Uniontown, Pennsylvania

Uniontown is a city in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, 50 miles (80 km) southeast of Pittsburgh and part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. Population in 1900, 7,344; in 1910, 13,344; in 1920, 15,692; and in 1940, 21,819. The population was 12,422 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat and largest city of Fayette County.Template:GR

Uniontown is currently bankrupt and 1.3 million dollars in debt.

History

The city, originally called Redstone-town[2], was founded by Henry Beeson on July 4, 1776, the same date as the United States Declaration of Independence(the timing was coincidental.)[3] The National Road, also known as the Cumberland Road, was routed through Uniontown in the early 1800s and the town grew along with the Road. The Columbia Rolling Mill, an iron and steel 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. As with most of Western Pennsylvania, Uniontown's economy waned during the region's deindustrialization of the late 20th century.

Also located within 10 miles of Uniontown is Fort Necessity. George Washington built this fort during the French and Indian War. He had been sent to the Ohio River Valley to protect British claims to the land in this region. But the French had also claimed this valley. To keep the British out, the French built a string of forts in the valley. Washington threw together a circle of logs he called Fort Necessity. It is reported that Washington said, "It is out of necessity that this fort is built." Thus, giving the fort its name. It is at this fort where Washington's militia was greatly outnumbered and badly defeated by the French. Washington was permitted to leave with his troops on the condition that he sign a document, in French, admitting to the assassination of Jumonville, who had been killed a few days earlier in a skirmish with Washington's small force. Washington did not speak French, and later stated that he would not have signed the document if he had known what it said.

Only a few miles from Fort Necessity is located the grave of General Edward Braddock. In 1755, Great Britain sent Braddock and his troops to Virginia to join with their troops as they moved toward Fort Duquesne. George Washington went along as the general's aide. On July 9, 1755, only 10 miles from Fort Duquesne, the British troops were ambushed by French and Indian fighters hidden behind the trees in the Battle of the Monongahela. Braddock was mortally wounded in this battle. He died four days later as his troops retreated back over the mountains toward Fort Necessity. His troops buried his body under the road ( present day U.S. Route 40) so that it would be undetected by French troops who they feared would mutilate his corpse. His body has since been moved to a gravesite adjacent to the road. Through an agreement with the United States Government, Braddock's gravesite has been deemed to be British territory.

Geography

Uniontown is located at 39°54'0" North, 79°43'28" West (39.900040, -79.724478).Template:GR

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.0 square miles (5.3 km²) and none of it is covered with water. 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 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.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 12,422 people, 5,423 households, and 3,031 families residing in the city. The population density 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/sq mi (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, 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 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 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.

Education

K-12

• Uniontown Area School District
• Laurel Highlands School District

Catholic Elementary Schools

• St. John the Evangelist School
• St. Mary (Nativity) School
• Chestnut Ridge Christian Academy (non-denominational)

Higher Education

• Laurel Business Institute
• Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus
• Westmoreland County Community College, Uniontown Education Center

Employment

• Uniontown Hospital, the largest of three hospitals in the county, is the city's and Fayette County's largest employer
• TeleTech Holdings, Inc, a business process outsourcing company, employees approximately 900 employees at its Uniontown site located in the back of the Uniontown Mall; clients are Fortune 500 companies
• Parametric Technology Corporation operates a solution center in Uniontown

Media

The Herald Standard, a newspaper based in Uniontown, serves the city and much of the surrounding area. Also, the newspaper's tv station HSTV provides thousands throughout Fayette County with local news and other programming on Atlantic Broadband Cable channel 19. Two radio stations are licensed to the Uniontown area on 590 AM WMBS and 99.3 FM WPKL.

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. US 119 enters the area as a two-lane route from Morgantown, West Virginia, 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. 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. The old portions of US 40, now signed as Business 40, serve the downtown area.

PA 51, a main four-lane route to Pittsburgh, and PA 21, which connects Fayette County with Greene County, both terminate in Uniontown. PA 43, part of the Mon-Fayette Expressway project to connect Pittsburgh with Morgantown, is currently completed around the Uniontown area.

Historical Facts and Trivia

• General George Marshall, a legendary figure in 20th century history, was born in Uniontown
• Friendship HIll is nearby, the original home of Albert Gallatin
• Uniontown contains a classic early 1900s skyscraper: the 13 story Fayette Bank Building
• McDonald's famous hamburger, the Big Mac was invented in 1967 by Jim Delligatti[4], the McDonald's franchise owner in Uniontown.
• USS Uniontown (PF-65) was named for the city.
• Uniontown is the setting of the first scenes from George A. Romero's Land of the Dead, populated by increasingly intelligent zombies.
• Mount Saint Macrina, a Catholic monastery, draws 30,000 pilgrims each Labor Day weekend.

External links

• Uniontown PA Community Portal
• A Photosynth of downtown Uniontown - requires fast machine and installation of Microsoft Photosynth (free)
• Fayette County PA Portfolio - A social networking site for Fayette County PA
• Discussion Forum for Uniontown, PA
• Fayette County Portal