Fayette County, Pennsylvania

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Fayette County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in southwestern Pennsylvania, adjacent to Maryland and West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 128,804.<ref name="QF">Template:Cite web</ref> Its county seat is Uniontown.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> The county was created on September 26, 1783, from part of Westmoreland County and named after the Marquis de Lafayette.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The county is part of the Southwest region of the commonwealth.Template:Efn

Fayette County is part of the Pittsburgh, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area. The southern border of Fayette County is the southern border of Pennsylvania at both the Pennsylvania–Maryland state line (the Mason–Dixon line) and the Pennsylvania–West Virginia state line.

History

Template:Unreferenced section The first Europeans in Fayette County were explorers, who had used an ancient American Indian trail that bisected the county on their journey across the Appalachian Mountains. In 1754, when control of the area was still in dispute between France and Great Britain, 22-year-old George Washington fought against the French at the Battle of Jumonville Glen and Fort Necessity. British forces under Washington and General Edward Braddock improved roads throughout the region, making the future Fayette County an important supply route.

During the Revolutionary War, Fayette County was plagued by attacks from British-allied Indians and remained isolated as a frontier region. Also retarding settlement was a border dispute with Virginia; Virginia's District of West Augusta and Pennsylvania's Westmoreland County both claimed the area. In 1780 the dispute was settled by the federal government in favor of Pennsylvania, and Fayette County was formed from Westmoreland County in 1783.

Fayette County settlers provided the new United States government with an early test of authority in the 1793 Whiskey Rebellion, when farmers rebelled against tax collectors to protest a new liquor tax. President George Washington called out the militias to restore order. However, they were talked out of any violent action by the owner of Friendship Hill and future Secretary of the Treasury, Albert Gallatin. Fayette County continued to be important to travelers in the early 1800s. The National Road provided a route through the mountains of the county for settlers heading west. The shipyards in Brownsville on the Monongahela River built ships for both domestic and international trade.

As Pittsburgh developed its industries in the mid-19th century, Fayette County became a center of coal mining and coke production. From the 1880s to the early 1900s, the area's great expansion in steel production became nationally important, and labor unions shaped national policies. Both new European immigrants and African Americans in the Great Migration from the rural South were attracted to the Pittsburgh area for industrial jobs. The historic Scottish and German farming communities established in the early 19th century were soon overshadowed by the wave of immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe. The region's wealth has been concentrated largely among the old English and Scottish families who had established businesses and political power in Pittsburgh prior to and in the advent of industrialization, often building the new manufacturing concerns, as did Andrew Carnegie.

By World War II, Fayette County had a new unionized working class that enjoyed increased prosperity. In the 1950s, however, the coal industry fell into decline. In the 1970s, the restructuring and collapse of American steel resulted in a massive loss of industrial jobs and hard times in the area. The population has declined since the peak in 1940, as residents have had to move elsewhere for work. The loss of union jobs caused many working families to drop out of the middle class. Only a few mines are being worked in the 21st century, but natural resources remain crucial to the local economy. The region is slowly transitioning toward the service sector, with an increase in jobs in fields such as telemarketing.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 798 square miles (2,070 km²), of which 790 square miles (2,000 km²) is land and 8.0 square miles (21 km²) (1.0%) is water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref> The western portion of the county contains rolling foothills and two valleys along the Monongahela and Youghiogheny rivers. The eastern portion of the county is highly mountainous and forested. Many coal mines are located within the area.<ref>Coal Miners Memorial Echo Mine, Fayette City, Fayette Co., PA, U.S.A Template:Webarchive. Patheoldminer.rootsweb.ancestry.com (December 17, 2009). Retrieved on July 23, 2013.</ref> Fayette County is one of the 423 counties served by the Appalachian Regional Commission,<ref name="ARC">Template:Cite web</ref> and it is identified as part of "Greater Appalachia" by Colin Woodard in his book American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America.<ref name="NYT_CW">Template:Cite news</ref>

