Uniontown is a city in Fayette County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, United States, southeast of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

and part of the Greater Pittsburgh Region. The population was 10,372 at the 2010 census, down from 12,422 at the 2000 census. It is the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

and largest city of Fayette County.

History

Uniontown was founded by Henry Beeson on July 4, 1776. This was, coincidentally, the same date the

United States Declaration of Independence The United States Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America, is the pronouncement and founding document adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Pennsylvania State House ( ...

was adopted. The

National Road The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was a main tran ...

, also known as the Cumberland Road, was routed through Uniontown in the early 19th century, and the town grew along with the road (now

US 40 U.S. Route 40 or U.S. Highway 40 (US 40), also known as the Main Street of America, is a major east–west United States Highway traveling across the United States from the Mountain States to the Mid-Atlantic States. As with most routes ...

). southeast of Uniontown is Fort Necessity, built by

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

during the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the st ...

(part of the international

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...

) as well as the site of the Battle of Jumonville Glen, where the North American branch of the war began. Uniontown's role in the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. ...

in the antebellum years is commemorated by a marker on the corner of East Main Street and Baker Alley. Residents helped

slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

escaping from the South to freedom. In the late nineteenth century, the town grew based on the development of coal mines and the steel industry. Uniontown was the site of violent clashes between striking coal miners and guards at the local coke works during the bituminous coal miners' strike of 1894. Fifteen guards armed with carbines and machine guns held off an attack by 1,500 strikers, killing five and wounding eight. The Columbia Rolling Mill, an

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in ...

and

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistan ...

works, was located in Uniontown from 1887 to 1895. The mill was the town's 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 Carl Laemmle, the president of Universal Films, sponsored the famous Uniontown Speedway board track from 1916 to 1922. It was a mile and a quarter raceway. As with most of

Western Pennsylvania Western Pennsylvania is a region in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, covering the western third of the state. Pittsburgh is the region's principal city, with a metropolitan area population of about 2.4 million people, and serves as its economic ...

, Uniontown's economy waned during the region's

deindustrialization Deindustrialization is a process of social and economic change caused by the removal or reduction of industrial capacity or activity in a country or region, especially of heavy industry or manufacturing industry. There are different interp ...

of the late 20th century, when the steel industry restructured and many jobs went elsewhere, including offshore. This decline continued into the 21st century, and the population is about half its peak of 1940. The USS ''Uniontown'' (PF-65), a ''Tacoma''-class frigate, was named for the city by the United States Navy on August 16, 1944, the only ship to be so named. In 1967, Uniontown was the birthplace of the McDonald's

Big Mac The Big Mac is a hamburger sold by the international fast food restaurant chain McDonald's. It was introduced in the Greater Pittsburgh area in 1967 and across the United States in 1968. It is one of the company's flagship products and sign ...

sandwich. In 2007, the Big Mac Museum was opened in North Huntingdon Township in Westmoreland County, to the disappointment of some Uniontown residents. According to a McDonald's spokesperson, the decision was based on

logistics Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...

and access, but Uniontown residents complained in an article that was published in ''

The Herald-Standard ''The Herald-Standard'' is a daily newspaper in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, and it has a circulation of 30,000. The newspaper and the newspaper's website, Heraldstandard.com - Uniontown Newspapers, Inc., are owned by Ogden Newspapers. The ''Herald- ...

.'' The Uniontown Downtown Historic District, Gallatin School, John S. Douglas House, John P. Conn House, and Adam Clarke Nutt Mansion are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

Geography

Uniontown is located slightly west of the center of Fayette County at 39°54'0"

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

, 79°43'28"

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

(39.900040, -79.724478). Uniontown PA 2019 winter view

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

, the city has a total area of , all of it land. The city is above sea level and rests at the base of Chestnut Ridge, the westernmost ridge of the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. The ...

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

Climate

Uniontown has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...

with very cold winters, owing its location near the mountains with temperatures running in the 20s to 30s °F (-10 to 0 °C). and warm summers with temperatures then in the upper 70s to the lower 80s °F (upper 20s to the lower 30s °C).

Government

Uniontown's government is composed of a mayor and a five-member city council. The current mayor is Bill Gerke. Uniontown is in

Pennsylvania's 14th congressional district Pennsylvania's 14th congressional district is located in the southwestern part of the state and includes all of Fayette County, Greene County, and Washington County, as well as the western part of Westmoreland County. It is represented by Re ...

and is currently represented in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

by Republican Guy Reschenthaler and in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

by Democrat Bob Casey Jr. and Republican

Pat Toomey Patrick Joseph Toomey Jr. (born November 17, 1961) is an American businessman and politician serving as the junior United States senator for Pennsylvania since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he served three terms as the U.S. representa ...

