The northernmost portion of the dwelling is a small one-story brick addition. The foundation is dry-laid stone, and the bricks are laid in a Flemish bond pattern. East of this brick portion is a flat roofed addition from the late-twentieth century with paired and ribbon windows.

Outbuildings include a two-bay frame and concrete block garage. The large gambrel board and batten bank barn was built in the late nineteenth century on a stone foundation. Between the main barn and the addition is the circa 1920s silo, constructed of concrete block and veneered in glazed ceramic tile. Located northwest of the barn is a small frame, board and batten outbuilding.

Valley Farms was determined eligible for listing in the NRHP in April 2004 as a strong example of a nineteenth century dwelling. Its outbuildings also communicate the variety of time periods that define the property. The barn is a strong example of a late-nineteenth century frame bank barn; the intact silo dates from the first part of the twentieth century, and the garage is a strong example of a Colonial Revival building. Valley Farms retains its historic location and setting on the north side of Old Mars Crider Road. The property retains its ability to communicate its historic significance. Its proportions, massing, and details all convey attributes of unique combination of styles from the mid-nineteenth century to 1940. It embodies distinctive characteristics of the type, period, and method of construction for the mid-nineteenth century and the early twentieth century.

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) Railroad runs parallel to Mars-Valencia Road in Mars Borough and Adams Township, Butler County. Within the project area, the B&O extends 500 feet north and south of the centerline of the existing Route 228. The railroad consists of a single earth and stone rail bed (raised approximately three feet above grade), wooden ties, and steel rails. Wooden telephone poles with crossbeams run along the east side of the track.

The B&O Railroad was determined eligible for listing in the NRHP in April 2004 under Criterion A for its association with the growth of Mars and the local oil industry. It is also eligible for its engineering significance. Situated in its original location in Mars Borough and Adams Township, the B&O Railroad retains its historic setting. Although it is likely that this segment of the track has received repairs and maintenance commonly associated with active railroad use, the replacement of any materials does not negate the significance of this section of track.

Miles Covert Farm
The Miles Covert Farm is located along the west side of Warrendale Road, south of Route 228 in Adams Township, Butler County. The two-and-one-half story, late Victorian/Shingle Style dwelling was constructed circa 1896-1913. The frame walls support a hipped roof with projecting gables that is clad in patterned slate shingles. Interior corbelled brick chimneys rise on the south and west elevations. The windows are single, one-over-one, double-hung replacement sash with wooden surrounds. The doors include a half-glass, half-panel front door that is topped with a single pane transom. A one-story, hipped roof addition, with paired one-over-one, double-hung windows. Outbuildings include a small, one-story pressed stone shed and a frame bank barn on a stone and concrete foundation.

The Miles Covert Farm was determined eligible for listing in the NRHP in April 2004 as an example of a mid-nineteenth century farmstead in Adams Township and as a strong example of a late-nineteenth to early-twentieth century Victorian/Shingle Style farmhouse. It retains its historic location and setting on the west side of Warrendale Road in Adams Township. Although the dwelling has been modified with replacement windows, it retains enough integrity of design, materials and workmanship to convey its association with a nineteenth century farmstead. The dwelling also displays decorative details, such as a patterned slate roof, wood shingle wall cladding and the corbelled chimneys that are features of the Shingle style. The dwelling and barn on the Miles Covert Farm all remain in their original locations. The farmstead remains intact and connotes both the feeling and association of a historic farmstead of its era without visual modern intrusions. Likewise, the barn retains its integrity of design and workmanship it retains most of its original materials.

Michael A. Pasterik House
The Michael A. Pasterik House is located along north side of Brickyard Road north of Route 228 in Adams Township, Butler County. The two-and-one-half story, Folk Victorian style farmhouse is T-shaped in plan and sits on a glazed tile foundation. The cross-gabled roof is covered in patterned slate shingles. A gable dormer and an interior corbelled brick chimney are located on the west side of the roof. Another interior, corbelled, brick chimney is located in the middle of the roof. The front (south) gable has patterned wood shingles in the gable end with drop siding covering the exterior of the lower two levels. The windows are a mixture of one-over-one, double-hung, aluminum sash; single, one-over-one, double-hung wood sash, casement, and paired sliding windows.

