Uniontown, Pennsylvania
Encyclopedia
Uniontown is a city in Fayette County
Fayette County, Pennsylvania
Fayette County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the2010 census, the population was 136,606. The county is part of the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area....

, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, 50 miles (80.5 km) southeast of Pittsburgh and part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area
Pittsburgh Metro Area
The Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area is the metropolitan area surrounding the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is renowned for its industries including steel, glass and oil; moreover, its economy also thrives on healthcare, education, technology, robotics, financial services and more recently film...

. Population in 1900, 7,344; in 1910, 13,344; in 1920, 15,692; and in 1940, 21,819. The population was 10,372 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....

 and largest city of Fayette County
Fayette County, Pennsylvania
Fayette County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the2010 census, the population was 136,606. The county is part of the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area....

.

History

Popularly known as Beesontown, "The Town of Union" was founded by Henry Beeson on July 4, 1776, only coincidentally the same date as the United States Declaration of Independence. The National Road
National Road
The National Road or Cumberland Road was the first major improved highway in the United States to be built by the federal government. Construction began heading west in 1811 at Cumberland, Maryland, on the Potomac River. It crossed the Allegheny Mountains and southwestern Pennsylvania, reaching...

, also known as the Cumberland Road, was routed through Uniontown in the early 19th century and the town grew along with the road. Within 10 miles of Uniontown is Fort Necessity, built by George Washington during the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...

.

Uniontown's role in the Underground Railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...

 is commemorated by a marker on the corner of East Main Street and Baker Alley.

Uniontown was the site of violent clashes between striking coal miners and guards at the local coke works
Coke (fuel)
Coke is the solid carbonaceous material derived from destructive distillation of low-ash, low-sulfur bituminous coal. Cokes from coal are grey, hard, and porous. While coke can be formed naturally, the commonly used form is man-made.- History :...

 during the Bituminous Coal Miners' Strike of 1894. 15 guards armed with carbines and machine guns held off an attack by 1500 strikers, killing 5 and wounding 8.

The Columbia Rolling Mill
Columbia Rolling Mill
The Columbia Rolling Mill, an iron and steel works, operated in Uniontown, Pennsylvania from 1887 to 1895. In 1895 it was sold to Andrew Carnegie, who moved the mill to Homestead, Pennsylvania. The mill was Uniontown's largest industry in the early 1890s....

, an iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...

 and steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...

 works, was located in Uniontown from 1887 to 1895. The mill was the town's unquestioned top industry at that time. During the Coal Boom of the early part of the 20th century, Uniontown was home to at least 13 millionaires, the most (per capita) of any city in the United States. Coal Barons and the President of Universal Films (Carl Laemmle) sponsored the famous mile and a quarter Uniontown Speedway board track from 1916 to 1922. As with most of Western Pennsylvania, Uniontown's economy waned during the region's de-industrialization of the late 20th century.

Geography

Uniontown is located at 39°54'0" North
Latitude
In geography, the latitude of a location on the Earth is the angular distance of that location south or north of the Equator. The latitude is an angle, and is usually measured in degrees . The equator has a latitude of 0°, the North pole has a latitude of 90° north , and the South pole has a...

, 79°43'28" West
Longitude
Longitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east-west position of a point on the Earth's surface. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees, minutes and seconds, and denoted by the Greek letter lambda ....

 (39.900040, -79.724478).

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the city has a total area of 2 square miles (5.2 km²) The city is 999 feet (304 m) above mean sea level and rests at the base of Chestnut Ridge, the western-most ridge of the Appalachian mountains
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...

 to the east. The National Pike or Cumberland Road crossed over the mountains and passed through the area which became the center of Uniontown. At this time, the route is now Business Route 40, as the mainline of US 40 bypasses the city center as a freeway loop, now called the George Marshall Parkway.

Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...

's Fallingwater
Fallingwater
Fallingwater or Kaufmann Residence is a house designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1935 in rural southwestern Pennsylvania, 50 miles southeast of Pittsburgh...

 is located less than five miles from Uniontown.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 12,422 people, 5,423 households, and 3,031 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 6,098.9 people per square mile (2,351.1/km²). There were 6,320 housing units at an average density of 3,103.0 per square mile (1,196.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 84.17% White, 13.57% African American, 0.10% Native American, 0.40% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.28% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 1.45% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.55% of the population.

There were 5,423 households out of which 23.7% had children under the age of 18.2 living with them, 35.8% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 16.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.1% were non-families. 39.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.5% had someone living alone who was 75 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.791.

In the city the population was spread out with 20.9% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 26.1% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 22.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 86.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $19,477, and the median income for a family was $28,523. Males had a median income of $26,758 versus $20,110 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the city was $13,720. About 16.0% of families and 16.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.1% of those under age 18 and 10.3% of those age 65 or over.

