WAYNESBURG NATIONAL REGISTER DISTRICT

This article first appeared in the June 2015 issue of GreeneSPEAK!

The Waynesburg District of the National Register of Historic Places was created in 1983. It includes all of the downtown commercial area, the university campus and many parts of residential neighborhoods. The district covers 35% of the borough and includes hundreds of buildings.  

The original Greene County Courthouse of 1796, believed to be the only log courthouse on its original site in the state of Pennsylvania, possibly the nation. The courthouse is part of the Waynesburg Historic District. (Photo credit:Cornerstone Genealogical Society.)

 
The district is significant for its large number of buildings and their (quote) “highest quality of architectural integrity.” When the nomination was written in 1983, only 5% of the buildings in the district had been “remodeled,” which was defined as either: (1) removing significant architectural elements, (2) overing over important building material with inappropriate modern materials, (3) removal of significant portions of the building or (4) adding of inappropriate additions.

In 1983, 92 percent of the buildings were judged to be in either excellent or good condition. Only 8% were in poor condition.

Today, a quick look around town shows that the intervening 32 years have not been kind to many of Waynesburg’s historic assests. However, it is not too late to save the buildings. The “bones” are still there, they just need some loving care. There are numerous tools to help owners of historic commercial properties. For example, inclusion in the Waynesburg National Register District qualifies them for 20% Federal Historic Tax Credits on the cost of rehabilitation.

The Waynesburg Nomination Form (pdf) can be downloaded at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waynesburg_Historic_District. It includes general information and an inventory that describes and rates each building as either “Significant,” “Contributing” or “Non-Contributing.” The inventory lists each building by tax identification number, not address or name. Readers can email me if they have trouble locating a specific building or neighborhood.

For more information about the National Register, visit the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission (PHMC) “Cultural Resources Geographic Information System” (CGRIS) and/or the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). Both are part of the PHMC website. Each state administers its own listings but the program is part of the National Park Service, U. S. Department of Interior. Their website is: www.nps.gov/nr/

THE THARP HOUSE, 1903, is located at the corner of High and Cumberland Streets. Waynesburg is rich in opulent residences erected during the first oil-and-gas boom, ca. 1890-1907. The Colonial Revival was one of many popular styles.  With its massive gambrel roof, this beautiful brick house by contractor Clement Brocks commands the top of Town Hill, the entrance to downtown Waynesburg. 
 (Photo by Mary Beth Pastorius). 

Four years ago, Dave Pollock and I nominated the Town of Waynesburg for the Young Preservationists of Pittsburgh (YPA) annual “Best Preservation Opportunity in the Pittsburgh Region Award.” Waynesburg won #1, besting better-known projects, towns and neighborhoods. At the awards ceremony, I told the Pittsburgh audience about the size and caliber of the Waynesburg Historic District, and they gasped with amazement. Afterward, many had the same comment: “Your town is so beautiful and it has so much potential.” Believe it. Waynesburg matters.

DEMOCRAT MESSENGER BUILDING, 1939.  One of our most modern buildings is this sparse, functional design by acclaimed Pttsburgh architect Frederick Schreibler, located on Church Street, across from the side of the Courthouse.  Today, it is owned by the Observer-Reporter Publishing Company. (Photo credit: The Progressive Architecture of Frederick G. Scheibler, Jr. by Martin Aurand).

FIRST FEDERAL SAVINGS & LOAN

This article first appeared in the May 2015 issue of GreeneSPEAK!

Since 1946, this building has been the home of First Federal Savings & Loan of Greene County.   It is shown here shortly after Union Deposit and Trust remodeled in 1922.

First Federal stands on the central lot in Downtown Waynesburg facing the Courthouse.  The building is important for its location and its stellar architecture.  The style is Italian Renaissance, a form of Classicism that was popular in the 1920s.  It was built by one of the most successful contractors in New York City, Fred T. Ley & Company, best known for the Chrysler Building.  The architect was Charles Bertram French, also of New York City.  

First Federal anchors a group of stately Beaux Arts buildings that define the character of Downtown Waynesburg, making the town a beautiful place.  The other buildings in this trio are the Fort Jackson Hotel and First National Bank, also designed by a prominent New York City architect.  All three were built in the “Roaring 1920s”.  During this decade, an additional eight major commercial buildings were erected in Downtown Waynesburg.  It was a time of optimism and investment in the future.

Readers may be surprised to learn that the First Federal building was not erected in 1922 but rather extensively remodeled.  The structure dates to 1896 when it was known as the Jacobs & Headley Building.  It was originally three floors of Edwardian design, similar to what the Blair Hotel (Locker Room) still looks like today.

The Jacobs and Headley Building was constructed in 1896.  Photo credit: greeneconnections.com

 

The owners were William Jacobs and Robert Headley who lived with their families on the upper floors.  The initial commercial tenant was Stoy & Cotterrel Drug Store.