A transom is located over the wood paneled entrance door while a second wood paneled door in the ell does not have any decorative features. An open porch is supported by square wood porch supports with decorative brackets. A balustrade of turned spindles wraps around the porch. Additions include a small shed on the south side, a small, one-story pyramid roofed addition and a shed addition on the north elevation. A frame barn is located to the northwest of the dwelling.

The Michael A. Pasterik House was determined eligible for listing in the NRHP in April 2004 as a strong example of Folk Victorian architecture in Butler County. Situated in its original location along Brickyard Road in Adams Township, the Michael A. Pasterik House retains its historic setting. It also retains many of its original materials, such as the patterned wood and slate shingles, that contribute to the integrity of design and workmanship and the property’s historic feeling of a mid-nineteenth century residence, as well as its ability to communicate its historic significance.

George Ebert House
The George Ebert House is located along the south side of Route 228 in Adams Township, Butler County. The two-and-one-half story, five-bay wide, Italianate style dwelling was constructed in the 1870s. The frame walls are clad in German siding and sit on a stone foundation that supports a cross-gable roof with two, interior gable-end brick chimneys with corbelled caps. Paired brackets detail the cornice line. The windows are single, two-over-two, double-hung sash. The windows are ornamented with wood surrounds and fluted sills. The windows on the main (north) elevation are topped with rounded arch caps with keystones. The north elevation door is double glass and paneled and topped with a segmentally arched two-pane transom and window crown with keystone.

The porch off of the north elevation spans the three middle bays and possesses a hipped roof topped with elaborate cresting with corner finials located in front of the second story central window. The wooden porch is constructed of beveled supports, decorative brackets and an open rail. A wrap around porch joins the ell located on the south elevation. This porch is supported by chamfered columns, flanked by brackets and an open rail balustrade. Extending south and east of the ell and original house is a two-story addition, constructed in the 1920s, with a flat asphalt roof and two-over-two ribbon windows. A two-bay garage is on the ground level of the addition.

A one-story, frame and stucco cottage is also located on the property. Two-bays wide, it has a side gable asphalt shingle roof and one-over-one windows. There is a shed roof porch on the south elevation and a walk out basement. A central brick chimney flue rises from the roof. The two dwellings are approached from Route 228 by a tree-lined drive that also contributes to the property.

The George Ebert House was determined eligible for listing in the NRHP in April 2004 as a strong example of an Italianate dwelling from the late-nineteenth-century in Butler County. It retains its historic location and setting on the south side of Route 228 in Adams Township. There have been little or no modifications to this building, and it continues to impart the feeling of its original time period. The George Ebert House retains many of its original materials that support its integrity of design and workmanship. These characteristics help contribute to a feeling of a late nineteenth century house, further contributing to the property's ability to communicate its historic significance. Its proportions, massing, and details all convey attributes of the vernacular Italianate style. It embodies distinctive characteristics of the type, period, and method of construction for the late-nineteenth century.

Galletta's Winter Haven
Galletta’s Winter Haven is located along the west side of Three Degree Road south of Route 228 in Adams Township, Butler County. The main dwelling was constructed circa 1900 and includes influences of late Victorian, Craftsman, and Colonial Revival styles. The two-and-one-half story building is three-bays wide; its main (east) elevation is dominated by a central cross gable with fishscale shingles. The side gable roof is clad in asphalt shingles with brick exterior end chimneys on both the north and south elevations. The cornice line is ornamented with dentils and block modillions. The walls are clad in German and aluminum siding. The windows are a mixture of single nine-over-one, double-hung sash; single and paired, fifteen-over-one, double-hung sash; and single, casement with a fixed window on top.

