Point Marion in Fayette County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Sheepskin Trail
⎯⎯⎯
Point Marion

History & Detail

Sheepskin Trail Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bradley Owen, August 4, 2022

1. Sheepskin Trail Marker

Inscription.

Sheepskin Trail, also, Point Marion. History and Detail. Sheepskin Trail History and Detail. The original rail line that defines much of the Sheepskin Trail was built in the 1890's as the Fairmont, Morgantown, and Pittsburgh branch of the B&O Railroad. It was to meet the needs of a booming coal and coke industry and in fact the rail service opened the southern end of the Connellsville Coke Region. Today along the proposed trail, users will be able to view the remnants of coke ovens along the route, including: Cheat River Coke Works, Ada's Bottom Coke Works, Atchison Coke Works, and Shoaf., According to railroad buffs, the old railroaders called this rail The Sheepskin Line. Trains scattered sheep for miles when it first opened. The disgruntled herders were heard to exclaim: "Darn Sheepskinners!" and the name stuck., The Sheepskin is a rail-trail project that will cut through the heart of central Fayette County. It is a missing link to a nationally significant trail system. Upon its completion it will link with the Great Allegheny Passage (a Pittsburgh-to-Washington DC Rail-Trail network), and the West Virginia Rail-Trail System. As a recreational greenway, the Sheepskin will link the Youghiogheny, Monongahela, and Cheat River watersheds - making it a significant greenway., Point Marion History. Point Marion History, In 1724 the French set up a trading post where the Monongahela and Cheat Rivers meet., As settlers moved into the frontier Colonel George Wilson was granted 108 acres of land at the site of the original trading post., Following the Revolutionary War the legislatures of Virginia and Pennsylvania agreed to abide by the Mason-Dixon Line as the boundary between the two states. The point where the rivers meet which had been in Monongalia County, Virginia, was now in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. Fayette County was formed in 1783., In 1784 General George Washington made a six week long trip across the mountains to inspect his property in western Pennsylvania. On September 24 he wrote that he had crossed the Cheat River. "Crossed in Cheat at the mouth as it was too much swelled up to attempt to ford a little higher up. This Cheat, at the mouth, is about 125 yards wide. The Monongahela is nearly double that. The color of the Cheat is dark, the other is clear.", The land at the point was sold by the Wilson family to Jacob Sadler in 1801. Land was divided into lots and auctioned to the public on March 15, 1842. The purchaser of the first lot was to name the new town. For $100 Seth Stafford chose "Point Marion" to honor General Francis Marion, the Revolutionary War hero and subject of the most popular book at the time., The principal business in Point Marion was lumber. Logs were floated down the Cheat River from camps in the West Virginia mountains and processed into millwork for doors and sashes. Planing mills, saw mills, and finishing mills were operating., In 1890 McClain Brothers Sand Company was formed to provide sand and gravel for masonry structures being built by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad between Morgantown and Uniontown. Production expanded with the addition of dredges, a steamboat, and fleet of barges., The glass industry arrived in Point Marion in 1900. Morris Glass Company, Jeannette Glass Company, Federated Window Glass Company, Point Marion Glass Novelty Company, Nilan Glass Company, and Point Marion Window Glass Company operated plants., On July 5, 1923, Leon J. Houze consolidated three smaller firms to form the L.J. Houze Convex Glass Company. It was known for colored glass, art glass, utilitarian products, and window glass. It was the only plant in the country able to produce hand-blown replacements for the 1792 windows for the White House renovation in the early 1950s. In later years the company used innovative techniques to decorate a diverse line of products for other manufacturers. Houze was the prime employer in Point Marion for almost 100 years. It closed in 2004.

Sheepskin Trail
History & Detail The original rail line that defines much of the Sheepskin Trail was built in the 1890's as the Fairmont, Morgantown, and Pittsburgh branch of the B&O Railroad. It was to meet the needs of a booming coal and coke industry and in fact the rail service opened the southern end of the Connellsville Coke Region. Today along the proposed trail, users will be able to view the remnants of coke ovens along the route, including: Cheat River Coke Works, Ada's Bottom Coke Works, Atchison Coke Works, and Shoaf.

According to railroad buffs, the old railroaders called this rail The Sheepskin Line. Trains scattered sheep for miles when it first opened. The disgruntled herders were heard to exclaim: "Darn Sheepskinners!" and the name stuck.

