Of the nine counties that surround Allegheny County and the Greater Pittsburgh region, Fayette County is one of several that does not border directly on Allegheny County. The remote location of Fayette County is a great source of its appeal.

Fayette County’s leaders are striving to establish closer economic links with Pittsburgh. Although infrastructure improvements have brought Fayette County within commuter range from Pittsburgh, many of the county’s newer residents have established a home there to have a getaway place to come to after work is done.

In fact, two of Fayette County’s outstanding attractions were built as weekend homes. The first, Fallingwater, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, was built in 1935, when the department store scion, Edgar Kaufmann, commissioned Wright to design a getaway in the Laurel Highlands. This area had become the playground for Western Pennsylvania’s rich and famous. Wright conceived of Fallingwater as a private refuge that would fit with its natural surroundings. Today, the structure stands as a national monument.

Now, more than 70 years later, Fallingwater still has star power. In 2007, Wright’s piece de resistance attracted a record 145,470 visitors. They came throughout the year to experience first hand the house that the American Institute of Architects named the best all-time work of American architecture.

Seven miles away from Fallingwater, Wright built another gem. After visiting Kaufmann’s country home a number of times, Newton Hagan and his wife, owners of the family dairy business in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, also wanted a Wright home and commissioned him to design one for them. The result was Kentuck Knob. Not as well known as Fallingwater, Kentuck Knob reflects Wright’s love affair with nature by inviting the outdoors inside at every opportunity.

Thousands visit Fayette County each year to tour these homes. But that’s not all. Fayette County’s many visitors come to the county to enjoy its four National Historic Landmark sites, several Historic Registry sites, and two National Parks.

Just a short drive from the homes designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, you’ll find Ohiopyle State Park, perhaps the most spectacular park in Pennsylvania. Tourists stand amazed at the overlooks that provide jaw-dropping panoramas of valley vistas and waterfalls. And they delight in the miles of hiking, mountain biking, and flat biking trails, in addition to the whitewater rafting rapids and ski slopes that average about ten feet of snow a year.

In this bucolic setting, Nemacolin Woodlands Resort and Spa takes luxury to a new level. Everything about this getaway is four star, from its world-famous art collection with pieces you can touch and award-winning restaurants to the pro-am golf courses. Golf Digest ranked Nemacolin Woodlands 26th on its 2006 list of 75 Best Golf Resorts in North America. In 2007, Golfweek ranked Nemacolin Woodlands’ Mystic Rock course Number 2 out of the 10 Best Courses You Can Play in Pennsylvania. Golfweek also ranked Nemacolin 54th of 100 Best Resort Courses for 2007. And Nemacolin Woodlands won Golf Magazine’s Silver Medal Resort list for 2007, placing the resort in the company of The Hotel Hershey in Hershey, Pennsylvania and Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Nemacolin is the baby of 84 Lumber founder Joe Hardy. He purchased the facility in 1987 and transformed it from a hunting lodge into a world-class resort that continues to evolve. In 2004, at the age of 80, Hardy was elected Fayette County Commissioner. To ignite the county’s economic development engine, Hardy helped to bankroll the redevelopment of Uniontown, the county seat. The state also chipped in $1.5 million for this effort and added another $2 million to that for infrastructure development of the 270-acre Fayette County Business Park. Officials expect this investment to generate more than $50 million in private investment and to create approximately 1,400 jobs.mg