82-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 20,1990
Apple Butter Inn Opens Window To The Past
Carolyn Hilsdon Gilles
Crawford Co. Correspondent
SLIPPERY ROCK (Butler
Co.) — Traveling southeast on PA
Route 173, near Slippery Rock
just beyond the Applewood Lane
entrance to Applewood Meadows,
the Applebutter Inn catches the
eye. By day, travelers notice the
carefully landscaped grounds and
a one-room schoolhouse across
the driveway. By night, the inn
appears inviting and warm with a
candle glowing from each
window.
The original six-room farm
house, built by Michael Christley
in 1844 on land granted to encour
age westward settlement, was
built of bricks formed and fired on
the premises. The Christley family
and the family of Plenty Wheaton
Steele were its only inhabitants
until the mid-seventies when Gary
and Sandra McKnight, bom and
raised in the Slippery Rock area,
bought the then-vacant house and
land from descendents of the
Steele family. The farmland was
subdivided into lots and the new
homes built there now comprise
Whether appreciating the authentic antique
furnishings of the 1880 s, the country charm of
the new rooms or the beauty of the grounds and
surrounding hillsides, guests find both the cafe
and the inn offer a “window to the past” where
one can experience the elegance of a bygone era.
The Old Forge Room on the second floor In the “Old
House” features a spectacular antique, carved mahogany
Philadelphia four-poster double bed with a valance
canopy, gas log fireplace, period wallcoverings, bed furn
ishings, antique ladder back rocker, “cucumber” popular
flooring and rag rugs.
The Applebutter Inn, nestled In the rolling green meadows of Western Pennsylva
nia, allows guests to experience the elegance of a bygone era while still enjoying the
luxury of today’s comforts and conveniences.
what is called Applewood
Meadows.
The farmhouse stood vacant
until 1987 when the McKnights,
inspired by Bed and Breakfasts
they had visited, restored it. With
close attention to original detail,
reconstruction began: woodwork
was restored, brick fireplaces
exposed and original chestnut and
poplar flooring refinished; an
addition was designed in architec
tural harmony with the original
structure. With the help of a
decorator from Zelionople, the
McKnights furnished the inn with
antiques from eastern PA and
Ohio that date back to the 1800 s.
The parlor has a pie safe with its
punched tin doors to cool baked
goods. In the comer of the sitting
room, rests a Pennsylvania clock.
Each room at the inn has a char
acter and name of its own. The
four guest rooms in the original
structure (The Christley, Steele,
Old Forge and Tightwinder
Rooms) are furnished with antique
canopy beds, period wall cover
ings and rag rugs. New rooms in
the addition feature a sunroom and
seven guest rooms (The Candle
wick, Goose Pond, Amish, Quilt
ing Star, Captain’s Quarters,
School House, and Flower Garden
Rooms). All rooms have decorator
linens, private baths, color cable
TV, telephones, paddle fans, air
conditioning and a smoke detector
and sprinkler system. First floor
rooms are wheelchair accessible
with one corner guestroom
designed and equipped especially
for wheelchairs.
Checkout is 11:00 a.m. and
check-in is 3:00-10:00 p.m. Furth
er information may be obtained by
writing The Applebutter Inn, 152
Applebutter Lane, Slippery Rock,
PA 16057 or by calling (412)
794-1844.
Amenities at the inn include
fresh flowers for all check-ins,
complimentary beverage and
homemade cookies in the evening
and a complimentary gift for spe
cial occasions. Menus for area
restaurants are available in a
basket on a table in the sun room
where library books and games
are available. Smoking, forbidden
inside, is allowed on the adjoining
brick deck equipped with umbrel
la tables and landscaped with
lovely shrubbery. Future plans are
to open a gift shop in the sunroom
featuring apple butter, carved
wood farm animal planters, mail
boxes, and other unique gift items.
Since the Applebutter Inn
opened to the public in 1988, visi
tors have come from Canada, Ger
many, Africa, England, andßussi
ia. People from Pittsburgh area
often cotqe to the inn for get-away.
weekends; many guests are busi
ness contacts, parents of students
or alumni affiliated with Slippery
Rock University. Betty Hutton
and Rosey Greer were celebrity
guests at the inn. A guest book and
a scrapbook contain signatures,
articles on the inn and thank yous
from guests.
Innkeepers Gary and Sandra
McKnight actively participate in
the day-to-day operation and are
often on hand to greet guests. Kim
Moses, former inn housekeeper
who became the manager in April,
said that the inn staff tries to main
tain a “home away from home”
atmosphere and show personal
interest in their guests. Staff enjoy
return visits from patrons who
spent their wedding nights or
other celebrations at the inn. Kim
remembers fondly the time the
oldest living alumnus from Slip
pery Rock University, also a Syria
Mosque clown, stayed with them
for Homecoming and inn staff
members helped him to dress and
don his clown makeup. They were
all disappointed this year when he
wasn’t able to make the trip.
Applebutter Inn guests are
served breakfast daily in The Wolf
Creek School Cafe, across the
driveway from the inn. The one
room schoolhouse, tom down and
reconstructed in 1989 on the prop
erty adjacent to the inn, was built
in 1899 behind the Wolf Creek
Church on Route 108, west of
Slippery Rock. The school’s origi
nal wainscotting and slate boards
are intact; new flooring was laid, a
fireplace (the original school
house was heated with a potbel
lied stove) and kitchen and
restroom facilities were added.
Over the mantel hangs a framed
horse crayon drawing that was
found during the dismantling and
believed to be drawn by students
of the old schoolhouse.
Small square wooden tables
replace the school desks that used
to fill the room, antique lunch
boxes line shelves and on the
chalkboard is a familiar message:
“School begins at 7:00 a.m.— We
break for lunch at 11:00 a.m.—
Recess follows at 2:30 p.m. Wei-
The tightwlnder stairs, now used for decorative pur
poses, served as a stairway for servants to go to the bed
room and also as a path for heat from the parlor to travel to
warm the bedroom above, the only bedroom In the house
without a functioning fireplace.
Manager Kim Moses stands at the door of the Applebut*
ter Inn where the atmosphere is warm and welcoming with
close attention to detail and personal service.
t/nifis
come to the Wolf Creek School
Cafe.” The former schoolhouse
turned cafe now serves breakfast
to not only inn pests, but also to
the public. In addition to its cheery
greeting, the chalkboard displays
the menu for the day. Cafe mana
ger and chief cook Lynda Moore
says that the cafe menu offers
something for everyone’s taste.
The cafe offers breakfast a la carte
or country inn style - a three
course breakfast featuring a fruit
course such as fresh squeezed
juice, poached apple or pear
crunch; a grain course such as
muffins, homemade cereals, or
rolls; and a main course from
bacon and eggs to such culinary
delights as crepes, granola pan
cakes or rolled omelets. Lynda
offers six choices a day, rotating
38 different recipes.
The cafe is also open to the
public for lunch and features a
variety of soups, salads, hot and
cold sandwiches, including one
vegetarian sandwich. For guests
who wish to venture to nearby
points of interest, Lynda offers a
choice of several picnic basket
combinations to take along. The
cafe is also available for private
meetings, parties and receptions
after 5:00 p.m.