Welcome to
Leechburg, Pennsylvania
A local guide to the river town on the Kiski: places to eat, things to do, and nearly 200 years of history.
Leechburg is a small river town in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, on a bend of the Kiskiminetas River about 25 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. About 2,100 people live here. It’s a walkable town with a Market Street downtown, hometown restaurants, riverside parks, and more history than its size would suggest. The borough’s ZIP code, 15656, gives this site its name.
The Leechburg Bridge, standing since 1935, crosses the Kiski to Westmoreland County. Just upstream, the swaying Walking Bridge leads to Hyde Park.
A canal town turned industrial pioneer
Leechburg started as a canal town. Civil engineer David Leech arrived in 1827 to build a dam and lock for the Pennsylvania Main Line Canal. He bought land and built mills, homes and a boatyard in the settlement then known as Friendship, and the first canal boats came through in 1829. The town was incorporated as a borough on March 22, 1850, with Leech as its first burgess. Nineteenth-century records often spell its name “Leechburgh.”
In 1872, William Rogers and T.J. Burchfield opened the mill later known as the Siberian Iron Works. It was one of the first in the country to make tin plate, and in 1874 it became the first to run its iron furnaces on natural gas instead of coal. A state historical marker in town tells the story. Steel stayed at the heart of the valley for another century, with Allegheny Ludlum’s works in neighboring West Leechburg.
Read more in The Early History of Leechburg, browse the Leechburg Postcards, or visit the Leechburg Museum.
Things to do in Leechburg
- Eat: breakfast at Happy Day Cafe or Frankie’s on 2nd, coffee and pepperoni rolls at CoCo Coffeehouse, pizza on Market Street, and dinner at National Public House. All places to eat
- Get on the river: rent a kayak, canoe or tube from The River’s Edge and paddle the Kiski-Conemaugh Water Trail.
- Play: swim at the Leechburg Area Pool, picnic in Leechburg-Gilpin Park, or catch the Blue Devils at Veteran’s Memorial Field. All parks and recreation
- Explore: cross the Walking Bridge, walk the riverfront at Riverfront Park, and visit the Leechburg Museum. All landmarks and sights
- Shop local: antiques, hardware and garden supplies. All shops
See everything in one place on Things to Do in Leechburg.
