52-591: Point Marion is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania , United States, and is located less than one mile north of West Virginia at the confluence of the Monongahela and Cheat rivers. Approximately three miles north of Point Marion is Friendship Hill National Historic Site , home of early American politician Albert Gallatin . Point Marion was settled in the mid-18th century and named in 1842 for its geographic location and Revolutionary War hero Francis Marion ,
104-521: A borough (sometimes spelled boro ) is a self-governing municipal entity, equivalent to a town in most jurisdictions, usually smaller than a city , but with a similar population density in its residential areas. Sometimes thought of as "junior cities", boroughs generally have fewer powers and responsibilities than full-fledged cities. All municipalities in Pennsylvania are classified as either cities , boroughs, or townships . The only exception
156-575: A country estate that would become known as Friendship Hill . One of his friends who later visited him there was General Lafayette , , for whom Fayette County is named. The property is now maintained as a national historic site by the National Park Service, while Gallatin’s name lives on in the area through the Albert Gallatin Area School District . 1800s In 1801, the family of the aforementioned Colonel George Wilson sold
208-559: A hillside adjacent to the battlefield and within the boundaries of the park is Mount Washington Tavern, a classic example of the many inns once lining the National Road , the United States' first federally funded highway. The land on which the tavern was built was originally owned by George Washington. In 1770 he purchased the site on which he had commanded his first battle. Around the 1830s, Judge Nathanial Ewing of Uniontown constructed
260-498: A mix of English and German settlers started moving in, and after the French and Indian War , France relinquished its claim of the region to Great Britain in 1763. As more American colonial settlers then began to move into this frontier area, a Colonel George Wilson was granted 108 acres where the French trading post once stood. The English surveyors Mason and Dixon were charged with surveying
312-674: A new and advanced Point Marion Lock and Dam was opened on the Monongahela River, which operates to this day. In 1930 Albert Gallatin Memorial Bridge was built. Designed in Kansas City and constructed with Pittsburgh steel, it enabled direct access to Greene County and resulting in development between the two counties and their peoples. Previously, ferries were used. In 1937 and in what was considered eventful, President Franklin D. Roosevelt's train passed through Point Marion. In 1967,
364-503: A park were constructed. Paddlewheel steamboats and showboats with entertainment from Pittsburgh became a regular event. In 1890, the McClain brothers founded a sand and gravel business, initially to supply needed materials for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The business expanded from there and operated for many decades, with barges, dredges, and a company steamboat plying the two rivers around
416-444: A related or even the same name. There are 956 boroughs and 56 cities in Pennsylvania. Many home rule municipalities remain classified as boroughs or townships for certain purposes, even if the state's borough and township codes no longer apply to them. Fort Necessity National Battlefield Fort Necessity National Battlefield is a National Battlefield in Fayette County , Pennsylvania , United States, which preserves
468-478: Is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south of the center of town. Pennsylvania Route 88 crosses the Monongahela River leaving town and leads north 14 miles (23 km) to Carmichaels . According to the United States Census Bureau , the borough of Point Marion has a total area of 0.47 square miles (1.21 km), of which 0.39 square miles (1.02 km) is land and 0.07 square miles (0.19 km), or 15.77%,
520-440: Is a part, and Morgantown, West Virginia, of which it is adjacent to, and to which it remains deeply connected. Indeed, as Morgantown housing has become more expensive, Point Marion has to a small degree become a ‘bedroom community’ for some residents. Within the early years of this century, both bridges that were built in the early 20th Century were replaced. The former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad that once ran through Point Marion
572-417: Is the town of Bloomsburg , recognized by the state government as the only incorporated town in Pennsylvania. Boroughs tend to have more developed business districts and concentrations of public and commercial office buildings, including courthouses. Boroughs are larger, less spacious, and more developed than the relatively rural townships, which often have the greater territory and even surround boroughs of
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#1732883812515624-465: Is water. As of the 2000 census , there were 1,333 people, 572 households, and 374 families residing in the borough. The population density was 3,141.9 inhabitants per square mile (1,213.1/km). There were 682 housing units at an average density of 1,607.5 per square mile (620.7/km). The racial makeup of the borough was 99.10% White, 0.08% Native American, 0.08% from other races, and 0.75% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.60% of
676-470: The "Hunting Grounds" of the Iroquois Confederation . 1700s European Settlement The first Europeans arrived at what would become Point Marion in 1723 when Jacques Cheathe, a Quebec native of French Huguenot origin, reached an agreement with the local Natives to trap, fish, and hunt there. In 1724 he established a trading post near the point and became the first settler to live there. In 1751