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2010, there were 10,372 people, 5,423 households, and 3,031 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was 5136 people per square mile (2,351.1/km). There were 6,320 housing units at an average density of 3,103.0 per square mile (1,196.2/km). The racial makeup of the city was 75.16%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 18.90%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.36% Native American, 0.93% Asian, 0.03%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 0.30% from other races, and 3.67% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 1.59% of the population. The largest white ethnic groups in Uniontown: 15.4% German, 13.4% Irish, 9% Italian, 6% Dutch, 5.6% English, 5.5% Polish. 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, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

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 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.5 males. In 2012 the median income for a household in the city was $31,760, and the median income for a family was $37,841. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $22,457.

Fire services

The City of Uniontown Bureau of Fire is a combination career/volunteer department operating out of three stations (two staffed and one reserve), and provides services including fire suppression, fire prevention, various aspects of rescue operations, pre fire and disaster planning, fire safety consultation services, disaster response along with city Emergency Management personnel, and a number of other public services. EMS service is provided by Fayette EMS, which replaced the former Uniontown Fireman's Ambulance in July 2013. The bureau has 4 Engines (pumping apparatus), 2 Trucks (aerial apparatus), a heavy rescue unit, a squad truck, and a command S.U.V. Station 1 or, Central Station, is located downtown on North Beeson Boulevard at Penn Street. Central Station houses Engine #1, Engine #4, Truck #1, Rescue, Squad, Command Unit, and provides housing for two Fayette EMS units as well. Station 2, or the East End Station, is located on Connellsville Street near Lincoln Street. The East End Station houses Engine #3 and Truck "A". The 3rd station, the Union Hose Building, located on East Main Street near Grant Street, houses the city's Emergency Management Agency and Emergency Operations Center, and provides housing for the fire bureau's reserve pumper, Engine #5. The department has three accredited PA Fire Academy Local Level Instructors and a number of professional qualifications board testing evaluators.

Education

K-12

Uniontown Area School District Uniontown Area School District is a highly fragmented midsized, rural public school district located in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. It serves the city of Uniontown and the boroughs of Ohiopyle, and Markleysburg. It also serves Wharton, H ...

* Laurel Highlands School District *St. John the Evangelist Regional Catholic School *Chestnut Ridge School (non- denominational)

Higher education

Westmoreland County Community College Westmoreland County Community College is a public community college in Youngwood, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1970 during an era of community college proliferation within the state. Its location on the suburban fringe was designed to attract ...

, Uniontown Education Center *Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus *Laurel Business Institute *United Career Institute, ''formerly West Virginia Career Institute and Pennsylvania Institute of Health and Technology'' *

Madison College (Pennsylvania) Madison College was an educational institution in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, operated by the Methodist Episcopal Church. The college was chartered by the Pennsylvania legislature in 1827, and it was operated by the Methodist Episcopal Church until 18 ...

, a former school operated by the

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. ...

Services

*Uniontown Hospital, the larger of two hospitals in the county, is the city's and Fayette County's largest employer. *The City of Uniontown operates a full-time police department. The city police station houses a booking center used by all police agencies within Fayette County, including the Pennsylvania State Police.

Media

*''

,'' 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, 101.1FM

WMBS WMBS (590 AM) 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, and broa ...

and 99.3 FM

WPKL WPKL is a classic hits 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. Both stations are owned by Forever Media, and each has a power output of 3,000 ...

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 Morgantown is a city in and the county seat of Monongalia County, West Virginia, United States, situated along the Monongahela River. The largest city in North-Central West Virginia, Morgantown is best known as the home of West Virginia Universi ...

, and provides the northern half of the bypass before becoming a four-lane route to Connellsville. US 40 enters the region as a two-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 Pennsylvania Route 51 (PA 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. PA 51 is the termination point for Pennsylvani ...

, a main four-lane route to Pittsburgh, and PA 21, which connects Fayette County with Greene County and Waynesburg, both terminate in Uniontown. PA 43, part of the Mon-Fayette Expressway project to connect Pittsburgh with

is complete around the Uniontown area. Local bus service is provided by

Fayette Area Coordinated Transportation Fayette Area Coordinated Transportation, known by the moniker of FACT, is a public transportation service located in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. It provides inter-city bus and paratransit service to select communities within the county. Because t ...