The off-center door that leads into the east elevation is flanked by twelve-pane sidelights, which are topped by three-pane transoms. A five-pane transom sits directly over the door, which is half-glass half-panel. The porch has turned supports that rise up from the open rail balustrade. French doors located on either side lead into two identical additions. The ell of the house it topped with a gambrel roof. The windows are similar to the main section of the house except for paired stained glass windows that ornament the first floor of the west elevation. Underneath the windows is a small portico sheltering a panel door. Directly north of the portico is a one-story, one-bay wide hipped roof addition on a brick foundation.

The outbuildings include a one-and-one-half story, frame cottage, a frame bank barn, a one-and-one-half story garage with a shed roof addition, a one-bay wide garage with a shed addition, a frame tool shed with an asphalt shingle side gable roof accented by a cupola in the middle of the ridgeline, a mobile home, and a second tool shed located immediately to the north of the first garage.

Galletta’s Winter Haven was determined eligible for listing in the NRHP in April 2004 as a strong example of a vernacular interpretation of late-Victorian, Craftsman, and Colonial Revival styles in Butler County. It retains its historic location and setting on the west side of Three Degree Road. The replacements and modifications to the house do not camouflage the original character of the building, but, instead, represent the evolution and transition of the building over time. The buildings retain many of their original materials that support their integrity of design and workmanship, and that contribute to a feeling of an early-twentieth century property further contributing to the property's ability to communicate its historic significance association.

Mars Home For Youth
The Mars Home For Youth is located along the north and south sides of Route 228 in Adams Township, Butler County. The Tudor Revival style main administration building features timber and brick cladding and was constructed between 1905 and 1908. The former dwelling is now the center of a complex of other Tudor Revival style buildings both historic and modern. Standing two and one-half stories high, on a foundation of cut stone, the building has an asphalt shingle hipped roof with gable dormers. The front façade (south elevation) is eight-bays wide with an open entry porch underneath an upper story room. The first story is clad in brick; the second and attic stories are half-timbered. The porch, supported by brick piers, has an open rail Arabesque balustrade and a beadboard ceiling. The off-center, double-door leaded glass entry is topped with a segmental arch and three-pane transom. Two fixed-pane stained glass windows with brick jack arches and stone lintels flank the exterior brick chimney on the south elevation. The windows on the second story are replacement six-over-one, double-hung aluminum.

Historic outbuildings include a historic maintenance/garage and print shop, a generator house, the Sloan House, a Cape Cod-style maintenance residence, bath house, maintenance building, storage shed, and three dwellings located along the south side of Route 228.

Modern buildings include the Longmore Academy, maintenance residence, Hueller Dining Hall, Boswell Center, and five residences (Gilfillan House, Wardle House, Ryman House, Collins House, and the Bartley House), and the Eichenauer House.

The Mars Home for Youth was determined eligible for listing in the NRHP in September 2004 for its association with social agencies of the late-nineteenth and early- twentieth centuries and its architecture. The historic buildings associated with Mars Home For Youth all retain their historic setting and location. The setting of Mars Home For Youth has changed with the addition of modern buildings. However, it has not been compromised, for the surrounding environment supports the feeling that this property is, and has historically been, an educational and residential institution. Although all of the buildings have been renovated with modern alterations and additions, they retain enough integrity of design, materials and workmanship to convey their association with the turn-of-the-century development of the area. The main administration building particularly, with its intersecting roofs and half-timbered detailing, retains many high style Tudor Revival elements.

William Hays Farm
The William Hays Farm is located along the north side of Route 228 in Middlesex Township, Butler County. The two-and-one-half story, five-bay wide dwelling was constructed circa 1840-1850. The frame walls sit on a stone foundation and are clad in wood and vinyl drop siding. The side gable roof is covered in asphalt shingles. The eaves are ornamented with brackets. Two interior brick chimneys are located at each gable end. The windows are a mixture of single, two-over-two, double-hung sash, modern replacement one-over-one double-hung sash and casement windows with fixed sidelights and transoms flanked by fixed, louvered shutters. The front façade (east elevation) features a central door flanked by four-pane sidelights and a wood surround. The solid wood door has four decorative arched panels. The wood storm door is one-panel with eight lights.

