Acme, Pennsylvania
Unincorporated community in Fayette County, Westmoreland County · Not an incorporated municipality
About Acme
Acme is an unincorporated community in Donegal, Mount Pleasant and Bullskin townships in Pennsylvania, United States. The Acme ZIP code of 15610 extends well beyond the more densely populated part of the area, into rural parts of Donegal Township in Westmoreland County and Bullskin Township in Fayette County.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How Acme is governed
Acme appears to be an unincorporated community or a census-designated place, so it may have no city government of its own — services usually come from Fayette County, Westmoreland County and its elected officials. The chart below is a generic template; readers can correct it if Acme does have local officials.
Form of government not yet listed.
0 of 14 positions listed. Gray dashed boxes are placeholders waiting for a name.
Residents of Acme
Registered voters elect the officials below.
-
Mayor
Executive
Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this
The city's chief elected official. Presides over the executive branch, proposes the budget and represents the city.
-
City Manager / Administrator
Executive
Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this
The professional administrator who runs day-to-day operations (in some cities appointed by the council instead of the mayor).
-
Police Chief
Administration & departments
Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this
Leads the police department.
-
Fire Chief
Administration & departments
Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this
Leads the fire and emergency services department.
-
Public Works Director
Administration & departments
Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this
Streets, water, sewer, and city buildings.
-
Finance Director
Administration & departments
Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this
The budget, taxes, and city accounts.
-
Planning & Zoning Director
Administration & departments
Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this
Land use, zoning, building permits.
-
Parks & Recreation Director
Administration & departments
Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this
Parks, programs, and public facilities.
-
-
-
City Council
Legislative
Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this
The elected body that passes ordinances, sets the tax rate and approves the budget.
-
City Clerk
Administration & departments
Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this
Keeps the official records, runs meeting agendas and, often, local elections.
-
City Attorney
Administration & departments
Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this
The city's lawyer; advises officials and prosecutes ordinance violations.
-
Boards & Commissions
Legislative
Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this
Citizen advisory bodies, such as planning, zoning appeals and library boards.
-
-
Municipal Court
Judicial
Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this
Hears traffic, ordinance and other minor cases.
-
Municipal Judge
Judicial
Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this
Presides over the municipal court.
-
Looking for your county, state and federal representatives too? See who represents 15610 or everyone in Pennsylvania.
History
Acme has always been an agricultural community; however, three attempts to develop resorts in the area have likely been inspired by its gateway position along the edge of the Laurel Highlands.
Treetops & Mountain Circles/Polymath Park
In 1962, architect Peter Berndtson developed a master plan for a 125-acre (0.51 km2) property named Treetops & Mountain Circles. Berndtson, an original apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright, designed a network of twenty-four private houses, each within a 300-foot (91 m) diameter clearing in the woods. If completed, the clearings and their connecting roads would have depicted a bunch of grapes when viewed from the sky. Only two homes—those for developers Harry Blum and James Balter—were actually built.
Forty-two years later, local homebuilder Thomas D. Papinchak deconstructed the Donald C. Duncan House in Lisle, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago) and relocated it to the Acme property. The Duncan House was designed by Wright as an instance of his Usonian style. In 2019, a second Wright house, R. W. Lindholm Residence, was relocated from Cloquet, Minnesota and opened to the public. In honor of the two architects, the failed development has been renamed Polymath Park Resort. All four houses have been offered as overnight accommodations for visitors to Wright's Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob in nearby Stewart Township.
Bear Rocks
On November 7, 1965, Pittsburgh real-estate developer Scott Hamilton advertised Bear Rocks, a new "Mountain Ski Area", in the Pittsburgh Press newspaper. The development in a section of forest originally known as Southerwood, along the western descent of Chestnut Ridge, featured over 1000 house lots in a wooded setting connected by 22 miles of roads. Codes prevented the cutting of more trees than necessary for home construction, unconnected buildings, business restrictions, prohibitions on brick and metal siding and similar provisions intended to maintain the rural character of the development. Two separate lodge buildings were built; one at the upper entrance to the development and another at the base of the ski slopes. At its peak, the Bear Rocks Ski area featured eight slopes and trails with a double-chair lift and snow-making equipment. The advertisement also boasted a private fishing lake, "magnificent" swimming pool, rustic cocktail lounge, tennis, horseback riding, social activities, and "golf at a private country club nearby."
Bear Rocks reportedly ceased ski operations after the 1973 season. The ski lodge and restaurant burned to the ground a few years later and was not rebuilt, however the community lodge remains as a focal point for residents. The community continues to grow, and new homes have been constructed in the clearings of the former ski slopes and continue to be built on vacant lots. While the rustic character of the development is still very evident, it has suffered somewhat in recent years as the Bear Rocks codes have been increasingly ignored, including the clear-cutting of lots, and some logging operations.
Forest Lake
Following in the footsteps of the very successful Bear Rocks, this much smaller resort featured a recreational lake, a spring fed swimming pool, and wooded house lots. Forest Lake is situated on the majestic Chestnut Ridge, along Bear Rocks Road. As part of the original sales promotion, a red caboose, now decayed and unrecognizable, was placed on what is now one of the adjoining properties. Forest Lake never enjoyed the success of its larger neighbor and only five houses were built. On what is now a small adjacent lot, a Tudor house was built over one of the sample roadside A-framed houses. In 1990, a local real estate investor purchased the tract consisting of the entire impoundment of Forest Lake, along with the encompassing 56 choice acres of original resort property that spans the eastern edge of Bear Rocks. Today the tranquil property, now known as Forest Lake Farm, is maintained as a private resort residence for a select few.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.