Adjacent counties

Nationally protected areas

Climate

Fayette County is in a transition between a humid continental climate (Dfb/Dfa) and a humid subtropical climate (Cfa). Template:Weather box

Demographics

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As of the 2010 census,<ref name="GR2">Template:Cite web</ref> there were 136,606 people, 59,969 households, and 41,198 families residing in the county. The population density was 188 inhabitants per square mile (73/km²). There were 66,490 housing units at an average density of 84 units per square mile (32/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 93.30% White, 4.71% Black or African American, 0.11% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.11% from other races, and 2.33% from two or more races. 1.38% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race. 19.8% were of German, 13.2% Italian, 11.4% Irish, 9.2% American, 8.4% Polish, 7.9% English, and 6.6% Slovak ancestry.

There were 59,969 households, out of which 28.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.80% were married couples living together, 12.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.30% were non-families. 28.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43, and the average family size was 2.96.

In the county, 22.70% of the population was under the age of 18, 7.70% was from 18 to 24, 27.20% from 25 to 44, 24.20% from 45 to 64, and 18.10% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.60 males.

2020 census

Fayette County Racial Composition<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Race Num. Perc.
White (Non-Hispanic) 115,322 89.5%
Black or African American (NH) 5,703 4.43%
Native American (NH) 166 0.13%
Asian (NH) 376 0.3%
Pacific Islander (NH) 160 0.12%
Other/Mixed (NH) 5,499 4.3%
Hispanic or Latino 1,578 1.23%

Government

The County of Fayette is governed by a three-member publicly elected commission. The three commissioners serve in both executive and legislative capacities. By state law, the commission must have a minority party member, guaranteeing a political split. Each member serves a four-year term. Current commissioners are Democrat Vince Vicites and Republicans Harry Kaufman and Scott Dunn.

In October 2015, Sidney Bush, the first African-American elected to county office, was sworn in as controller. She served briefly before being replaced by Democrat Scott Abraham. Bush became Chief Deputy/Accounts Receivable for the county.<ref>Abraham announces re-election bid for Fayette County Controller Template:Webarchive, heraldstandard.com. Accessed July 10, 2023.</ref><ref>Alyssa Choiniere, "First African American to hold county office sworn in" Template:Webarchive, Herald-Standard, October 8, 2015; accessed July 6, 2016</ref>

The Fayette County Court of Common Pleas serves as the primary judicial arm in the region. Judges are elected to ten-year terms in accordance with Commonwealth law. Additionally, district judges serve throughout the county and rule on minor offenses. Current judges are President Judge Steve P. Leskinen, Nancy Vernon, Linda Cordaro, Joseph M. George Jr., and Mark Mehalov.<ref>Fayette County Election Bureau website.</ref>

Politics

Once a Democratic stronghold, in the 21st century Fayette County has swung to the Republican Party. The Republican share of the vote has increased in each presidential election since 1992.Template:PresHead Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow |} Template:U.S. SenHead Template:U.S. SenRow Template:U.S. SenFoot In August 2022, for the first time in the county's history, the total number of registered Republican voters exceeded the number of registered Democrats.<ref name="pa">Template:Cite web</ref>

Voter registration

As of February 5, 2024, there were 77,979 registered voters in Fayette County.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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Historically, Fayette County tended to lean strongly to the Democratic Party in statewide and national elections due to a strong union history, as county residents tend to be liberal on economic issues. At the presidential level, the Democratic candidate won by over 15 percentage points in every election from 1932 through 2004, with the exception of 1972, when it was carried by Republican Richard Nixon in his landslide re-election.

However, similar to much of the rest of Western Pennsylvania outside of Pittsburgh and Erie, most residents tend to be socially conservative, and the county has been trending towards the Republicans since 1996.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the past eight presidential elections, the Republican nominee has gained increasing support in each successive election, and the county was one of only 41 counties nationwide to flip from Democratic to Republican in 2008. Despite losing nationwide and statewide by a large margin, John McCain became the first Republican since 1972 and only the second Republican since 1928 to win Fayette County in 2008, and four years later, Mitt Romney became only the second Republican since 1928 to win a majority of the county's vote. In 2016, Republican Donald Trump won the county by a massive margin of 31 points (64% to 33%), becoming the first Republican to win the county by double digits since 1928, as well as the first Republican to receive over 60% of the county's vote in history. Four years later, he improved on his margin, winning 66.4-32.9. The county has also become solidly Republican in non-presidential races, with Republicans Lou Barletta and Scott Wagner carrying the county in the 2018 Senate and gubernatorial races, respectively, despite both losing statewide by margins of over 10 points.