A porch with an open rail balustrade, a spindle work frieze and turned supports stretches across the main (south) elevation and rests upon a cobblestone faced concrete foundation. A screened-in porch, circa 1920, dominates the north elevation. One-over-one double-hung ribbon windows sit atop bead board panels. Wooden lattice panels in between wooden support piers obscure the foundation.

The frame bank barn is located south of the dwelling. The walls sit on a stone foundation and support a side gable roof clad in asphalt shingles. A rooster weathervane tops the cupola on the roof. The windows are six pane fixed lights as well as six-over-six, double-hung sash. The forebay (east elevation) has been enclosed with concrete block. To the southwest of the barn is a small, frame outbuilding on a stone foundation. Covered in vinyl siding, it has a front gable asphalt shingle roof and one-over-one and six-over-six double-hung sash.

The William Hays Farm was determined eligible for the NRHP in April 2004 as an example of a mid-nineteenth century farmstead in Middlesex Township and for its architecture. The dwelling, barn and outbuilding on the William Hays Farm all remain in their original locations, surrounded by the fields that have provided its setting for over 150 years. The farmstead remains intact and conveys both the feeling and association of a historic farmstead of its era without visual modern intrusions. Although the dwelling has been modified with modern materials and additions, it retains enough integrity of design, materials and workmanship to convey its association with a mid-nineteenth century farmstead. The dwelling also displays decorative details, such as the Italianate brackets at the cornice line that suggest the stylistic evolution of a building over time.

Evans-Park House
The Evans-Park House is located along the west side of Old Route 8 in Middlesex Township. The dwelling is a five-bay wide, brick Greek Revival style building constructed during the mid-nineteenth century. Built upon a stone foundation, the east elevation features a central doorway with a 13-pane transom and six-pane sidelights. A row of dentils runs the length of the transom at the bottom. Fluted pilasters flank the panel door, and a large wood lintel stretches across the top of the opening. The windows are replacement, six-over-six, double-hung sash with wooden lintels and brick skills. Louvered shutters frame the windows on the first and second stories. The side gable roof is clad in asphalt shingles with interior brick chimneys. A one-and-one-half story twentieth-century brick addition is on the northern elevation of the ell that is located off of the south side of the house. A two-story frame screened-in porch extends from the west elevation of the original house as well a portion of southern elevation of the ell. A concrete block chimney rises at the juncture of the two rooflines. The frame bank barn, built on a stone foundation, has a side gable roof clad in asphalt shingles. The barn includes one-over-one double hung windows, as well as four and six-pane fixed windows, and ventilation slits in the gables.

The Evans-Park House was determined eligible for listing in the NRHP in April 2004 as a strong example of a mid-nineteenth century Greek Revival style dwelling in Butler County. It retains its historic location and setting on the west side of Old Route 8 South in Middlesex Township. The partially wooded and landscaped environs enhance the setting of the historic dwelling. The modifications to this dwelling, including sympathetic additions and replacement windows, do not hinder its ability to impart the feeling of its original time period. The Evans-Park House retains many of its original materials, such as window and door surrounds, chimneys, and architectural details that support its integrity of design and workmanship and that contribute to a feeling of a mid-nineteenth house, further contributing to the property's ability to communicate its historic significance. Its proportions, massing, and details all convey attributes of the Greek Revival style. It embodies distinctive characteristics of the type, period, and method of construction for the mid-nineteenth century.

Gillespie Farm
The Gillespie Farm is located at the southwest quadrant of the Route 228/Route 8 intersection in Middlesex Township, Butler County. The farm includes three houses, two barns, three outbuildings, and a swimming pool. The main dwelling is a mixture of Colonial Revival, Craftsman, and Beaux Arts styles. Built on a stone foundation, the house is clad in its original weatherboarding. The symmetrical footprint of the building consists of a side-gable portion flanked on either side by cross- and side-gabled wings. Flat roof porches supported by large Tuscan columns are located on the corners of the front elevation.

