Uniontown Archives - Pennsylvania Heritage Magazine

The Making of a Leader: George C. Marshall

Posted by Don Sarvey on Mar 17, 2023 in | Comments Off During the second weekend of September 1939, Gen. George C. Marshall, the newly elevated chief of staff of the U.S. Army, made an official “homecoming” visit to his place of birth, Uniontown, Pennsylvania. As a result, two strands of history stood adjacent on the front page of the local newspaper, the Uniontown Daily News Standard. One headline announced the Nazi invasion of Poland with the...
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Editor’s Letter

Posted by Kyle Weaver on Mar 17, 2023 in | Comments Off This April 3 marks the 75th anniversary of President Harry S. Truman’s signing of the European Recovery Program, better known as the Marshall Plan. Pennsylvania native and former Army chief of staff George C. Marshall, Truman’s secretary of state, first articulated the need to rehabilitate the economic structure of Europe following the devastation of World War II in a speech at Harvard...
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George Marshall by David L. Roll

Posted by Tyler Gum on Dec 3, 2020 in | Comments Off George Marshall Defender of the Republic by David L. Roll Dutton Caliber, 704 pp., hardcover $34 George C. Marshall grew up in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, but his chosen path would take him far, both physically and conceptually. His notable service in the military spanned from Gen. John J. Pershing’s aide-de-camp in World War I to Army chief of staff during World War II. After the war, he served as...
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Pennsylvanians at Meuse-Argonne: The 28th, 79th and 80th Divisions in the Last Major Offensive of the Great War

Posted by Tyler Gum on Oct 28, 2019 in | Comments Off Pennsylvanians served with honor and distinction in World War I, with more than 297,000 men from the Keystone State engaged in the conflict as part of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF), established in July 1917 to join the Allied Powers (France, Great Britain, Russia and Italy) in the fight against the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Turkey and Bulgaria). The majority of...
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Romani and Sinti in Pennsylvania

Posted by Pamela Reilly on Mar 13, 2017 in | Comments Off This fascinating early 20th-century postcard of a scene from Williamsport, Lycoming County, provides a view of life in Pennsylvania that is seldom represented in formal historic records or in preservation efforts. Cultures that exist outside the mainstream and especially those not linked to specific places pose a special challenge to historians. The word “Gypsy,” which appears on...
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Fayette at the Crossroads

Posted by Walter Storey on Nov 30, 2013 in | Comments Off Fayette County has always been at the crossroads, both literally and figuratively, its destiny shaped by its location, the incredible riches of its natural resources and the vitality of a people descended from almost every nation of Europe. It has a son of dual personality, geographically divided between mountains and lowlands, historically divided into two almost equal eras of economic...
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John Nicholson and Land as a Lure in the Infant Nation, 1790-1800

Posted by Robert Arbuckle on Nov 30, 2013 in | Comments Off John Nicholson was an early Pennsylvania land speculator, financier and entrepreneur. He was born in 1757, emigrated from Wales at an early age and died in 1800. While serving as comptroller-general of the state (1782-1794), he was a major factor in helping Pennsylvania achieve financial solvency after the revolutionary war. In this capacity, Nicholson created political alliances with those who...
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Uniontown’s Prince of the Gilded Age

Posted by Richard Robbins on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off Nothing captures the attention of the press more than a good scandal. In Uniontown, Pennsylvania, in January 1915, it had one. The financial collapse of coal baron Josiah V. Thompson, and the ruin of his bank, summoned a reporter from the New York Tribune to the Fayette County seat. Stepping off at the Pennsylvania Railroad station, the unidentified reporter hurried to Thompson’s office...
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A Salute to the Bicentennial of the Keystone State

Posted by Philip Klein on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off The current Bicentennial celebration commemorates not the birth of the United States, but the proclamation of thirteen British-American colonies that were “free and independent states” as of July 4, 17.76. When they formed a loose compact in 1761, their articles of confederation declared that “each state retains its sovereignty, freedom and independence.” The...
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Historical Sketch of Greene County

Posted by Louis Waddell on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off Greene County lies in the southwestern corner of the state. Its many hills, the distinguishing feature of the countryside, grow more pronounced as one travels from the eastern to the western areas. The old Washington Waynesburg Railroad, traveling through the hills, was famous for its 178 sharp turns, each of which jolted the passengers. There were some who took the trip just for the roller...
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