Latrobe, Pennsylvania
city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States
Latrobe ( lə-TROHB) is a borough with home-rule status in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 8,060 at the 2020 census. It is located near Chestnut Ridge within the Pittsburgh metropolitan area.
Latrobe was the home of the Latrobe Brewing Company, the original brewer of Rolling Rock beer. Latrobe was the birthplace and childhood home of children's television personality Fred Rogers and former professional golfer Arnold Palmer. The banana split was invented there by David Strickler in 1904. Latrobe is also home to the training camp of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Latrobe was long believed to be the site of the first professional American football game in 1895 until research found an 1892 game with paid players.
History
In 1852, Pennsylvania Railroad civil engineer Oliver Barnes laid out the plans for the community that was incorporated in 1854 as the borough of Latrobe. Barnes named the town for his best friend and college classmate, Benjamin Henry Latrobe II, who was chief engineer for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Latrobe, Pennsylvania” as city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q969307. VIAF identifies the subject as 126664423. The Library of Congress control number is n80034124. Authority coordinates are 40.315, -79.381. 3 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2020, 1904, 1895 and 1892.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Latrobe, Pennsylvania”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Latrobe, Pennsylvania primary sources, Latrobe, Pennsylvania archive and Latrobe research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Latrobe, Pennsylvania”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Latrobe, Pennsylvania” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.