State representatives

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Serve 2 year terms in Pennsylvania House of Representatives Template:Div col

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State senator

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U.S. Representative

U.S. Senators

Serves six year terms in U.S. Senate

Education

Colleges and universities

Public school districts

Map of Fayette County, Pennsylvania School Districts

Private schools

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  • Apostolic Christian Academy - Dunbar
  • Bible Baptist Academy - Uniontown
  • Calvary Chapel Christian School - Brownsville
  • Champion Christian School - Champion
  • Chestnut Ridge Christian Academy - Uniontown
  • Connellsville Area Catholic School - Connellsville
  • Geibel Catholic High School - Connellsville
  • Mount Carmel Christian School - Mount Pleasant
  • Mount Moriah Christian School - Smithfield
  • Mount Zion Christian Academy - Acme
  • New Meadow Run Parochial School - Farmington
  • Spring Valley School - Farmington
  • St John Evangelist School - Uniontown
  • Verna Montessori School - Prittstown

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Intermediate unit

Fayette County is served by Intermediate Unit #1, which provides a wide variety of services to public, charter, and private schools in the region. Early screening, special education services, speech and hearing therapy, and driver education are available. Services for children during the preschool years are provided without cost to their families when the child is determined to meet eligibility requirements. The IU1 also provides the state-mandated multiple background screenings for potential school employees. A variety of professional development services are also available to the schools' employees.<ref>IU1 Making Christmas a Little Brighter Template:Webarchive</ref>

Transportation

While Fayette County is a generally rural area and is not directly tied into the interstate system, it features four-lane access to the city of Pittsburgh and several of its major suburban areas. State highway plans call for the establishment of direct freeway connections with Pittsburgh to the north and Morgantown, West Virginia, to the south.

Major highways

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Public transportation

The primary provider of mass transportation within the region is Fayette Area Coordinated Transportation, which features local bus routes as well as four times-daily commuter service to Pittsburgh. Amtrak rail service along the Chicago-to-Washington-via-Cleveland Capitol Limited route stops at Connellsville Station. General aviation services are also provided at the Joseph A. Hardy Connellsville Airport.

Communities

Map of Fayette County, Pennsylvania with Municipal Labels showing Cities and Boroughs (red), Townships (white), and Census-designated places (blue).

Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities: cities, boroughs, townships, and, in at most two cases, towns. The following cities, boroughs, and townships are located in Fayette County:

Cities

Boroughs

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Former Boroughs

There have been two former boroughs in Fayette County, South Brownsville and New Haven. South Brownsville was originally founded with the name Bridgeport on May 10, 1814, but the name changed to South Brownsville on June 5, 1908. South Brownsville joined Brownsville on July 3, 1933, which more than doubled the borough's size. New Haven was founded on June 11, 1839, and joined Connellsville (which was a borough at the time) on February 25, 1909. Less than five years later, Connellsville became a city on December 1, 1913.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Townships

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Census-designated places

Census-designated places are geographical areas designated by the U.S. Census Bureau for the purposes of compiling demographic data. They are not actual jurisdictions under Pennsylvania law. Other unincorporated communities, such as villages, may be listed here as well.

