Connellsville was an important railroad center whose surviving stations reflect that history. The former Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Train Station is one of two remaining stations out of six once located in Connellsville and the only original passenger station still standing. This two-level passenger station was built in 1911, shared by the Western Maryland Railway and the Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railway, later restored by the Opalescent Glass Company in 1995-1999, and retains original features including the ticket office, departure board, lighting fixtures, and original wood and marble. The other original station that remains is the former Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad freight station on Route 119 at Five Corners. The Baltimore and Ohio Passenger Station opened in 1897, and in 1904 two additional stories were added to the Water Street Station because of increased traffic. Thousands of passengers passed through Connellsville, including Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge. During the Second World War, the city’s role as a railroad hub also made it the site of the Connellsville Canteen, where military men and women traveling by train received free coffee, sandwiches, fruit, stuffed eggs, and dessert. Founded by Mrs. Rose Brady, the canteen organized more than 600 women volunteers between the ages of 21 and 80, who met every train carrying military personnel at any hour and served more than half a million servicemen and women from April 1944 until April 1946.