Fire services

The City of Uniontown is protected by a full-time career fire department, as well as volunteer firefighters from three city companies.

The department operates out of two stations. Central station, located on North Beeson, houses 40 Truck 1, 40 Engine 1, 40 Engine 4 and 40 Rescue, 40 Squad, 40 Chief, 40 Assistant Chief and three medic units. The medic units housed at central station are 401, 402 and 404. The second station is the East End firehouse on Connellsville Street near Lincoln Street. The East End station houses 40 Engine 3 and 40 Truck 2. The Uniontown Fire Department also houses Medic 403 at the Hopwood Volunteer Fire Station in Hopwood, PA. Medic 403 serves North and South Union Townships and the City of Uniontown. The fire department houses a reserve engine, 40 Engine 5, at the Union Hose Company station on East Main Street in the city. Career firefighters staff both stations.

Education

K-12
  • Uniontown Area School District
    Uniontown Area School District
    Uniontown Area School District is a highly fragmented school district located in Uniontown, Fayette County, Pennsylvania. It serves the city of Uniontown and the boroughs of Ohiopyle, and Markleysburg. It also serves Wharton, Henry Clay, Menallen, Franklin, and Stewart townships. The district...

  • Catholic Elementary Schools
  • St. John the Evangelist School
  • Liberty Home Educators

Higher Education
  • Westmoreland County Community College
    Westmoreland County Community College
    Westmoreland County Community College, commonly referred to as WCCC or 3C's, was founded in 1970 and is located in Youngwood, Pennsylvania, USA. In 2009, a new enrollment record was set, with WCCC registering its 7,000th student....

    , Uniontown Education Center
  • The Pennsylvania State University, Fayette, The Eberly Campus
  • Laurel Business Institute

Services

  • Uniontown Hospital, the largest of three hospitals in the county, is the city's and Fayette County's largest employer.

Media

  • The Herald-Standard, a newspaper based in Uniontown, serves the city and much of the surrounding area.
  • Fayette TV provides local programming on Atlantic Broadband Cable channel 77.
  • Two radio stations are licensed to the Uniontown area on 590 AM WMBS
    WMBS
    WMBS is a Full Service/Adult Standards formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Uniontown, Pennsylvania, serving the Uniontown/Pittsburgh/Morgantown area. WMBS is owned and operated by Fayette Broadcasting Corporation.-History:...

     and 99.3 FM WPKL
    WPKL
    WPKL is a Classic Hits-formatted radio station licensed to Uniontown, Pennsylvania at 99.3 FM. WPKL's programming is simulcast on WKPL in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania at 92.1 FM...

    .

Transportation

Uniontown is an important crossroads in Fayette County. The main route around town is a stretch of freeway bypass, the George Marshall Parkway, which is composed of parts of US 40 and US 119
U.S. Route 119
U.S. Route 119, commonly abbreviated as US 119, is a spur of US 19. It is a north–south route that was an original United States highway of 1926. It is often referred to as Corridor G east of US 23 and KY 80 in Kentucky to Interstate 64 at Charleston, West Virginia.- Kentucky :US 119 is a two...

. US 119 enters the area as a two-lane route from Morgantown, West Virginia
Morgantown, West Virginia
Morgantown is a city in Monongalia County, West Virginia. It is the county seat of Monongalia County. Placed along the banks of the Monongahela River, Morgantown is the largest city in North-Central West Virginia, and the base of the Morgantown metropolitan area...

, and provides the northern half of the bypass before becoming a 4 lane route to Connellsville. US 40 enters the region as a 2 lane route from Brownsville
Brownsville, Pennsylvania
Brownsville is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, officially founded in 1785 located 35 miles south of Pittsburgh along the Monongahela River...

. It serves as the southern half of the freeway before becoming a mountainous route through rural parts of the county and enters Maryland and reaches Interstate 68
Interstate 68
Interstate 68 is a Interstate highway in the U.S. states of West Virginia and Maryland, connecting in Morgantown to in Hancock. is also Corridor E of the Appalachian Development Highway System. From 1965 until the freeway's construction was completed in 1991, it was designated as...

. The old portions of US 40, now signed as Business 40, serve the downtown area.

PA 51
Pennsylvania Route 51
Pennsylvania Route 51 is a major state highway in Western Pennsylvania. It runs for from Uniontown to the Ohio state line near Darlington, where it connects with Ohio State Route 14. Route 51 is the termination point for Pennsylvania Route 43, Pennsylvania Route 48 and Pennsylvania Route 88. ...

