Pennsylvania Route 96
state highway in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, United States
Pennsylvania Route 96 (PA 96) is a 41+2⁄3-mile-long (67.1 km) state highway located in southwestern Pennsylvania. The southern terminus of the route is at the Maryland border in Londonderry Township, where PA 96 continues to the south as Maryland Route 35 (MD 35). The northern terminus is at PA 869 in Lincoln Township.
Towns included in this particular stretch of highway include Hyndman, Fossilville, Madley, and Buffalo Mills in Londonderry Township. PA 96 is a main highway between the cities of Cumberland, Maryland, and Bedford, Pennsylvania which many people travel daily for business purposes.
Route description
PA 96 begins at the Maryland border in the community of State Line in Londonderry Township, where the road continues south into Ellerslie, Maryland as MD 35. From the state line, the route heads northeast on two-lane undivided Hyndman Road, passing homes before entering a mix of farms, woods, and residences in a narrow valley. PA 96 enters more forested areas as it runs a short distance to the west of CSX's Keystone Subdivision railroad line and Wills Creek. The road runs farther west from the creek and the railroad line as it runs past more farmland and woodland with a few homes, passing through Stringtown and Palo Alto. The route continues through the rural narrow valley and curves northeast, becoming Schellsburg Street before entering the borough of Hyndman.
The public source identifies “Pennsylvania Route 96” as state highway in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, United States. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Pennsylvania, Route and state.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Pennsylvania Route 96”, the useful work is to connect “state highway in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, United States” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Oct 24, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q1053457. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. 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 “Pennsylvania Route 96”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Pennsylvania Route 96 primary sources, Pennsylvania Route 96 archive and Pennsylvania 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 “Pennsylvania Route 96”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Pennsylvania Route 96” 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.