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This handwritten historic collection contains over 2,800 pages of entries documenting the operations necessary to produce iron and iron products. It holds seven Isaac Meason Union more Furnace Ledgers covering the years 1801-1822, with the years 1803-1808, and 1818-1820 missing. In addition, there is a Union Forge Time and Team Ledger for 1809-1811, an original index book, and ledgers for the Union Grist Mill and the Mount Vernon, Centre, Mount Braddock, Dunbar, Warren, and Pallofax Durance operations. These records are unique, unpublished primary documents of the iron furnace industry. Isaac Meason built Union Furnace, the first successful iron furnace west of the Alleghenies in 1791, also operating a foundry and grist mill in connection with the furnace. The associated forge provided iron sugar and salt kettles, Dutch ovens, and other wares that were shipped by local keelboats for Lousiana. These ware were purchased by both western Pennsylvania businesses and families, and by settlers traveling west down the Ohio River. The furnace and forge passed through several hands until the company failed in 1922. Meason also sponsored the first suspension bridge in Pennsylvania, and financed and collaborated with Thomas Lewis on the rolling mill producing bar iron in 1817. At his death, Isaac Meason owned interests in the Mount Vernon Forge, Maria Forge, Union Forge, Union Furnace, Grist Mill, and the Middletown Iron Works. The Meason ledges provide a broad history of the iron industry in Western Pennsylvania. This collection is dedicated to the memory of Joan Peake a long-time genealogist and volunteer at the Uniontown Public Library. Her dedication to this project, along with Linda Jennings and Mary Patterson, helped make it possible. less

Walter J. “Buzz” Storey was a well-known and admired journalist/editor from Uniontown, PA. His obituary published in the September 16, 2004 edition of The Herald-Standard newspaper more stated, “Storey joined the news staff of the Daily News Standard (predecessor to the Herald-Standard) in 1940, and worked as a reporter and editor until retiring from full-time duty in 1987. He continued writing a Sunday column until January 2001, compiled the Uniontown downtown historic district application and in addition to two books, wrote several brief histories on city and county subjects.” Over the span of his 61year career “Buzz” Storey in his role as reporter, cameraman, and editor took and collected photos of historical interest in Uniontown and Fayette County, PA. This collection of photos takes the viewer on a journey through time. Included are aerial views of Uniontown, PA. Along with photos of Uniontown’s centennial celebration, and a variety of family group photos. Viewers and researchers can compare photos to see how various locations have changed over the years. Of particular interest is the transformation of Uniontown’s western five corner intersection, today’s location of the George C. Marshall Park. Varied businesses from delicatessens, soda shops, a blacksmith shop, old lumber yards, and a boarding house bedroom provide a glimpse into Fayette County’s past. It was rumored that Abraham Lincoln once visited Fayette County family members. Perhaps it is the stuff of a local family’s legend. But here one can see photos of old grave markers of the Fayette County Lincoln family members located in the Bethelboro Cemetery. For many generations King Coal ruled Southwestern Pennsylvania. The Storey Collection includes many photos of various coal operations throughout the area. In the early days a lone miner swings a pick. In later years a large continuous-mining operator removes tons of coal per day. From a grand opera house to a coal patch house. Railyards to cokeworks. From the mountain tops to the mines below, the Storey photo collection preserves a visual history of Fayette County Pennsylvania. The people of Fayette County are seen in photos of school classes, occupations, families, social groups, formal portraits and everyday street scenes.Schools, churches, and historical sites are gathered in the Storey collection. Fort Gaddis, the Summit Hotel and the old Fayette County Courthouse along with photos from the dedication of Fort Necessity, where George Washington met defeat in his first military encounter Historians, students and any person curious about the history of Fayette County, PA will find this collection interesting and entertaining. less