Notable people

* Professional wrestler Bruiser Brody (1946-1988), known as Frank Donald Goodish outside the ring. *

Henry Bidleman Bascom Henry Bidleman Bascom (1796–1850) 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. House of Repres ...

(1796-1850), religious circuit rider, U.S. congressional chaplain, Methodist bishop, first president of Madison College * Henry White Beeson (1791-1863), former member of the U.S. House of Representatives * John Dickson Carr, mystery writer born in Uniontown * Robert J. Cenker, engineer and RCA astronaut born in Uniontown *

William E. Crow William Evans Crow (March 10, 1870 – August 2, 1922) was an American lawyer and Republican party politician from Uniontown, Pennsylvania. He served in the Pennsylvania State Senate from 1907 until 1921, and was the body's President pro te ...

(1870-1922), former

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

Ernie Davis Ernest Davis (December 14, 1939 – May 18, 1963) was an American football player who won the Heisman Trophy in 1961 and was its first African-American recipient. Davis played college football for Syracuse University and was the first pick in t ...

(1939-1963), first African-American Heisman Trophy winner, lived in Uniontown for most of his early life * John Littleton Dawson (1813-1870), former member of the U.S. House of Representatives *

Jim Delligatti Michael James Delligatti (August 2, 1918 – November 28, 2016) was an American entrepreneur. He was an early franchisee of the fast food restaurant chain McDonald's, opening the first of his eventual 48 branches in Uniontown, Pennsylvania ...

(1918-2016), Big Mac Inventor, born in Uniontown * Tory Epps (1976-2005), former NFL Defensive Lineman *Dr.

Mark Esper Mark Thomas Esper (born April 26, 1964) is an American politician and manufacturing executive who served as the 27th United States secretary of defense from 2019 to 2020. A member of the Republican Party, he had previously served as the 23rd U ...

(1964-), 27th

United States Secretary of Defense The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosure 2: a The se ...

under President Donald Trump, born in Uniontown * George Bird Evans, noted illustrator, mystery novelist, gunning and bird dog writer, and dog breeder *

Ronne Froman Veronica Froman-Blue, better known by her maiden name Veronica "Ronne" Froman (RADM, USN, Ret.), 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 th ...

(RADM, USN, Ret.), born in Uniontown *

Gus Gerard Daniel James "Gus" Gerard (born July 27, 1953) is an American former professional basketball player. He played for the Carolina Cougars and Spirits of St. Louis and Denver Nuggets of the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the Denver Nuggets, ...

, former ABA and NBA player * Thomas Irwin (1785-1870), former member of the U.S. House of Representatives and former U.S. District Court judge *

William James William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American philosopher, historian, and psychologist, and the first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States. James is considered to be a leading thinker of the lat ...

, former NFL cornerback born and raised in Uniontown *

Stu Lantz Stuart Burrell Lantz (born July 13, 1946) is an American former professional basketball player who is a television commentator for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) on Spectrum SportsNet. He played college basket ...

, former NBA player and color commentator for the Los Angeles Lakers, played basketball for Uniontown High School and led them to a PIAA state championship in 1964 * James Lawson, civil rights leader born in Uniontown in 1928 * General of the Army George C. Marshall, American military leader, Secretary of State, and the third Secretary of Defense, born in Uniontown * Terry Mulholland, former Major League baseball player, born and raised in Uniontown * Chuck Muncie, former NFL star running back for the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

and

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

, originally from Uniontown *

Nelson Munsey Nelson Emory Munsey (July 2, 1948 – July 8, 2009) was an American football cornerback in the National Football League. He was signed by the Baltimore Colts as an undrafted free agent in 1972. He played college football at Wyoming. He was ...

, former NFL cornerback for the

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...

and

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...

, originally from Uniontown * David Nehls, actor, singer, composer and lyricist * Larry Pennell, actor of film and television, born in Uniontown in 1928 * Kaleb Ramsey, former NFL player * Wil Robinson former NBA/ABA player, also a West Virginia University all-time great * Sandy Stephens, first African-American quarterback for the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

Golden Gophers, born in Uniontown * Andrew Stewart (1791-1872), former member of the U.S. House of Representatives * Daniel Sturgeon (1789-1878), former

* Tom Wilson, cartoonist, noted for the comic strip ''Ziggy''. * Gene Steratore, former NFL football and NCAA basketball referee and current a rules analyst for CBS Sports, born and raised in Uniontown

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cities in Fayette County, Pennsylvania County seats in Pennsylvania Pittsburgh metropolitan area Populated places established in 1776 Populated places on the Underground Railroad Cities in Pennsylvania 1776 establishments in Pennsylvania