728-476: The Fort Martin Power Plant commenced operation on the Monongahela River just across the state line. While providing jobs, the power plant also altered the landscape. It also increased the number of tugboats with barges of coal seen on the river, headed to the power plant. 21st CENTURY Today, as in the past, Point Marion straddles two states and two regions: Fayette County and Pennsylvania, of which it
780-560: The "Swamp Fox". The population was 1,152 at the 2020 census , a decline from the figure of 1,159 tabulated in 2010. It is served by the Albert Gallatin Area School District . EARLY HISTORY The region’s original inhabitants from AD 1050 to 1635 were the Iroquoian related Monongahela Culture tribes. Two archeological sites from these tribes exist locally today: 1) several miles to the south of Point Marion in Morgantown, WV, and 2) two miles to
832-433: The 1970s. A new visitor center , which also is home to a National Road interpretive center, opened on October 8, 2005. The battlefield and fort are currently being improved; the battlefield itself has seen much vegetation growth, and the general public are asked to stay out of the battlefield grounds. As the remains of the casualties of the battle were never truly recovered, the battlefield is treated as hallowed ground. On
884-571: The Alleghenies in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. To reach the Ohio River basins' navigable waters as soon as possible on the Monongahela River , Washington chose to follow Nemacolin's Trail , a Native American trail which had been somewhat improved by colonists, with Nemacolin's help. He preferred this to following the ridge-hopping, high-altitude path traversed by the western part of
936-666: The Boat Launch at the town park continues to draw recreational boaters and fishermen from both Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Also, town church events, events such as the annual car show, and the especially the annual ‘Albert Gallatin Regatta’ held on the river, along with a parade and fireworks, help keep the community connected. Point Marion is located near the southwestern corner of Fayette County at 39°44′9″N 79°53′59″W / 39.73583°N 79.89972°W / 39.73583; -79.89972 (39.735711, −79.899698). It lies within
988-567: The Cheat River. Small flocks of wild turkeys can be seen roaming the hillsides. Eastern coyotes , which began migrating into Pennsylvania in the 1960s, are occasionally sighted and more often heard in the Point Marion valley. And black bears have been sighted multiple times, from Walnut Street to Stewartstown Road to the ballpark. Like many small towns in the region, Point Marion is quieter than in past decades, with fewer local businesses. However,
1040-458: The Civil War, it became West Virginia in 1863. By 1867, Point Marion was growing, and had eleven dwellings and one store. During this period, the chief industry was lumber. Logging was conducted upstream along the Cheat River, and the logs were floated down to Point Marion, where they were milled and processed into various products, before being sent downstream for sale. The Monongahela River was still
1092-577: The Monongahela River . Once the British pushed out the French in 1763, the future Point Marion region became part of Monongalia County, Virginia. But after the American Revolutionary War, Pennsylvania and Virginia agreed in 1773 to abide by the recent Mason-Dixon line survey, and it became part of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. Finally, in 1783, Fayette County was formed from Westmoreland County, where Point Marion remains today . An example of
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#17328838125151144-635: The angle formed by the confluence of the Cheat and Monongahela rivers; the Cheat forms the northeastern boundary of the borough, and the Monongahela forms the western boundary as well as the border with Greene County . U.S. Route 119 passes through the borough, crossing the Cheat River and leading northeast 17 miles (27 km) to Uniontown , the Fayette County seat, and leading south 10 miles (16 km) to Morgantown, West Virginia . The West Virginia border
1196-409: The average family size was 2.87. In the borough the population was spread out, with 22.3% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 28.8% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 20.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.5 males. The median income for a household in the borough
1248-463: The battlefield, is the grave of General Edward Braddock . The British commander led a major expedition to the area in 1755 which included the construction of Braddock's Road , a useful but inadequate wilderness road through western Pennsylvania. Braddock was severely wounded in the Battle of the Monongahela as the British advanced toward Fort Duquesne . He and his forces fled along the wilderness road to
1300-724: The companies into the Houze Convex Glass Company . This became Point Marion’s largest employer for over one hundred years, until closing in 2004. But during its heyday, it was an important specialty glass manufacturer in the United States, and in the 1950s their hand-blown windows were even installed in the White House. Woolworths sold specialty lamps nationwide which came from Houze Glass. When President Nixon visited China, he took glass trays made at Houze Glass. And President Gerald Ford had ashtrays on Air Force One that were hand crafted at Houze Glass. In 1909 Cheat River Bridge
1352-464: The future Point Marion region’s early frontier settlement is the Forks of Cheat Baptist Church , founded two miles south of the point with twelve members (reflecting multiple families) by Reverend John Corbly of Ireland on November 7, 1775. The original log-built structure was burned down during a Native American raid in the late 1700s but was rebuilt in 1803. Now sitting on the present-day West Virginia side of
