LANDMARKS: The town was founded in 1796 along the banks of the Slippery Rock Creek, but most of the original landmarks have fallen out of view. They include several gristmills and sawmills, salt wells, coal mines, a distillery, and numerous log houses. One of the oldest structures still standing is a frame building at the intersection of PA Route 488 and Wurtemberg Road that once housed a post office, general store and later, a nursery and now - WURTEMBURG SHOPS - INTO ANTIQUES & MEZZANINE CAFE in the general store. The ANTIQUE SHAK is located in the former post office. Driving west towards Ellwood City a stone wall in front of the Perry Elementary School was built as a government project before World War II.
THE PEOPLE: The early settlers were farmers and craftsmen.
SIZE: Wurtemburg is unincorporated, there are no official boundaries. Locals often measure the communities unofficial boundaries in terms of bridges. Driving east along PA Route 488 from the Ellport borough limits, Wurtemburg is said to begin halfway between the Connaquenessing Creek bridge and the Slippery Rock Creek bridge and it ends about a few hundred yards down the road at the next bridge, which also crosses the meandering Slippery Rock Creek.
HOW IT GOT ITS NAME: Early German settlers named the community after their hometown of Wurtemburg, Germany.
WURTEMBURG IN HISTORY: Local reference books say the first settler was probably Ananias Allen, who arrived in 1796 and built a log gristmill along the creek. He also built the towns first house. Other settlers, many of them originally from Germany, followed from surrounding areas and quickly built a sawmill, linseed-oil mill, a distillery, feed store and other buildings. A salt well drilled 500 feet deep in 1821 and produced about two barrels of salt a day. The post office, now the ANTIQUE SHAK, was established around 1845 and a large general store was built around 1900, now INTO ANTIQUES & MEZZANINE CAFE.
CHURCHES: Several churches were erected over the years. Two of the oldest still standing are the Wurtemburg Presbyterian Church and the Wurtemburg United Methodist Church. More recently, the Orthodox Monastery of the Transfiguration was founded in 1967 by Mother Alexandra, a former princess of Romania, who died in 1991. Today the monastery is a home to many nuns who offer retreats and other religious programs to visitors.
EVENT: A popular event in Wurtemburg is the annual trout fishing contest for children in the Slippery Rock Creek. The fishing derby is held the last Sunday in May.