West Overton Village expanding distillery, museum post-covid

West Overton Village near Scottdale has its sights set on expanding its museum and distillery.

West Overton is a pre-Civil War era village that was home to industrialist Henry Clay Frick — founder of H.C. Frick & Co. coke manufacturing — and his grandfather, whiskey distiller Abraham Overholt.

The family lived on the grounds until 1928, at which time West Overton became a museum.

Monongahela rye whiskey has been distilled at West Overton since last year, and the village seeks to show the public what daily life was like from 1800 to 1919. The grounds feature a museum, distillery and venue space for formal events.

West Overton CEO Jessica Kadie-Barclay said the grounds closed in March 2020 as a result of the pandemic, but reopened with limitations in June 2020.

Kadie-Barclay of Scottdale said, at that time, limited occupancy and masks were required on the grounds at 109 W. Overton Road and that patrons were not permitted to touch the exhibits.

Since West Overton’s mission is to connect visitors with the time period by allowing them to interact with elements of its grounds, Kadie-Barclay said, the village “just wasn’t the same” when this was taken away.

“That’s really what we pride ourselves on — human connection,” she said.

Since its season opening in May, traditional operation has returned to West Overton. Kadie-Barclay said only unvaccinated individuals are asked to wear masks, and weddings are taking place at the venue again.

Tourism, however, has not bounced back to pre-pandemic levels since large groups typically book visits a year in advance.

With pandemic restrictions mostly in the past, West Overton is exploring expansion of its interactive services, including its DIY History sessions — tours that showcase homesteading methods and allow guests to take part in the process.

Upcoming sessions are scheduled for Aug. 22 and Oct. 24.

West Overton also is revamping its museum, to be finalized for the 2022 season, and launching a floriculture program.

Although a start date has not been selected yet, Kadie-Barclay hopes to provide taste testing and other hands-on opportunities at West Overton’s distillery, which is now included in tours.

West Overton Director of Education Aaron Hollis said the plan is to let people grind the rye, as well as taste and smell the whiskey in various stages of its production.

Hollis of Scottdale said the distillery is not producing enough whiskey to sell, but it aims to offer this sometime down the road. He added the distillery mainly uses 30 gallon barrels to store its whiskey, and it takes a year to 18 months for it to age.

According to Hollis, the main purpose of the distillery and the rest of West Overton’s exhibits is education.

“We aren’t about making a lot of product,” Hollis said. “We want people to learn about the history, the science of the process.”

Site for rye

The distillery wants to plant its own rye for the first time this fall with the help of the Fort Allen Antique Farm Equipment Association — a nonprofit club that focuses on education, preservation and restoration surrounding antique farm tools.

Located down the street from the village at 911 Porter Road, the association will provide agricultural knowledge and guidance for this project.

Discussion between the association and the village is ongoing, but Kadie-Barclay said she hopes Fort Allen will use its antique farm tools to grow and harvest the rye on West Overton land.

Additionally, Kadie-Barclay wants to explore and unite the association’s practice of historical agriculture with modern farming techniques.

“I’m interested in this space between antique agriculture and hipster agriculture,” she said. “They both have such interesting takes on what agriculture means.”

Kadie-Barclay hopes to open West Overton year-round in time but it will be open until mid-December this season for “authentic 1800s Christmas displays.”

The museum is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, and tours start at the top of each hour. Appointments are not required except for groups of 10 or more people.

With a variety of developments in the works for West Overton, Kadie-Barclay said she looks forward to watching the village progress.

“How far we’ve come as an organization — it’s night and day,” she said. “We wake up every day excited to go to work.”