Somerset

Somerset is a borough of 6,000 people (2020) and a township of 12,000 people (2020) in the Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania. This article also covers Shanksville about 11 miles (17 km) away.

Understand

Somerset was a central stage for the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794, a violent protest against a tax imposed on spirits, including whiskey Several rebellion leaders lived in Somerset. Federal militia were sent to put down the rebellion. The Whiskey Rebellion was the first major test of the federal authority under the newly adopted U.S. Constitution and under President George Washington.

On September 11, 2001, United Airlines Flight 93 from Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco was one of the four planes hijacked that day by al-Qaeda operatives. It crashed not far from Somerset near Shanksville, killing all 44 people on board. It is believed that hijackers intended to fly this plane into the U.S. Capitol Building or the White House.

Get in

Somerset lies just off Interstate 75 110 km (68 mi) southwest of Pittsburgh, and 220 km (140 mi) west of Harrisburg.

See

• 1 Somerset Historical Center, 10649 Somerset Pike, ☏ +1 814 445-6077. W-Sa 10AM-4PM. A 150-acre rural history museum. $6 adults, $5.50 seniors, $3 children 3-11, free for children under 3. (updated Dec 2022)
• 2 Flight 93 National Memorial, 6424 Lincoln Hwy, Stoystown, ☏ +1 814 893-6322. Grounds:Sunrise - sunset. Visitor center: Daily, 9AM-5PM. This national memorial honors the victims of the flight with various outdoor landmarks. The memorial also features an indoor center with exhibits related to the flight, tributes, and other artifacts from that day. Free. (updated Jul 2018)

Walter's Mill Bridge

• 3 Walter's Mill Bridge (North of Somerset off Pennsylvania Route 985). A historic covered bridge in Somerset Township. It was built in 1830, and is a 60-foot-long (18 m) Burr truss bridge, with vertical plank siding and a tin covered gable roof. The bridge crosses Haupt's Run. It is one of 10 covered bridges in Somerset County. (updated Dec 2022)
• 4 Daniel B. Zimmerman Mansion (also known as Manor Hill, now the Georgian Inn of Somerset), 800 Georgian Inn Dr., Somerset Township. A historic mansion on the National Register of Historic Places in Somerset Township. It was designed by noted Philadelphia architect Horace Trumbauer and built in 1915. It is a 3-story, brick Georgian Revival style mansion, with a five-bay central section with a hipped roof, flanked by asymmetrical wings. It has housed a hotel since 2010. (updated Dec 2022)

Eat

• 1 Mel's Restaurant and Lounge, 127 West Patriot St, ☏ +1 814-444-6772. M-W 11AM-midnight, Th-Sa 11AM-1AM, Su noon-midnight. (updated Dec 2022)

Sleep

Along the access road to the Dwight Eisenhower Highway/Interstate 76, there are several chain hotels.

Go next

Routes through Somerset

Pittsburgh/Washington ← Donegal ←

W  E

→ Bedford → Harrisburg/Hagerstown