Greensburg
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About this ebook
P. Louis DeRose
Local resident and lawyer P. Louis DeRose is a member of the Westmoreland County Historical Society, Lincoln Highway Association, and Westmoreland Museum of American Art and former president of the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor. He is a frequent contributor to local publications and co-creator of a touring slide show about historic Greensburg.
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Greensburg - P. Louis DeRose
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INTRODUCTION
As the early colonists pushed westward, a series of forts was built up and over the mountains of western Pennsylvania. The road that connected these early forts was used not only by the military but also by new settlers seeking a fresh start in what was then the west. Migration slowed to a stall until the end of the French and Indian War. Once it was safe, travel was reestablished, and a steady stream of pilgrims pushed over the Alleghenies into the rolling countryside of western Pennsylvania, toward Pittsburgh. Midway between Fort Ligonier and Fort Pitt, a cluster of cabins was built to provide food, shelter, and supplies to those intrepid travelers. Some of these westbound pioneers decided to stay in this hamlet, then called Newtown.
Once the state chose Newtown as the seat of government for all the western territory east of Pittsburgh, the future success of this community was assured. Renamed for Revolutionary War hero Gen. Nathanael Greene shortly after his death, Greensburg continued to grow and prosper but at a very slow rate. It was the first county seat of government and home to the first state courts west of the Alleghenies. In 1799, the community leaders established a borough form of government. For the first time, there was a recognized entity known as Greensburg.
After the Civil War, with the main line of the Pennsylvania Railroad running through its center and with rich farmland and bituminous coal mines surrounding it, Greensburg emerged as the commercial and industrial center of the region. As the community turned the corner into the 20th century, it displayed its newfound prosperity with beautiful, large homes and impressive new commercial structures.
Through two world wars and the Great Depression, Greensburg remarkably continued its steady growth until the early 1960s. The decline that followed would last 20 years and is, in some ways, still unresolved.
Located in the geographic center of Westmoreland County, approximately 30 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, today Greensburg is home to many local, state, and federal agencies serving an area population of over 75,000 people. The historic Lincoln Highway, the Pennsylvania Turnpike, the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport, Amtrak, and Norfolk Southern all service its transportation requirements. The community is also served by Seton Hill University and the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg, as well as nearby St. Vincent College and Westmoreland County Community College. Flanked by urban sprawl to the west and by bucolic farmland and recreation areas to the east, Greensburg is the cultural center of the county. It is home to the Westmoreland Museum of American Art and the Palace Theatre. Along with the colleges and universities, these institutions are regular hosts to enriching art and entertainment opportunities. Nearby historical sites include the Hannastown settlement and Bushy Run battlefield, which celebrated the 250th anniversary of the French and Indian War in 2004.
With its neighbors Hempfield Township, South Greensburg Borough, Southwest Greensburg Borough, Salem Township, and Unity Township, Greensburg is the center of a growing and ever changing portion of Westmoreland County. Time and history have indeed brought changes to the face of the city and altered its destiny, but it remains, as it always has been, a fine place to live and work.
One
ROUNDING THE CORNER IN STYLE
After the Civil War and before World War I, Greensburg began a period of slow yet sustained growth and development. The completion of the Pennsylvania Railroad to Pittsburgh helped fuel this growth, as did the development of bituminous coal mining near the end of the 19th century. Already well established as a seat of government, Greensburg was called home by more and more workers from Europe, as well as men and women from the East Coast. These new residents built schools, churches, and stores. They needed banks, hospitals, and more roads. Farmers found buyers for their products, and manufacturers found able-bodied men to work and a network of rail lines to deliver their goods to other markets. By end of the 1800s, a wealthy class was born, and the population of the area swelled. The demand for more services spawned new and better jobs. With a burgeoning population working and earning more money came the need for entertainment and transportation. Greensburgers responded to these challenges and, by 1900, were on their way to a second 100 years of growth and success that would, for a time, establish Greensburg as the finest town between the Allegheny Mountains and Pittsburgh.
In 1848, Greensburg’s volunteer firefighters acquired their first pumper, the Pat Lyon, from Pittsburgh. It served the area alone until the Good Will fire engine was purchased (also from Pittsburgh) 10 years later. Both engines were hand drawn and hand pumped. By century’s end, these two could not handle the load that a growing community put on them. (Courtesy of Edward H. Hahn, Archives, Westmoreland County Historical Society.)
Remodeled and improved in 1893, the first Pennsylvania Railroad station in Greensburg stood until 1909. A tunnel under Main Street was used by the railroad until the tracks were raised in 1910. This eliminated the grade crossing at Harrison Avenue, and the old station gave way to a new one in 1911. The 1911 station was