Christmas in July—Historical Society Unveils Refurbished Sleigh

The Allegheny Foothills Historical Society has a new addition to its Sugar Plum Days festivities.

On Sunday, members of the Plum historical society, the Heinz History Center and the Northern Westmoreland Career & Technology Center gathered at the Carpenter Log House in Boyce Park to unveil a refurbished sleigh.

The sleigh was purchased during an auction in Plum last year by a member of the historical society. Members then teamed up with the Heinz History Center affiliates program and the school to work on making the old and worn sleigh a usable addition to the Carpenter Log House.

"We wanted it to be used for Sugar Plum Days," said Patty Heinbaugh of the historical society. "Santa comes to take his photo with kids, and we thought it would be great for him to sit on it.

"It's going to be a nice addition. A lot of hard work and time has gone into this."

Heinbaugh said members of the historical society are still looking into the age of the original sleigh.

Joe Scalise, an instructor at the CTC, and his students spent three months working on the sleigh for several hours a day.

"It was dilapidated," he said. "There was nothing left to it, but now you can put it behind a horse and it would work. It's nice to see the efforts of the students and what they could do."

Robert O. Stakeley, Educator and Manager of the Heinz History Center Affiliates Program, agreed.

"I saw this project as a real challenge, but I knew there would be someone who would love to take on this project," he said. "Students are always looking for hands-on work and projects. It's all about coming together."

Carpenter Log House

Built in 1822, the original Carpenter Log House was located on property owned by Jerimiah Murry, the founder of Murrysville. The two-story log house was the residence of the Murry/Carpenter family for 136 years. 

In 1958, the house and property were sold to Allegheny County to be included in Boyce Park. The log house was dismantled and rebuilt at Point State Park for Pittsburgh's bicentennial celebration in 1958.

The Allegheny Foothills Historical Society restored the house, located on Pierson Run Road in Plum, in 1979. The house was rebuilt on the original foundation with many of the original logs. 

The house is open for tours every Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. For more information about the Allegheny Foothills Historical Society, visit www.plumhistory.org, call 412-832-0685 or email plumhistory@yahoo.com.