In 1901, Union Deposit & Trust Company was formed and moved into the building.  The business prospered until the early spring of 1921 or 1922 when, according to John O’Hara in Fact and Folklore, a hurricane-like wind blew the metal roof off the building and set it down almost intact on the Courthouse lawn.  This calamity prompted a massive remodeling that was conducted with lighting speed.  The Ley Company began construction in April 1922 and six months later, the bank re-opened.  Union Deposit & Trust continued there until December 1945 when its assets were sold to First National Bank.   

The First Federal lobby with Wendell August Forge accessories.   Photo credit: First Federal Savings & Loan of Greene County

 

A few months later, First Federal acquired the building and moved in, redecorating the lobby with hand-wrought aluminum fixtures from Wendell August Forge.  They had earlier been located on South Washington Street in the building that is now Baily Insurance.   

Another early view of the Union Deposit and Trust Building, today First Federal Savings & Loan.  The three buildings beside have been demolished.

The Italian Renaissance design is highlighted by two tall, fluted Corinthian pilasters that separate the central and side bays that are filled with metal casement windows and metal ornamentation.  The entrance door is surrounded by an elaborately carved cornice.  Above this central composition is a wide frieze trimmed with block modillions and dentils.  Piers and a turned balustrade finish the top of the massive granite façade.  Inside, the lobby walls are wainscoted with Indiana limestone from Bloomington, and the floors are covered with Halston limestone from Knoxville, TN. 

Like many who grew up in Waynesburg, I have fond memories of this building.  I remember climbing the stairs to the Children’s Library on the second floor before it moved to the Bowlby House.  WAMB Radio was there, too.  My fondest memories are of visiting my Dad, Dick Morgan, at his desk in the bank lobby.  It was the first one on the left, where he greeted everyone with a smile.

The first building to occupy the First Federal site was the log tavern shown on the right.  It was called the Richard Ledwith Inn, built ca. 1800 and demolished in 1895 for the Jacobs and Headley Building.  Photo credit: greeneconnections.com

 

 

THE GREEK REVIVAL

This column first appeared in the April 2015 edition of GreeneSPEAK!

The Behm Row is an exceptionally fine collection of four Greek Revival houses built in the early 1850s.

Greek Revival was the prevalent American architectural style in the decades before the Civil War.  While most towns in Southwestern Pennsylvania have lost their Greek Revival structures, or never had them, Waynesburg is fortunate to retain a wealth of these early gems.   Foremost are the Greene County Court House and Hanna Hall, both built in 1850-51.  

On West High Street there’s an extraordinary collection of six surviving Greek Revival houses in a single block bound by Morris and Richhill Streets.  Today, four are owned by Behm Funeral Home.   They were erected at the same time as the Court House and Hanna Hall.  The Dr. Blachley House at the corner of High and Morris, and the center section of the Denny House are even earlier, begun in the 1830s. 

Greek Revival architecture originated with Thomas Jefferson.  Based on the Greek ideals of democracy, beauty and simplicity, it was considered appropriate for the new American democracy.  Many of the first buildings in Washington, D.C., were built in this style.  

The Lindsay-Rinehart House as it appeared in Waynesburg Prosperous & Beautiful, 1907.

Greek Revival houses have low-pitched gable roofs and heavy cornices.  Their façades are symmetrical, either 3- or 5-bays wide.  In the 5-bay version, the front door is centered with a pair of windows on either side.  The windows are elongated, double-hung, six-over-six.  In the 3-bay plan, the entrance is placed in the right or left quadrant beside two windows.   Doors are 4-paneled with sidelights and a fanlight.  Ornamentation is handsome but sparse as these buildings pre-date the development of sawmills and mass-produced wood trim. 

Classic Greek Revival entrance with 4-panel door, sidelights, tripartite transom and carved stone lintel.

The eastern most house in the Behm Row was the home of Judge James and Sarah Lindsey and their descendants named Munnell and Rinehart.   Its original red brick façade is well preserved.    Next door was J. L. McConnell, publisher of the first map of Greene County.   He built both houses which share a second story wing over an open carriageway.   The house closest to Richhill Street was the home of Rev. Phillip Axtell, pastor of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and a founder of Waynesburg College.   Its façade is also unaltered except for Victorian brackets added long ago.

The Lindsay-Rinehart House is little changed today.  The next three houses (painted white) were united by funeral director Samuel P. Weaver in 1935.

Samuel P. Weaver united three of the houses in 1935, creating the first funeral home in Greene County.  Previously, funerals had been held at home or in a church.  He painted the buildings white and remodeled the middle two in the style of Colonial Williamsburg.   He added a central arched window and broken pediment above the main entrance, and either brick arches or shutters to the remaining windows.  The result is an attractive composition accented with green paint on the doors, shutters and standing seam metal roof. 

