Yankeetown

Who We Are

  The origin of the name Yankeetown continues to cause debate, but all explanations seem to originate in the decade or so after the Civil War. 

     One posits that the first property owners were Civil War veterans, that is, former Yankee soldiers.  Another suggests that Yankee had become synonymous with north or northern, and that Yankeetown was the first neighborhood or village north of Homer City. 

     Still another explanation rests with the prominent 1873 home of local businessman Charles Woodman Tuck (1849-1924). He moved from Diamondville, Indiana County, to Homer City to serve as a foreman in a local mill, and he and his wife Eleanora built their stately Victorian residence on Railroad Avenue (now Yankeetown Avenue).  Tuck was born, however, in Maine, so he was a true New England Yankee and his home one of the earlier landmarks. 

     By the first decade of the twentieth century, however, Yankeetown became known for its businesses owned and operated not by native-born Americans (another definition of Yankee), but, rather, the owners were immigrant families, especially Italian immigrants.  Grocery stores included C&M Market, Bruni and Barletta’s and DiMarco’s.