President Harry S. Truman often visited Pennsylvania, and one trip even involved a traffic stop on the Pennsylvania Turnpike for holding up faster traffic, writes Rick Sebak for Pittsburgh Magazine.
One of the earliest mentions of Truman’s visits to Pennsylvania comes from an April 17, 1928, letter to his wife, Bess. Then 44, he was a Kansas City judge and president of the National Old Trails Road Association, which was working with the Daughters of the American Revolution to place 12 “Madonna of the Trail” statues along the highway.
He stayed overnight in Washington, Pennsylvania, before heading to Uniontown to resolve disputes over the state’s monument site with local politicians.
“They’re worse than Kentucky mountaineers,” wrote Truman.
One of Truman’s most memorable Pennsylvania stops came on July 5, 1953, when he was driving home to Missouri shortly after leaving the White House on the Turnpike near Bedford. Going 55 in the left lane and backing up faster traffic, he was pulled over by state trooper Manley Stampler, who recognized the former president and let him off with a warning.
“I wasn’t going to give him a ticket – he was the president of the United States,” said Stampler at the time. “Maybe some other presidents, but not Harry Truman.”
For more colorful stories about Truman’s Pennsylvania adventures, read Rick Sebak’s full article in Pittsburgh Magazine.
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on MONTCO Today in October 2025.