, a main four-lane route to Pittsburgh, and PA 21
Pennsylvania Route 21
Pennsylvania Route 21 is a long east–west state highway in the US state of Pennsylvania. The western terminus of the route is at the West Virginia state line in Richhill Township, where PA 21 continues into West Virginia as West Virginia Route 891. The eastern terminus is at U.S. Route 40...

, which connects Fayette County with Greene County
Greene County, Pennsylvania
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 40,672 people, 15,060 households, and 10,587 families residing in the county. The population density was 71 people per square mile . There were 16,678 housing units at an average density of 29 per square mile...

 and Waynesburg
Waynesburg, Pennsylvania
Waynesburg is a borough in and the county seat of Greene County, Pennsylvania, United States, southwest of Pittsburgh. The population was 4,184 at the 2000 census....

, both terminate in Uniontown. PA 43, part of the Mon-Fayette Expressway
Mon-Fayette Expressway
The Mon–Fayette Expressway is an interstate tolled freeway that is planned to eventually link Interstate 68 near Morgantown, West Virginia with two branches to Interstate 376 near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...

 project to connect Pittsburgh with Morgantown, is complete around the Uniontown area.

Notable natives and residents

  • Henry Bidleman Bascom
    Henry Bidleman Bascom
    Henry Bidleman Bascom was an American Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, elected in 1850. He also distinguished himself as a Circuit rider, pastor and Christian preacher; as chaplain to the U.S...

     (1796-1850), religious circuit rider, U.S. Congressional Chaplain, Methodist Bishop, first President of Madison College.
  • John Dickson Carr
    John Dickson Carr
    John Dickson Carr was an American author of detective stories, who also published under the pen names Carter Dickson, Carr Dickson and Roger Fairbairn....

    , mystery writer, was born in Uniontown.
  • Ernie Davis
    Ernie Davis
    Ernest "Ernie" Davis was an American football running back and the first African-American athlete to win the Heisman Trophy. Wearing number 44, Davis competed collegiately for Syracuse University before being drafted by the Washington Redskins, then almost immediately traded to the Cleveland...

    , the first African American Heisman Trophy winner, lived in Uniontown for most of his early life.
  • Tory Epps
    Tory Epps
    Tory Epps was an American football defensive tackle in the National Football League for the Atlanta Falcons, the Chicago Bears, and the New Orleans Saints. He also played in the Arena Football League for the Tampa Bay Storm. He played college football at Memphis State University. Epps died of a...

    , former NFL defensive lineman for the Atlanta Falcons
    Atlanta Falcons
    The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

     and New Orleans Saints
    New Orleans Saints
    The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....

    , was born and raised in Uniontown.
  • Ronne Froman
    Ronne Froman
    Veronica "Ronne" Froman is an American retired naval officer. She was the first woman to serve as commander of the United States Navy Region Southwest, a position known as the "Navy Mayor of San Diego"...

     (RADM, USN, Ret.) was born in Uniontown.
  • William James (American football), current NFL cornerback for the Detroit Lions
    Detroit Lions
    The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...

    , was born and raised in Uniontown.
  • Frederick Kail, noted sports sculptor who created two heroic-size statues of Hall of Fame quarterback Johnny Unitas
    Johnny Unitas
    John Constantine Unitas , known as Johnny Unitas or "Johnny U", and nicknamed "The Golden Arm", was a professional American football player in the 1950s through the 1970s, spending the majority of his career with the Baltimore Colts. He was a record-setting quarterback, and the National Football...

     (Baltimore Colts), was born in Uniontown.
  • General George Marshall
    George Marshall
    George Catlett Marshall was an American military leader, Chief of Staff of the Army, Secretary of State, and the third Secretary of Defense...

    , an American military leader, Secretary of State, and the third Secretary of Defense, was born in Uniontown.
  • Terry Mulholland
    Terry Mulholland
    Terence John Mulholland is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher. He threw left-handed and batted right-handed.-Early and personal life:...

    , former Major League Baseball Player, was born and raised in Uniontown.
  • Chuck Muncie
    Chuck Muncie
    Harry Vance "Chuck" Muncie is a former American football running back who played for the New Orleans Saints and San Diego Chargers in the National Football League from 1976 to 1984...

    , former NFL star running back for the New Orleans Saints and San Diego Chargers, is originally from Uniontown.
  • Sandy Stephens
    Sandy Stephens
    Sanford Emory Stephens II was an African-American football player and civic leader. Stephens was born and raised in the Pittsburgh area city of Uniontown, Pennsylvania and is best known for his career as a college football quarterback at the University of Minnesota...

    , the first African American quarterback for the University of Minnesota
    University of Minnesota
    The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...

    Golden Gophers, was born in Uniontown.

External links

  • http://www.uniontown.com - Uniontown Pennsylvania Message Forum
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