The walk of the town: History tour covers N. Sharpsville Avenue area

SHARON – Strolling around Sharon on a peaceful afternoon studying the history of its old buildings has become a staple of what the Sharon Historical Society is about.

The society, along with the Sharon Beautification Commission, will be hosting the12th history walking tour at 2 and 4 p.m. Saturday during WaterFire Sharon’s “Boheme” night.

“We’ve done parts of this tour before, but we’re finding out more information,” said Brian Kepple, of Sharon. “There’s still plenty of history to recover. Lots of pictures out there.”

The tour will cover North Sharpsville Avenue and Dock, Railroad and Chestnut streets. The group will meet in the parking lot on the southwest corner of Sharpsville Avenue and East State Street.

“I think we’re really getting a good snapshot of the buildings we’re going to talk about,” Kepple said.

The tour will be narrated by local historians Kepple, John Zavinski and Bill Cowan. Visitors will be treated to a collectible picture and informational booklet on the buildings, landmarks and features of the walk.

“Our history walks keep getting bigger and better,” said Taylor Galaska, Sharon Historical Society board member. “More people join us on our walks and always comment after saying how interesting the information is. It’s amazing to see so many people interested in Sharon’s history.”

The trio of Kepple, Zavinski and Cowan hosted the previous walking tour at the last WaterFire in August that highlighted the Irvine Avenue corridor.

Two large groups set out from Mercer County CareerLink, 217 W. State St., home of the former Firestone Tire and Appliance store in the 1960s. Each person was handed a collectible picture and informational booklet. 

The tour highlighted the railroads, churches and mansions of the West Hill. 

“Listening to the history of this area (West Hill) is amazing to me. There are so many stories,” Galaska said.

The highlight of the tour was walking through the old Stevenson Mansion at 109 N. Irvine. 

The property is now owned by Dan and Stephanie Weaver. They are remodeling the building and intend to live there. The third floor looks like a modern home, but the couple plans to restore the first and second floors to their former glory, according to Kepple.

“It was most interesting to learn the history of one of Sharon’s most beautiful mansions and the story of its journey to Sharon,” said Theresa Daoust of Girard, Ohio, formerly of Sharon. “I hope the couple has an open house when they’re finished with renovations so we can officially welcome them to Sharon, Pa.”

Other mansions on the walking path included the sites of the Conrad Q. Carver House and William Ward House at 159 and 209 N. Irvine Ave., next door to the Stevenson Mansion. The buildings were torn down in 1961 to build the West Hill Elementary School.

“If you lived in Sharon and were prominent, you either lived on the east side or on Irvine Avenue,” Kepple said.

Another interesting part of the walk was the history of Sharon’s railroads.

“At one time there were four railroad stations in the Sharon area, each with their own unique history,” Kepple said.

The 200 block of West State Street housed the New York Central Railroad freight station west of the tracks between what is now Reyers Shoe Store and Mercer County CareerLink. The Penn-Ohio streetcar line on the north side of West State Street ran until buses replaced them in 1939, and the building was turned into a bus station.

Across the way at the northeast corner, the building housed merchants and doubled as the passenger stations for the Erie Railroad. The last passenger train ran in January 1970. Today it has been remodeled as offices and storefronts. 

The upcoming walk will include a lot of information about the railroads in Sharon, according to Kepple.

The Irvine Corridor walking tour would not have been complete without learning the history of the many churches that line the area.

At the corner where Warehouse Sales has been since 1951 was a log cabin. The Sharon Methodist congregation built a church there in 1842. It burned in 1876 and was replaced by a larger church that burned in 1917. 

A block away, on North Irvine Avenue, another church was built to replace it in 1923. In 1987 that church, too, burned and was replaced by the current First United Methodist Church.

“People have commented how many churches were downtown. The sheer number of churches is really something,” Kepple said. “That was the center of town. Everyone lived down in the valley.”