The Sheepskin is a rail-trail project that will cut through the heart of central Fayette County. It is a missing link to a nationally significant trail system. Upon its completion it will link with the Great Allegheny Passage (a Pittsburgh-to-Washington DC Rail-Trail network), and the West Virginia Rail-Trail System. As a recreational greenway, the Sheepskin will link the Youghiogheny, Monongahela, and Cheat River watersheds - making it a significant greenway.

Point Marion
History Point Marion

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History

In 1724 the French set up a trading post where the Monongahela and Cheat Rivers meet.

As settlers moved into the frontier Colonel George Wilson was granted 108 acres of land at the site of the original trading post.

Following the Revolutionary War the legislatures of Virginia and Pennsylvania agreed to abide by the Mason-Dixon Line as the boundary between the two states. The point where the rivers meet which had been in Monongalia County, Virginia, was now in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. Fayette County was formed in 1783.

In 1784 General George Washington made a six week long trip across the mountains to inspect his property in western Pennsylvania. On September 24 he wrote that he had crossed the Cheat River. "Crossed in Cheat at the mouth as it was too much swelled up to attempt to ford a little higher up. This Cheat, at the mouth, is about 125 yards wide. The Monongahela is nearly double that. The color of the Cheat is dark, the other is clear."

The land at the point was sold by the Wilson family to Jacob Sadler in 1801. Land was divided into lots and auctioned to the public on March 15, 1842. The purchaser of the first lot was to name the new town. For $100 Seth Stafford chose "Point Marion" to honor General Francis Marion, the Revolutionary War hero and subject of the most popular book at the time.

The

Point Marion Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bradley Owen, August 4, 2022

2. Point Marion Marker

principal business in Point Marion was lumber. Logs were floated down the Cheat River from camps in the West Virginia mountains and processed into millwork for doors and sashes. Planing mills, saw mills, and finishing mills were operating.

In 1890 McClain Brothers Sand Company was formed to provide sand and gravel for masonry structures being built by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad between Morgantown and Uniontown. Production expanded with the addition of dredges, a steamboat, and fleet of barges.

The glass industry arrived in Point Marion in 1900. Morris Glass Company, Jeannette Glass Company, Federated Window Glass Company, Point Marion Glass Novelty Company, Nilan Glass Company, and Point Marion Window Glass Company operated plants.

On July 5, 1923, Leon J. Houze consolidated three smaller firms to form the L.J. Houze Convex Glass Company. It was known for colored glass, art glass, utilitarian products, and window glass. It was the only plant in the country able to produce hand-blown replacements for the 1792 windows for the White House renovation in the early 1950s. In later years the company used innovative techniques to decorate a diverse line of products for other manufacturers. Houze was the prime employer in Point Marion for almost 100 years. It closed in 2004.

Erected 2022 by Sheepskin Trail

Photographed by Bradley Owen, August 4, 2022

3. Sheepskin Trail Marker

.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Parks & Recreational Areas • Railroads & Streetcars. A significant historical date for this entry is March 15, 1842.

Location. 39° 43.948′ N, 79° 54.201′ W. Marker is in Point Marion, Pennsylvania, in Fayette County. It is on South Main Street 0.1 miles north of 5th Avenue, on the right when traveling north. Marker is located at the Sheepskin Trail trailhead. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 780 South Main Street, Point Marion PA 15474, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Pennsylvania’s Laurel Highlands.

It is also in the American Northeast,

in the Mid-Atlantic,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Northern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France,

the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

and one of the original Thirteen Colonies.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Veterans Memorial (approx. 0.4 miles away); Crossing the Mon at Point Marion, Pennsylvania (approx. 0.4 miles away); a different marker also named Veterans Memorial (approx. half a mile away); a different marker also named Veterans Memorial (approx. half a mile away); a different marker also named Veterans Memorial (approx. half a mile away); Historic Downtown Point Marion (approx. half a mile away); Point Marion (approx. half a mile away); Albert Gallatin (approx. half a mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Point Marion.

Credits. This page was last revised on November 19, 2024. It was originally submitted on August 4, 2022, by Bradley Owen of Morgantown, West Virginia. This page has been viewed 580 times since then and 77 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on August 5, 2022, by Bradley Owen of Morgantown, West Virginia. 2. submitted on August 19, 2022, by Bradley Owen of Morgantown, West Virginia. 3. submitted on August 5, 2022, by Bradley Owen of Morgantown, West Virginia. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.

Sheepskin Trail⎯⎯⎯Point Marion

History & Detail

Sheepskin Trail
⎯⎯⎯
Point Marion