Can you guess this Alle-Kiski town? It is named after a man who was not blunt, its most famous citizen was almost always in a pickle (and in the early days, playing ketch-up), a famous Native American lived here before the town started, and very likely you have passed by one of its churches’ towers that peek above RT 28.

St. Mary's towers peek over Rt. 28

Many who speed by may only know this burg, nestled along RT 28 and the Allegheny River, by the twin towers of St. Mary’s Church. But the peaks are just the tip of the iceberg. There’s more here that drivers never see racing into Pittsburgh, both of the church and the town. The rest of the church, built in 1917, is also a spectacular image. And tucked away a few blocks away is another hidden gem RT 28 travelers never see, dedicated to two men, one a historically prominent Indian and the other a bankrupt vegetable-grower whose name is now a household name, especially when it comes to French fries and Steeler football.

Memorial Plaza

Perched high on a pedestal in the middle of a bricked plaza is the third of three Indian statues that have stood here in honor of Guyasuta (the other two perished when auto-mishaps occurred.) The Seneca Indian served as a guide to George Washington (then later fought against him), took part in attacks on settlers in Central and Eastern Westmoreland County, and finally negotiated an uneasy peace between native peoples and the settlers. Guyasuta hunted on the very grounds along the river where, 60 years later, he would live out the rest of his days and then be buried (probably near the town’s RT 28 onramp.) Another 60 years or so, and those riverbanks were filled with vegetables—which would give this small memorial plaza its name.

Guyasuta

A 16-year-old in the town by 1860 was already harvesting so much from his garden that he employed three women and sold produce in Pittsburgh markets! At 16! It kept getting better. He soon expanded the business to grow, bottle and sell horseradish. It became a hot item real fast. Women loved it—it beat canning it themselves! His garden grew from 3 / 4 acre to 21 acres to 100 acres just outside town along the river. But an economic downturn in 1875 sent him spiraling into bankruptcy. But our man, Henry, finally recovered from it years later, as he still worked the same business, and once again it mushroomed, if you will excuse the pun. This time he succeeded, and Henry’s business has never really stopped since then. He even built a huge glass plant in his hometown that supplied his canned food business with bottles. H. J. became both friend and benefactor to the town, teaching Sunday School in Grace Methodist Church, supplying among other things, a playground, a ball field and the statue of Guyasuta. Now the small parklet with the statue is named after him: the H.J. Heinz Memorial Plaza. A bronze relief shows Heinz in his gardens and community affairs, including teaching Sunday School, which was important to Heinz. The bronzework had formerly been in the company’s Pittsburgh headquarters for half a century until it was installed in the Plaza in the mid-80s.

Memorial to H.J. Heinz

Community involvement had been important to the town’s founder, James Sharp, in 1826. He set high standards for others and himself. Sharp gave all kinds of land to the churches, including Grace Methodist Church. In gratitude, they named their first building, “The Little Jim Church,” after James Sharp. Little did he know, the church would one day be the spiritual home of H.J. Heinz.

Panels on the memorial in Heinz Memorial Plaza in Sharpsburg depict scenes from Heinz's life

Did you guess the town? All this sits underneath St. Mary’s towers in Sharpsburg, PA.