to
Update
is a city in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, 50 miles (80 km) southeast of Pittsburgh and part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. Population in 1900, 7,344; in 1910, 13,344; in 1920, 15,692; and in 1940, 21,819. The population was 12,422 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat and largest city of Fayette County.
The city, originally called Redstone-town, was founded by Henry Beeson on July 4, 1776, the same date as the United States Declaration of Independence (the timing was coincidental). The National Road, also known as the Cumberland Road, was routed through Uniontown in the early 1800s and the town grew along with the road.
Also located within 10 miles of Uniontown is Fort Necessity. George Washington built the fort during the French and Indian War. He had been sent to the Ohio River Valley to protect British claims to the land in this region. But the French had also claimed this valley. To keep the British out, the French built a string of forts in the valley. Washington threw together a circle of logs he called Fort Necessity. It is reported that Washington said, "It is out of necessity that this fort is built." Thus, giving the fort its name. It is at this fort where Washington's militia was greatly outnumbered and badly defeated by the French. Washington was permitted to leave with his troops on the condition that he sign a document, in French, admitting to the assassination of Jumonville, who had been killed a few days earlier in a skirmish with Washington's small force. Washington did not speak French, and later stated that he would not have signed the document if he had known what it said.
Only a few miles from Fort Necessity is located the grave of General Edward Braddock. In 1755, Great Britain sent Braddock and his troops to Virginia to join with their troops as they moved toward Fort Duquesne. George Washington went along as the general's aide. On July 9, 1755, only 10 miles from Fort Duquesne, the British troops were ambushed by French and Indian fighters hidden behind the trees in the Battle of the Monongahela. Braddock was mortally wounded in this battle. He died four days later as his troops retreated back over the mountains toward Fort Necessity. His troops buried his body under the road ( present day U.S. Route 40) so that it would be undetected by French troops who they feared would mutilate his corpse. His body has since been moved to a gravesite adjacent to the road. Through an agreement with the United States Government, Braddock's gravesite has been deemed to be British territory.
The Columbia Rolling Mill, an iron and steel works, was located in Uniontown from 1887 to 1895. The mill was the town's unquestioned top industry at that time.
During the Coal Boom of the early part of the 20th century, Uniontown was home to at least 13 millionaires, the most (per capita) of any city in the United States. As with most of Western Pennsylvania, Uniontown's economy waned during the region's deindustrialization of the late 20th century.