1404-539: The grave of British General Edward Braddock , killed in 1755, and the site of the Battle of Jumonville Glen . After returning to the Great Meadows in northwestern Virginia , and what is now Fayette County , Pennsylvania , George Washington decided it prudent to reinforce his position. Supposedly named by Washington as Fort Necessity or Fort of Necessity, the structure protected a storehouse for supplies such as gunpowder, rum, and flour. The crude palisade they erected
1456-468: The land at the point to a Jacob Sadler . Eventually, the land was subdivided into lots, and on March 15, 1842, it was auctioned to the public. As part of this sale, the first lot purchaser was permitted to choose the future town’s name, and thus for $ 100, a Seth Stafford chose to name it after the Revolutionary War hero General Francis Marion , who's biography was popular at that time. Finally in 1844,
1508-560: The most important method to transport goods, and locks were gradually built along the river. In 1879, the Point Marion lock was built, which was a major event, as it made the town accessible by river year-round. As a result of improved river travel as well as railroad access not long afterward, between the 1890s and the start of the Great Depression, Point Marion became a summer destination for some of Pittsburgh’s well-off residents, and in response, several hotels, and restaurants as well as
1560-418: The mouth, is about 125 yards wide. The Monongahela is nearly double that. The color of the Cheat is dark, the other is clear." Those who know Point Marion today can attest to the distinct separation of the river waters where they meet at the point and that the Cheat is still dark, which would seem to confirm that George Washington himself indeed walked the ground of the future Point Marion. Of course, at that time
1612-456: The nominal command of 100 additional regular British army troops from South Carolina . Washington spent the remainder of June 1754 extending the wilderness road further west and down the western slopes of the Allegheny range into the valley of the Monongahela River . He wanted to create a river crossing point roughly 41 mi (66 km) away, near Redstone Creek and Redstone Old Fort . This
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1664-592: The north at Dunkard Creek . This Aboriginal culture, which peaked about AD 1300 and dominated all of southwestern Pennsylvania, disappeared by the 1630s. But a short time later, by the mid 1600s, the Iroquois related Shawnee tribe from what would later become upstate New York began expanding westward and southward into western Pennsylvania and the Ohio River valley regions. This included what would later be Point Marion and Fayette County, but which would be known at that time as
1716-459: The park was redesignated a National Battlefield on August 10, 1961. As with all historic sites administered by the National Park Service, the battlefield was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966. Subsequent archaeological research helped to uncover the majority of the original fort position, shape and design. A replica of the fort was constructed on site in
1768-660: The point. 1900s In 1900, a commercial building boom began, which created a town core. And in 1907, Penn Street was laid with bricks, making it the first paved street. Newly arrived Italian immigrants dominated this construction. However, a massive fire in 1922 destroyed half of the town buildings, and they had to be rebuilt. The glass industry also commenced in Point Marion in 1900, and soon six different companies operated small plants. Many of their workers were Belgian trained hand-blown glass artisans, and these French speaking immigrants from Belgium’s Walloon Region founded Saint Hubert’s Catholic Church in 1909 (rebuilt in 2005), honoring
1820-465: The point. Washington passed through the area while going to inspect land in Washington County PA he had been granted many years earlier by the British as reward for his efforts in helping to expel the French in the 1750s . On September 24th, 1784, Washington recorded in his journal : "Crossed in Cheat at the mouth as it was too much swelled up to attempt to ford a little higher up. This Cheat, at
1872-452: The popular seventh century Saint Hubert , who is buried back in their local region of Belgium. These two new ethnic groups, (French speaking) Belgians and (South) Italians, brought Catholicism to Point Marion for the first time, and added to the diversity of the town's long-time ethnic British (English, Scots-Irish, Welsh) and German descended Protestant inhabitants. Then, in 1923, Leon Houze, who had arrived from Belgium, consolidated three of
1924-405: The population. There were 572 households, out of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.1% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.6% were non-families. 31.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and
1976-434: The property from the state, making the building a part of Fort Necessity. The Mount Washington Tavern demonstrates the standard features of an early American tavern, including a simple barroom that served as a gathering place, a more refined parlor that was used for relaxation, and bedrooms in which numerous people would crowd to catch up on sleep. In a separate unit of the park, lying about one mile (1.6 km) northwest of
2028-466: The route that was later chosen for Braddock's Road . It jogged to the north near the fort and passed over another notch near Confluence, Pennsylvania , into the valley and drainage basin of the Youghiogheny River . The Redstone destination at the terminus of Nemacolin's Trail was a natural choice for an advanced base. The location was one of the few known good crossing points where both sides of