 

Anchoring the SW corner of High and Morris Streets since the 1830s or earlier, this Greek Revival house later became Jimmie's Lunch, famous for its hot dogs.   Photo credit: Cover of Images of America: Waynesburg, 2015, by Glenn Toothman and Candice Buchanan, courtesy of greeneconnections. com. 
    

Two generations of Dr. Blachleys lived and practiced at the corner of High and Morris Streets from 1834 until 1882, followed by Doctors Ullom and Iams.  In the 20th century, the house became Jimmie's Lunch famous for its hot dogs.   There have been many additions and alternations to this building including a lintel over an early addition that's dated 1849.

The middle section of the Denny House was built in 1836 in the Greek Revival style.   It was expanded in the rear in 1878.  The High Street facade with distinctive Dutch step-gable roof was added in 1902.

The Denny House began as a Greek Revival design in 1836, expanded in the rear in 1878 and front in 1902.  The original entrance faced east and is today covered by a porch.  Inside the early woodwork is preserved.   Like most Waynesburg people, the Dennys did not destroy the past.  Rather, they added on while preserving the original.  I wish more people would do that today.

FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

This article was first published in the March 2005 edition of GreeneSPEAK!

Postcard view printed by W. T. Hays shortly after the building was completed in 1907.  Photo credit: greeneconnections.com

 Located at the corner of Richhill and Franklin Streets, the First United Methodist Church is an architectural gem, built in 1905-1907 when the congregation was known as Methodist Episcopal.   Church archives retain a full set of architectural drawings that document the design and materials.  The exterior walls were built of Hummelstown brownstone from the same quarry in Dauphin County, PA, that supplied the famous brownstone districts of New York City.   There have been few major changes in the intervening century, aside from replacing the roof.  

A huge cast iron bell hangs in the bell tower, manufactured in 1881 by A. Fulton & Son of Pittsburgh.   It was moved from the congregation’s earlier building on South Washington Street.

The altar of First United Methodist Church today.  The pendant lights were a later addition.

The interior is dominated by a huge “preaching auditorium” with an adjoining lecture room.  Combined, they seat over 1,000.   Around the curved edge of the lecture room are small Sunday School classrooms.   This arrangement, known as the “Akron Plan,” was popular in the late 19^th and early 20^th century in Methodist, Congregational, Baptist and Presbyterian churches.

The Christ in the Temple window is attributed to William Reith Stained Glass Studio of Philadelphia

The church has a wealth of beautiful stained glass windows, 45 in all.  Facing Franklin Street, the largest is a copy of the famous painting by Heinrich Hofmann of “Christ in the Temple.”   It can be attributed to the William Reith Stained Glass Studio of Philadelphia.    

  The Resurrection window shows Mary and Martha at the tomb witnessing the Risen Christ.

 

The second triple window is positioned above the Cloister on the Richhill Street elevation.  It depicts the Resurrection.  Although the artist is unknown, a plaque identifies it as having been given in memory of Mrs. Harriet W. T. Sayers by her four surviving children.  The third large window is round in shape and illustrates Christ welcoming the children.   A beautiful art-glass dome tops the arched ceiling.  Behind the altar are the original pipes of a Hinner organ that was installed in 1909, partially financed by Andrew Carnegie.  

This is one of three windows--each with a different theme--in the cloister on the Richhill Street elevation.

The architect, J. C. Fulton of Uniontown, designed hundreds of schools, churches, houses and public buildings in our region.  Progressive Men of Pennsylvania, 1900, described him as “a rising architect who has gained more than a local reputation in Western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio and West Virginia….He has no real rivals in his section nearer than Pittsburgh for public and private buildings.“  It also stated that “he has the faculty of combining beauty and utility in his buildings without sacrificing either.”  

The Somerset County PA Courthouse designed by J. C. Fulton.  Photo credit: www.flickr.com

Fulton designed five county court houses: Somerset and Butler in Pennsylvania; Monongalia, Barbour and Doddridge in West Virginia.  At California University of Pennsylvania, his work includes the east and west wings of Old Main, Dixon Hall and a library annex that has an interior dome similar to the Waynesburg church.  In Uniontown he designed Hotel Mahoney and Uniontown High School, and in Connellsville he created Hotel Wyman and the Dun & Paine Building, considered the finest in town.  

His ecclesiastical work includes Trinity Evangelical Lutheran (Connellsville), First Presbyterian (California), First Baptist (Meadville), United Presbyterian Church (Apollo), Calvary Presbyterian (Indiana), First Presbyterian (Windber), and the Methodist Episcopal and Presbyterian churches in Fairmont, WV.

Carhart Bowlby chaired the Waynesburg building committee, assisted by S. M. Smith, Dr. R. B. Blair, S. C. Brock, Capt. J. B. Donley, I. H. Knox and A. I. Strosnider.  The building cost $55,000, a sum fully subscribed by the time of dedication in September 1907.   This was an impressive accomplishment considering the recent failure of the town’s largest bank, Farmers & Drovers.