The Root Beer Barrel, a trail-side stand at the Cornwall trailhead of the Lebanon Valley Rail Trail (LVRT), is reopening on National Trail Day, Saturday, June 5.

According to a Facebook post made by LVRT President John Wengert, the shop – shaped, of course, like a giant barrel – will open at 10 a.m. for the “grand re-opening celebration” and stay open until 4 p.m. The barrel is located at the Cornwall trailhead of the trail at the intersection of Route 419 and Boyd Street.

Read More: Phase Six of Lebanon Valley Rail Trail will connect urban to rural, town to country

Raffle tickets will be on sale and the purchase of a ticket comes with a free root beer. The LVRT is also introducing new merchandise including 25th anniversary t-shirts. Anyone interested in volunteering their time should contact Jay Green at jayggreen65@gmail.com. The website for the Lebanon Valley Rail Trail can be found here.

The barrel itself was originally a similar stand shop selling food and root beer on Route 72 near Mt. Gretna, some 50 years ago. It was rebuilt in 2009 for Cornwall by an Eagle Scout and the barrel’s original builder, Bill Schwartz.

Questions about this story? Suggestions for a future LebTown article? Reach our newsroom using this contact form and we’ll do our best to get back to you.

Do you want to see more from LebTown?

Support local news. Cancel anytime.

Already a member? Login here

Free news isn’t cheap. If you value the journalism LebTown provides to the community, then help us make it sustainable by becoming a champion of local news. You can unlock additional coverage for the community by supporting our work with a one-time contribution, or joining as a monthly or annual member. You can cancel anytime.

Josh Groh is a Cornwall native and writer who began reporting for LebTown in 2019. He continued to regularly contribute to LebTown while earning a degree in environmental science at Lebanon Valley College, graduating in 2021. Since then, he has lead conservation crews in Colorado and taken on additional...