09/28/2026
Where I grew up. 🤍 The Village of Indian Head… a tiny blip on the map along route 711 between Normalville & Melcroft. I spent more time playing in the “crick” beside my house than I did with other kids, we had a deep freezer and stock shelves in my basement to stock up after going to “town” to get groceries, & I know at least the last…. 5 ish branches of my family tree by ♥️…. The rest are in the White book at my parents house. Small town girl indeed.
1944 Picture of Route 711, and the old Indian head bridge at the town of Indian Head, Fayette County, Pennsylvania. Many Years Ago, Before I started researching and sharing history here on Facebook, I thought that maybe Indian Head was named for a rock that looked like the head of a Native American. There are some really amazing big rocks that I've seen that look like the head of a human in our truly amazing Mountainous region. So when I discovered that the town was named for its location near the headwaters of Indian Creek. I still question the name because Indian Creek originates further north in the Forbes State Forest within Donegal Township, Westmoreland County, near the Pennsylvania Turnpike and Jones Mills. I do know from my years of researching Native American History, that the Native American tribes hold the confluence of two streams or rivers to be deeply sacred , and Indian Head is the confluence of Back Creek and Indian Creek. So I'm sure in the early days of the town of Indian Head, many Native artifacts were found there , so maybe that is the reason for the towns name? Who Knows ? All I know is that I myself consider Indian Head to be a very special place, because I lived near there and was a Member Of The Big Dog Gym on Back Creek Road. There are many more personal reasons that I could explain why I Cherish this part of the world , but that would be a whole book. Indian Head is located along Pennsylvania Route 381, 10.4 miles (16.7 km) east of Connellsville, Pa, and has a post office with ZIP code 15446, which opened on December 17, 1853. The surrounding area of Saltlick Township was settled during or shortly after the time of the American Revolution, with early settlers engaging primarily in agriculture and later in coal and mineral extraction. The development of transportation routes through the Indian Creek valley contributed to the growth of small communities such as Indian Head. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the region’s economy was influenced by coal mining and rail transportation, although Indian Head itself remained a small rural settlement. The community is served by the Connellsville Area School District. > ( The 1909 Devastating Fire ) > On May 10, 1909, a catastrophic fire destroyed the town of Indian Head. Local accounts state the fire started in a building used to store wool when two boys were playing with matches. The flames consumed nearly the entire community, including the planning mill, gristmill, sawmill, slaughterhouse, ice house, scale house, buggy shed, wagon shed, grain house, bark shed, shoe shop, Sparks' store, and local homes. Following the devastation, the community made the decision to rebuild. Western cattle baron D.B. Zimmerman, drawn to the region by coal, acquired the area, turning Indian Head into a company town. Under his leadership, it functioned as a company town complete with a company store built on the former Sparks Supply foundation. D.B. Zimmerman ran the operations until his death in 1929, after which members of the Mellon family purchased the town. > ( Picture From https://www.facebook.com/RememberingSaltlickTownshipandsurroundingareas ) Information Link #2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Head,_Pennsylvania