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Unincorporated communities

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Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Fayette County.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

† county seat

Rank City/Town/etc. Municipal type Population (2020 Census)
1 † Uniontown City 9,984
2 Connellsville City 7,031
3 Masontown Borough 3,276
4 Leith-Hatfield CDP 2,672
5 Oliver CDP 2,538
6 East Uniontown CDP 2,271
7 Brownsville Borough 2,185
8 Hopwood CDP 2,062
9 Lynnwood-Pricedale (partially in Westmoreland County) CDP 2,074
10 Fairchance Borough 1,890
11 South Connellsville Borough 1,917
12 Perryopolis Borough 1,705
13 South Uniontown CDP 1,325
14 Point Marion Borough 1,156
15 Hiller CDP 1,258
16 Fairhope CDP 1,146
17 Republic CDP 1,151
18 Belle Vernon Borough 1,024
19 Bear Rocks CDP 1,005
20 Dunbar Borough 1,013
21 Smithfield Borough 831
22 Lemont Furnace CDP 715
23 Everson Borough 771
24 Farmington CDP 735
25 Allison CDP 503
26 Star Junction CDP 518
27 Fayette City Borough 502
28 Smock CDP 549
29 New Salem CDP 499
30 Rowes Run CDP 517
31 Newell Borough 513
T-32 Arnold City CDP 462
T-32 Grindstone CDP 489
33 Deer Lake CDP 482
34 Vanderbilt Borough 419
35 Dawson Borough 352
36 Edenborn CDP 229
37 Buffington CDP 298
38 Markleysburg Borough 246
39 Ronco CDP 209
40 Chalkhill CDP 127
41 Naomi CDP 53
42 Ohiopyle Borough 37
43 Seven Springs (mostly in Somerset County) Borough 26

Fixtures

  • Fort Necessity is a reconstructed historic stockade that was originally built by George Washington to defend against an attack during the French and Indian War. Located in Wharton Township, it is now operated as a national battlefield.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
    • General Edward Braddock's Grave is across the highway from Fort Necessity. He was mortally wounded while attacking Fort Duquesne (at the "forks of the Ohio River" in present-day Downtown Pittsburgh) during the French and Indian War. It is a unit of the national battlefield. Under an agreement with the British government, the site of Braddock's grave is officially considered British soil.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) bisects Fayette County. It was the first significant roadway to be paid for by the federal government, connecting Baltimore, Maryland, to Vandalia, Illinois. US 40 follows the path of this historic toll road.
    • Two historic fixtures from the National Road exist within Fayette County's borders. Searights Toll House in Menallen Township is one of the few remaining toll collection stops along the old route.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Washington Tavern, a unit of Fort Necessity National Battlefield, is a classic example of an early 19th-century inn.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • The town of Perryopolis was designed by George Washington during his career as a surveyor. It includes a restored grist mill that once served as an (unsuccessful) business venture for the future president.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Fallingwater, architect Frank Lloyd Wright's most famous home, is located atop a flowing waterfall in Stewart Township. His lesser-known Kentuck Knob is also located within the same municipality.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Friendship Hill, the home of the little-known but highly influential early-19th-century political figure Albert Gallatin, is maintained as a National Historic Site. It is located in Springhill Township.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Fayette County's southern border is adorned with plaques that mark its significance as part of the Mason–Dixon line.
  • A collection of waterfalls surrounding the Youghiogheny River Gorge are protected as part of Ohiopyle State Park.
  • Laurel Ridge State Park contains an extensive hiking trail that traverses much of Pennsylvania's Appalachian foothills.
  • The county contains the largest cave in Pennsylvania, Laurel Caverns, which is popular as both a tour and spelunking destination.
  • A historic trading post that eventually was turned into a spectacular mansion is featured in Nemacolin Castle. The structure is well known for its connections to the Underground Railroad.
  • The prestigious Nemacolin Woodlands Resort is located in Wharton Township. It features a five-star hotel and has received a license for a slots casino.
  • Mountainous Eastern Fayette County is home to the Seven Springs Mountain Resort, which is the premier skiing destination for Greater Pittsburgh.

Notable people

In 1967 Uniontown was the birthplace of the McDonald's Big Mac sandwich.<ref>www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ McDonald's Celebrates 40 Years Template:Webarchive PR Newswire, Official McDonald's News release, August 22, 2007</ref><ref>Template:Cite web Big Mac History</ref>

See also

References

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