Markleton, Pennsylvania

Markleton derived its name from the paper company of Cyrus P. Markle & Sons of West Newton in nearby Westmoreland County. C.P. Markle & Sons purchased 5,000 acres along the Casselman River in 1881 and constructed a paper mill in order to harvest the abundant trees of the mountainside and manufacture paper products.[2] A health sanatorium was built at Markleton in the early 1890s; this initiative was lead by William J. Hitchman of Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania, Dr. Matthew B. Gault of Clifton Springs, New York, Rev. John Morrison Barnett of Washington, Pennsylvania, and their Markleton Hotel Company.[3] At the conclusion of World War I, the federal government operated the former sanatorium building as U.S. Army General Hospital No. 17.[4] The building no longer exists.

A view of the nearby Shoo Fly Tunnel appeared in a collection of photographs from along the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's rail lines that was published in book form in 1872 and digitized by the DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University.[5] The Shoo Fly Tunnel was daylighted in 2012 as part of the National Gateway project.

Markleton is located along the southeastern edge of Upper Turkeyfoot Township. It lies along Markleton School Road, to the east of Pennsylvania Route 281, south of the village of Kingwood and north of Fort Hill. Mount Zion Cemetery is located on top of the hill above Markleton.[6]

Markleton has a post office with ZIP code 15551.[7][8] The post office is on the western bank of the Casselman River, nestled between the river and CSX Transportation's Keystone Subdivision rail line. Across the river from the post office is a trail access area for the Great Allegheny Passage rail trail. This is the only trail access area with parking between Fort Hill to the southwest and Rockwood to the northeast.[9]