2080-489: The site of the Battle of Fort Necessity . The battle, which took place on July 3, 1754, was an early battle of the French and Indian War , and resulted in the surrender of British colonial forces under Colonel George Washington , to the French and Indians, under Louis Coulon de Villiers . The site also includes the Mount Washington Tavern, once one of the inns along the National Road , and in two separate units
2132-455: The southern border of Pennsylvania. Beginning south of Philadelphia, they worked their way westward over mountainous virgin forest, setting engraved limestone markers imported from England along the way. In doing so, they crossed the Cheat River and then the Monongahela River less than one mile south of Point Marion in October 1767 and concluded their survey soon afterwards about twelve miles west of
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2184-581: The state line, the church’s name refers to the fork the Cheat and Monongahela rivers, in other words, the point of modern-day Point Marion. Notably, this is the oldest still active church west of the Allegheny Mountains, and each July members celebrate this fact by flying the British Union Jack flag to celebrate its colonial era founding. George Washington’s Visit In 1784, General George Washington (who later became U.S. President in 1789) visited
2236-607: The tavern. James Sampey acquired the tavern in 1840. It was operated by his family until the railroad construction boom caused the National Road to decline in popularity, rendering the inn unprofitable. In 1855, it was sold to the Fazenbaker family. They used it as a private home for the next 75 years, until the Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania purchased the property in 1932. In 1961 the National Park Service purchased
2288-580: The town did not yet exist, but Pennsylvania had officially designated the Monongahela River as a public highway, and boats and ferries moved up and down the river. And at the point during Washington’s time, travelers could stop at Morgan’s Tavern, established by Morgantown, Virginia (now West Virginia) founder Zackquill Morgan . In 1788, and only four years after George Washington’s visit to the area, Swiss immigrant Albert Gallatin (future United States Secretary of Treasury under Thomas Jefferson and James Madison) purchased land only four miles downstream and built
2340-399: The town of Point Marion was officially founded as a "Borough". In 1847, ferry service between Greene County and Fayette County and adjacent to Point Marion was started by Ambrose Dillinger , which his family continued to operate it until 1931 (due to bridges it only then became obsolete). Since Point Marion’s founding, the state of Virginia lay just one mile to the south, but as a result of
2392-484: The wide deep river had low accessible banks; steep sides were characteristic of the Monongahela River valley. Late in the day on July 3, Washington did not know the French situation. Believing his situation was impossible, he accepted surrender terms which allowed the peaceful withdrawal of his forces, which he completed on July 4, 1754. The French subsequently occupied the fort and then burned it. Washington did not speak French, and stated later that if he had known that he
2444-492: Was $ 26,413, and the median income for a family was $ 36,989. Males had a median income of $ 27,439 versus $ 23,859 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $ 13,300. About 15.2% of families and 23.5% of the population were below the poverty line , including 34.7% of those under age 18 and 18.1% of those age 65 or over. Borough (Pennsylvania) In the United States Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ,
2496-465: Was a prehistoric Native American earthwork mound on a bluff overlooking the river crossing. The aboriginal mound structure may have once been part of a fortification. Five years later in the war, in 1759, Fort Burd was constructed at Redstone Old Fort. The area eventually became the site of Nemacolin Castle and Brownsville, Pennsylvania —an important western jumping-off point for travelers crossing
2548-537: Was built more to defend supplies in the fort's storehouse from Washington's own men, whom he described as "loose and idle", than as a planned defense against a hostile enemy. The sutler of Washington's force was John Fraser , who earlier had been second-in-command at Fort Prince George . Later he served as chief scout to General Edward Braddock and then chief teamster to the Forbes Expedition . By June 13, 1754, Washington had under his command 295 colonials and
2600-595: Was confessing to the "assassination" of Joseph Coulon de Jumonville , he would not have signed the surrender document. During the Great Depression of the 20th century, attempts to preserve the location of Fort Necessity were undertaken. On March 4, 1931, Congress declared the location a National Battlefield Site under management of the War Department . Transferred to the National Park Service in 1933,
2652-508: Was inaugurated on July 5th. This was the first bridge to be built into Point Marion and was significant to the development of the region. In 1910, planning began for the Lake Lynn Dam and Power Station just upstream on the Cheat River at the state line. WWI caused it to be halted, but it recommenced in 1925, Cheat Lake was created, and the power station began operation in 1926. The dam itself is 1,000 feet long and 125 feet high. Also in 1926,
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#17328838125152704-533: Was repurposed in 2008 by Fayette County via Federal Funds into what’s known as the Sheepskin Trail . In 2011 the $ 2.2 billion Longview Power Plant began operation just across the state line, which further changed the local landscape and skyline. In recent years, there has been a noticeable increase of previously not seen wildlife such as bald eagles, Canada geese, wild turkeys, coyotes, and black bears. Both Canada geese and bald eagles now live year-round along
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