The Formations of our County, Cities, Townships and Boroughs
Fayette County was formed on September 26, 1783 from Westmoreland County. It was named in honor of the Marquis de LaFayette, the French aristocrat who became a lifelong friend of George Washington, served as a General in the Revolutionary War and petitioned the French to give aid to the American cause.
"Whereas a great number of the inhabitants of that part of Westmoreland county circumscribed by the rivers Monongahela and Youghiogheny and Mason and Dixon's line have by their petition humbly represented to the assembly of this state the great inconvenience they labor under by reason of their distance from the seat of jurisdiction in said county:
For remedy whereof:
[Section I.] (Section II P.L.) Be it enacted…..That all and singular the lands lying within that part of Westmoreland county [description given]…be and hereby are erected into a county, named and hereafter to be called Fayette county….(p. 199)
…That it shall and may be lawful to and for Edward Cook, Robert Adams, Theophilus Phillips, James Dougherty and Thomas Rodgers … to purchase … a piece of land situated in Uniontown in trust and for the use of the inhabitants of the said county and thereon to erect and build a court house and prison sufficient to accommodate the public service of the said county…"
(V.11 Statutes at Large, p. 196, chap. 1056)
That part of Fayette County above the Youghiogheny River was annexed into Fayette County on February 17, 1784 (V.11, Statutes at Large, p. 234, chap. 1068).
CITIES
Uniontown - originally Beesontown
Incorporated as a borough April 4, 1796 (v.15, Statutes at Large, p. 469, chap.
1910). It was reincorporated as a borough, enlarging its corporate powers on March
2, 1805 (v.17, Statutes at Large, p. 912, chap. 2550). On December 19, 1913 it was
incorporated as a city.
Connellsville
Founded by Zachariah Connell, it was laid out and chartered by him on March 21,
1793. It was incorporated as a borough on March 1, 1806 (v. 18, Statutes at Large, p.
104, chap. 2659). On May 12, 1911 it was incorporated as a city.
TOWNSHIPS
Original townships incorporated December, 1783 - Franklin, Georges, German,
Luzerne, Menallen, Springhill, Union, Washington and Wharton
1784 - Bullskin from Tyrone Township
1797 - Redstone from Menallen Township
1797 - Salt Lick from Bullskin Township
1798 - Dunbar from Menallen Township
1817 - Brownsville (November 1817) from Redstone Township
1822 - Connellsville from Bullskin Township
1824 - Henry Clay from Wharton Township
1839 - Perry from Franklin, Tyrone & Washington townships
1840 - Jefferson from Washington TTownship
1845 - Nicholson from Springhill, German and Georges townships
1847 - Springfield from Salt Lick Township
1851 - North Union from Union Township
1855 - Stewart from Wharton & Henry Clay townships
1857 - South Union from North Union Township
1877 - Lower Tyrone from Tyrone Township
1877 - Upper Tyrone from Tyrone Township
| 1814 - Bridgeport - from Luzerne Township The town of Bridgeport was laid out by Rees Cadwallader in 1794. On March 9, 1814 Bridgeport was incorporated as a borough. 1815 - Brownsville - from Brownsville Township Thomas Brown laid out the town in 1785, being surrounded by Brownsville Township. It was incorporated as a borough on January 9, 1815. 1840 - Fayette City - from Washington Township Fayette City was previously called Cookstown and before that Freeport. It was laid out by Edward Cook, Esq. and named Freeport previous to 1807. A petition was presented for the incorporation of Cookstown into a borough on Dec. 5, 1839 and the court decreed that it should be incorporation into a borough in March of 1840. The borough line was extended in September of 1847. Known as Cookstown from 1825 to 1854, its name was changed to Fayette City in 1854. 1863 - Belle Vernon - from Washington Township Belle Vernon was laid out by Noah Speer in 1813. It was incorporated as a borough April 15, 1863. It should be mentioned that part of Belle Vernon lies in Westmoreland County and part in Fayette County. 1872 - Dawson - from Tyrone Township The town was laid out by Alfred Howell in 1866 and was originally called Bloomington, ignoring the railroad designation of Dawson's Station. On June 8, 1872 it was incorporated as the borough of Dawson. 1876 - Masontown - from German Township In 1798 John Mason laid out the town and it was called Germantown. It was incorporated as a borough in March 1876. |