Going Greene

Going Greene

GREENE COUNTY: A TIME AND PLACE

by Matthew Cumberledge

"Those Early adventurers were men of iron nerves and stout hearts – a compound of the hunter, the warrior and the husbandman; they came prepared to endure all the hardships of life in the wilderness; to encounter its risks, and defend their precarious homes against the wily natives of the forest.”

These words were written by Sherman Day in 1843 in his book Historical Collections of the State of Pennsylvania speaking about the early inhabitants of Greene County, Pennsylvania.

Coming from the then colonies of Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and far distant lands like England, Scotland and Germany, men and women flocked to the land on the far side of the Alleghenies, a beautiful serene woodland, untouched by time. These earliest pioneers who crossed the mountains and forged a path through the wilderness found in these lands a people distinct from their own, a people who too seemed to be untouched by time. The earliest accounts of our ancestors who first settled this region describe our forefathers as living very much like the native. They existed peacefully, for a time, trading goods and ideas and sharing the land that they would both inhabit. It took a war between nations, separate from those natives and their European friends, to dissolve the bonds of peaceful habitation that held our two peoples together.

But how would we describe the people of Greene County today? Myself, I think we could very much convey the same message of hard work, integrity, purpose and independence that Mr. Day conveyed over one hundred and seventy years ago. Only the year has changed. There is a unique spirit that exists within people of Greene. We are still a hardy people, resolved to do the best with what we have, be it meager or bountiful, and we seem to make the best of everything. Quite a challenge in a time when the world at large can, at times, be overwhelmed with the negative. Greene County, and her strong sense of community, tradition, and traditional values, has displayed a certain immunity to the more unpleasant side of life. I think we have the land itself to thank for this.

For over a century our people were very much isolated from the rest of the state by the great ridges of the Allegheny Mountains. The lands to the west were the very foundation of the dreams of the brave young men and the answer to their call of independence and freedom. However, few braved the great Ohio in those early years, and the frontier line of the day was nearly coincidental to the western border of Pennsylvania. Even within the region our settlements were often small and distant and supplies were limited. We had only that which was born from the strengths of our hands and the yokes upon our necks. People came together when times got tough - they had to - your friends and neighbors were your life, your support, and your very means of survival. Even as the years were accomplished and time moved into the 19th century, our population had grown and our towns and communities had withstood the test of time, expanding into the places we recognize today. We maintained our distinct way of life from the rest of the state and the country. Still, it was difficult to travel to the east and cross the ancient peaks of the Alleghenies, and Ohio was a young blossoming state. We remained, living as we always had, tending our farms and developing our own Industry which was born on the backs of our people, and a strong people we had become.

But our past was always there and is even now. Though the progress of time has laid upon us an ease of life of which for centuries we were unaccustomed, we yet hearken back to the same core principles that governed way of life forever.

Our social culture too is still influenced by, and a direct descendant of, the culture of those brave men and women who first cleared the land and built their homes in the Western Pennsylvania wilderness. Having lived in such isolation, many of the social traits that often change rapidly in a people have stood a much longer existence, and have evolved less over time than in areas that have been exposed more to outside influence. Our everyday language even harkens back to these early times. Family, even extended family, is still the epicenter of our social world, and even centuries after settlement many of the same families still inhabit the area, and maintain friendships and connections that have come down through the years. A glance at the censuses of 1810, 1910, and 2010 will look remarkably familiar.

And so it has remained, through the years, the unique culture and place that is Greene County Pennsylvania. Though our early days were fraught with the trials and tribulations that come hand in hand with people who blaze paths through the wilderness to make a home, our later years were filled with the peace and tranquility that can only be born of the hard work, dedication and determination of such a people.

The discovery of gas and coal in the county added a new dimension to our history. Now many of the men and women left the farm and industry was on the rise. The farms survived, and some still do, but forever the socioeconomic development of the region was changed. Steel also provided a new measure of income for the young man wishing to make his own way in life. Perhaps it was that age-old independent spirit that was the true calling, and the means for the industrial development of the once quiet rural lands and green fields.

Even when war came, the men and women of Greene County did their due. During the Revolutionary War, many men left their poor families in the cabin and left to gain their Independence from Great Britain and secure the foundations of their future happiness. The Civil War beckoned in Greene, many of our young boys, and old men went off to battle to preserve the Nation which their grandfathers so valiantly built. One man from Greene County exclaimed “Union Forever” when he heard of the outbreak of the War of the Rebellion, and sent all of his sons, and many of his brothers off to defend the Union. Many of his sons did not return home.

World War I, perhaps the most tragic episode in our counties’ military history, took with it the loss of 18 young men who were tragically killed or mortally wounded between July 28th and 29th, 1918. This group of men is now known as the Rain Day Boys, in honor of the Rain Day celebrations held in Waynesburg each year on July 29th.

Greene County is indeed a special place, timeless, quiet, safe and serene, but it is not so because of the work of any one person, or group of people at any one point in history. It is so because of the nature of the very people who thrive here. Look back throughout your families’ own past and you will see the unfolding of this unique little area was shaped by your families contribution as well. Regardless as to whether you (or your family) has been here for 2 years or 200 years, we have ALL made Greene County what she is today!