Bedford County Historical Society Map


Bedford County Historical Society, Inc.

“As we look to the past,
the future looks to us.”

Conemaugh Path: A Broken Road by William Roy Mock

by William Roy Mock

Conemaugh Path: A Broken Road by William Roy Mock

In documenting history, first person accounts are highly treasured. Mr. Clair Mock of Bedford County, Pennsylvania was born in 1905. When he was seventeen years old, his father bought him a horse from a dairy farmer in Johnstown. Clair rode the horse back home on an old Indian trail, called the "Conemaugh Path" from Cambria County into Bedford County. Mr. Mock provided a wealth of information concerning the trail, through his recollections, prior to passing away in 2013, at the age of 108.

Residents of Cambria County usually refer to the ageless road as the "Old Bedford Pike" while residents of Bedford County often describe it as the "Old Johnstown Road". It served as a life line for Indians, pioneers, early settlers, and trappers. In addition, it provided an escape route in the clandestine activity with the Underground Railroad.

This book provides a firm foundation upon which additional research may be constructed, concerning other historical events and associated time honored individuals. The information recalled by Mr. Clair Mock, followed up with an actual field trip through the Allegheny Mountains yielded, as close as possible, the actual physical and directional path of that once major transportation route. The often overlooked wilderness passage is supported in the book, by photos highlighting various sites along the way.

Somebody once said, "When the elderly die, a library is lost and volumes of wisdom and knowledge are gone."

It is hoped that with this book, I was able to save a portion of Mr. Clair Mock`s library. ~ William Roy Mock

Cost: $29.00 + tax, shipping & handling

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