Tarrs, Pennsylvania

Tarrs is an unincorporated community and coal town that is located in East Huntingdon Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States.

Tarrs
Unincorporated community
PA 31 eastbound in Tarrs
Tarrs Location within the state of Pennsylvania Show map of Pennsylvania Tarrs Tarrs (the United States) Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 40°10′12″N 79°35′53″W
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	Westmoreland
Elevation	1,158 ft (353 m)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP codes	15688
GNIS feature ID	1189287[1]

Situated on Pennsylvania Route 31 approximately three miles (4.8 km) west of Mt. Pleasant,^[2] it is the only location in Pennsylvania known to have an active and running ACA Allertor 125 Civil Defense warning siren.^[3]

History

Depalma's Grocery Store located in Tarrs, pictured here in 1910.

Tarrs has its own post office, with zip code 15688. It was established in April 1828.^[4]

The town was the site of a coal mine, first developed in 1873 by D. A. Dillinger and Brothers. It was later acquired by the Southwest Coal and Coke Company and was known as the "No. 3" mine. Approximately 250 coke ovens were eventually located there.

In 1906, historian John Newton Boucher described Tarrs as being located along "the South-West Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad" between Ruffs Dale and Alverton. Boucher also mentioned a location in Westmoreland County known as Tarr Station, presumably related to the railroad.

By 1910, the population had reached roughly five hundred. The mine and coke works closed in 1923.^[5][6]