There's no place that offers a better sense of community and history than Zelienople for Scott Cooper.
“I don't think I'd rather live anywhere else,” Cooper, 45, said. “It's very unique, having that main street. New towns aren't being built that way.”
His family's business, Mussig Florist, is one of the oldest in the borough of more than 3,700 residents, Cooper said. His grandfather, Julian Mussig, founded the business in 1932.
Zelienople will celebrate the 175th anniversary of its incorporation with a parade, music, movies and other activities beginning Tuesday.
Zelienople's roots trace back to the early 1800s, when Baron Dettmar Basse bought 10,000 acres in the Zelienople-Harmony area. He planned a town and named it after his daughter, Zelie, and the family arrived in September 1807. To finance building a home, moving his family here, establishing the town and an iron foundry, Basse sold 4,000 acres to Johann George Rapp in 1807, who established the Harmonist Society and the nearby town of Harmony, according to town records.
Zelienople was incorporated as a borough in 1840. Railroad construction through the borough in the late 1870s helped the town expand with industry and residences.
Zelienople Mayor Tom Oliverio said he has seen old photos showing just dirt on the path that became Main Street, and herds of cattle walking through town.
“Why not celebrate it?” Oliverio said, who has been mayor since 1990, except for one four-year term. “It's amazing the accomplishments that have been done here in the last 175 years.”
Oliverio added the celebration is being paid for through sponsorships and donations, and not through taxpayer money, though he didn't have a final cost of the event.
The borough is in the midst of a revitalization push, planning nearly $10 million worth of work, including the transformation of the shuttered Kaufman House into a boutique hotel and restaurant. Street-level renovations are expected to include upgrading infrastructure, sidewalks and curbs, relocating utility lines and building a municipal parking lot behind the Kaufman House.
The boutique hotel and restaurant will be a training facility for culinary arts and hospitality management programs through Butler County Community College.
The borough, with a community pool, a main street that hosts parades frequently, and other amenities, has maintained a small-town feel through the years, Cooper said.
“It's nice to have sidewalks and everyone knowing your name,” Cooper said.
Bill Vidonic is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-380-5621.
