Today, we on the Haller Global Fellowship Program actually had a taste of what we’d be doing if any of us went on the Appalachia Regional Resilience Program: we went to Connellsville! Connellsville is the second biggest city in Fayette County and where participants of the Appalachia program stay and work during their time. It has a rich history thanks to a formerly bustling coal industry thanks to the region’s massive natural deposits. This coal was perfect for making coke, a more efficient type of fuel made from coal; so, Connellsville became known for this “Coal and Coke” industry, and even the “Coke Capital of the World!” The city is also a stop on the Great Allegheny Passage(GAP), a popular 150-mile trail from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, Maryland, before connecting to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Towpath, which takes the trail length up to 335 miles and leads straight to D.C.!
While in Connellsville, we stayed at the Connellsville Canteen, where we spoke with several members of the Fayette County Cultural Trust. The trust’s job is to further economic and cultural development in Fayette through assisting small businesses and marketing the county’s various attractions. This is similar to what we’ll be doing in Carrigart, albeit on a much larger scale and in a more official capacity. They told us how their big tourist demographic was bicyclists on the GAP, and how they appealed to them through installing bike lanes, benches on sidewalks, and a new hotel. That hotel, which was recently ranked the number one Comfort Inn in the world, even has public showers in its restrooms for those passing by! By having amenities like these, they explained, cyclists would be more likely to have a longer stay in the city and do things like stay at the hotel, check out the Canteen and its World War II museum, and go to local restaurants. Suffice to say, there’s a lot from this model that could help with my team’s work in Carrigart.
Our big takeaway from the Fayette County Cultural Trust’s presentation was the power of analyzing market segments. They had it down pat in Connellsville– the GAP is right there, full of cyclists, so let’s make it welcoming to cyclists and give them more reasons to stay! This sort of focused marketing can be very powerful for economic revitalization and for making a town known for something, which is exactly what we’re looking to do in Carrigart.
To finish this post off with something simpler and fun, we also went on a tour of the Renaissance Glassworks factory. It was really cool to see the process of making stained glass and the vast swathes of available colors and styles, and how the factory’s location brings people to Connellsville. They even let us each take two small panes for free!
