The town of Smicksburg kicked off it's 22nd Annual Fall Festival from Friday, September 30th through Sunday, October 2nd.
Smicksburg is an Amish community located in a northern part of Indiana County - about 35 to 40 minutes north of downtown Indiana. Despite the inclement weather, it was still a pretty ride through the rolling countryside of the county where automobiles share the roads with horses and buggies. Visitors will know that they are nearing the Amish community when they see the grooves in the roads from the wheels of the horses and buggies.
In case you are unfamiliar with the history of the Amish in Indiana County - here's a little information for you!
Since 1961, the Amish population in Indiana County has grown to include over 800 settlers. Smicksburg or "Schmicksburg," West Mahoning Township, Route 954 was founded in May of 1827 by Reverend J. George Schmick. Reverend Schmick was a Lutheran minister who purchased land from Charles Coleman.
The Smicksburg Post Office opened October 1, 1830. John Kerr was the postmaster at that time. Kerr was also the blacksmith. The borough was incorporated in 1854. Within Smicksburg and the surrounding area, there are over 20 specialty stores offering country crafts, quilts, furniture, foods and more.
When you visit the area, be on the lookout for stores scattered throughout the area as well as clustered together in downtown Smicksburg. As we drove towards downtown Smicksburg, we suddenly happened upon Yoder's Country Living.
Beautiful display on the porch, surrounding the entrance to Yoder's.
In addition to the beautiful fall foliage displays on the porch, there was also a large selection of baked goods for sale. I arrived shortly after the start of the fall festival at 10am and already the store was very busy! Inside, guests could find a multitude of country crafts including handmade rugs, quilts, foods and furniture. There was also live entertainment inside the store as well as samplings of many fall foods, mixes and spiced cider!
Next, I headed back to the car and continued along Route 954 until coming across Smicksburg Chocolate Shop and General Store! As I pulled into the parking lot, I saw that the cars were sharing the lot with Amish horses and buggies whose owners were inside the store shopping too.
Below is a photo of the entrance into the store.
The inside of this store was exactly what I envisioned an Amish General Store to look like! Visitors could buy foods in bulk, such as many types of flour, sugars, grains, spices, candies, baking supplies and so much more.
Next, I continued onto East Kittanning Street in Smicksburg where I parked at Old Smicksburg Park. Parking was a breeze (which was a great relief due to the continuous rain) thanks to the members of a nearby volunteer fire department that were parking vehicles and directing traffic.
I then walked along Kittaning Street and first stopped at a great shop called The Drying Shed. This store had multiple levels and rooms brimming with unique and beautiful items including primitive prints, Americana items, potpourri, barn stars, handmade country wreaths, other seasonal gifts plus much, much more.
Below is a street shot of The Drying Shed's porch which was also decorated with many decorative items available for purchase!
Located behind The Drying Shed as a beautiful pumpkin and mum display as well as a tent selling a many varieties of apples as well as cider!
I continued on foot up down the street behind The Drying Shed and came upon The Country Cupboard, located on Clarion Street.
Inside the Country Cupboard was a wealth of country-type home decor, candles, gifts as well as an entire room devoted to the sales of Windgate Winery items.
After leaving the Country Cupboard and walking down the street, you could see the John G. Schmick Heritage Center. Visitors can learn history about the Smicksburg area inside this center.
Next was a stop at Smicksburg Pottery to see an eclectic and affordable collection of functional pottery, hand blown glass, fashion accessories, exotic wood products, prints and paintings.
Here is a shot from the front porch of Smicksburg Pottery, facing the street across from it. As you can see, on the far right is Thee Village Eatinghouse, then in the middle is Thee Village Sampler and finally on the left is another photo of The Drying Shed.
We had lunch at Thee Village Eatinghouse where they had a special Fall Festival Menu specific for that weekend! The service and food were phenomenal. The "special of the day" was a Pulled Pork BBQ Sandwich with a side of pasta salad.
Another item on their special menu for this particular weekend was a delicious Reuben sandwich, also served with a side of pasta salad.
Their special weekend menu even featured a section for the youngest of visitors - here is the kids macaroni and cheese, served with tortillas and applesauce!
Also at Thee Village Eatinghouse, there was a baked good display where people were ordering a multitude of baked goods - from cookies and pies to breads and specialty items.
Finally, we went for a short drive to Windgate Vineyards and Winery. This winery is the largest estate winery in Southwestern Pennsylvania. The vineyard's micro climate is nearly perfect for the growing of wine groups due to the elevation, western slope exposure and persistent air drainage that provides warming in the winter and cooling in the summer. Currently the winery bottles over 9,000 gallons of wine each year!!
Located near the vineyard was a replica of a 18th-Century Log Fort - Fort Mahoning.
It was great to see that even the rainy weather of the day didn't seem to deter visitors from exploring the great shops in the Smicksburg Area! I look forward to returning to their fall festival next year as well as the additional festivals they hold throughout the year. For details on their next event - Smicksburg Old Fashioned Country Christmas Open House, please check our Calendar of Events or visit www.smicksburg.net! I hope to see you there!