The main dwelling is two-and-one-half stories with multiple gables and large overhanging eaves; the roof supports four brick chimneys. Windows throughout the dwelling consist of a mixture of single, paired, and ribbon, six-over-one, double-hung sash; four-over-one casement; and three-light hopper windows in the basement. Windows often appear as pairs or within a ribbon. Gabled dormers possess similar windows. The front elevation is dominated by a central entry which includes a wooden door with moulding flanked on either side by four-over-one sidelights and is contained within a gabled portico supported by two, large Tuscan columns. A large terra cotta patio extends from the entry and connects the door to the drive. Steps to the patio are marked by concrete pillars topped with urns. Outbuildings include a cottage dwelling, modern dwelling, a springhouse, chicken coop, two barns, and a utility shed.

The Gillespie Farm was determined eligible for listing in the NRHP in April 2004 for its association with agriculture and for its architecture. Both the dwelling and barn within the Gillespie Farm remain in their original locations, surrounded by the fields that have provided its setting for almost a century.

Park-Raisley-Lisman House
The Park-Raisley-Lisman House is located along the east side of Route 8 in Middlesex Township, Butler County. The two-and-one-half story, five-bay-wide frame Folk Victorian style dwelling was constructed circa 1880 to 1900. A stone foundation supports frame walls that are clad in drop siding. The patterned slate, side-gable roof has a central cross gable on the west elevation. The cross gable is ornamented with a bargeboard and a circular window with decorative scrolls arranged around the radius of the circle. Interior brick chimneys are located at either gable end.

The windows are primarly single, two-over-two, double-hung sash. The windows on the west elevation retain their arched hoodmold and wooden surrounds. A two-story ell extends to the east of the main house with one-over-one double- hung aluminum replacement windows. A shed roof porch is located in the elbow of the dwelling. A small portico with square supports shelters the front door, which has a surround identical to the windows on the west elevation.

The Park-Raisley-Lisman House was determined eligible for listing in the NRHP in April 2004 as a strong example of a late-nineteenth century Folk Victorian dwelling in Butler County. Situated in its original location along Route 8 in Middlesex Township, the Park-Raisley-Lisman House retains its historic setting. The dwelling retains many of its original materials, such as the original window configuration, slate roof, wood drop siding, and ornamentation. These contribute to the integrity of design and workmanship and the property’s historic feeling of a late-nineteenth century residence and its ability to communicate its historic significance.

The History of Route 228

Many early settlers came through Pittsburgh to reach the Venango Indiana Trail, the one wagon road leading north. This road was known as Franklin Road.

Another road built to accommodate northern bound travelers was the Pittsburgh-Mercer Road, also known as Perry Highway or Route 19. The third north/south road to be built was the Perrysville and Zelienople Plank Road. It was built by private business owners and was used as a toll road. It eventually took the place of Perry Highway and became part of Route 19.

To reach these new roads and to travel to other communities, many settlers built small, local connecting roadways. The Old Mars-Criders Road was one of these connectors, that evolved into the present day Route 228. As communities grew and settlement extended further north, south, east and west, each of the roadways had an increase of traffic. An increase of traffic brought changes to the roadways.

In 1991, the Route 228 Project was placed on PennDOT’S 12-Year Program. In 1995, PennDOT initiated studies to identify transportation improvements needed along the Route 228 corridor in Cranberry and Adams Townships. In 1996, however, the project was put on hold. In order for the project to be added back onto the 12-Year Program, it had to be recommended by the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC). SPC is the Metropolitan Planning Organization for the ten-county region that includes Butler County.

SPC added the Route 228 Project to its Long Range Plan in 1999. In the year 2000, SPC conducted an Early Options Analysis Study for the Route 228 Corridor from Route 19 in Cranberry Township to the Route 356 Corridor in Buffalo Township. This paved the way for PennDOT to initiate the Route 228 Improvement Project in 2001.