My mother grew up in Pittsburgh, but my grandmother’s family were Slovak coal miners who settled in the town of Perryopolis. I finally got to visit this town recently, although I probably should have made more if an effort when I lived in Pittsburgh back in the early 90s.
George Washington purchased 1,644 acres (6.65 km2) here when land first became available. He visited in 1770 and said, “as fine a land as I have ever seen, a great deal of rich meadow; it is well watered and has a valuable mill seat.” The mill would eventually be completed in 1776. Once the mill was finished, it encouraged other business to come to the area to support and augment the business of the mill.
Washington hoped to develop the remainder of Perryopolis, drawing up plans for the streets to be laid out in the shape of a wagon-wheel. Washington’s estate sold the land after his death; in 1814 Perryopolis, previously known as “New Boston”, was officially laid out using Washington’s plans and named for Oliver Hazard Perry for his victory on Lake Erie during the War of 1812.
In the late 19th century, the area around Perryopolis was first mined for coal. Until the 1950s, coal industries would be the area’s primary economic activity, served by the Washington Run branch of the P&LE Railroad that continued on to Star Junction. However, Perryopolis developed differently from other nearby mining towns. Instead of housing laborers, Perryopolis was mainly inhabited by foremen and white collar workers who were associated with the mining industry.
The Gue House in Perryopolis, PA is a log home originally built sometime around 1820 and then reconstructed in 1976. The Gue House is the only log home still standing in Perryopolis and represents the type of house built by early settlers of the town. No exact date exists for this structure but it was of the early 1800’s. This is the type of home one of the first settlers of Perryopolis would have lived in. Local legend has it that this was the first complete two-story log cabin in Pennsylvania. It is owned by the Perryopolis Parks and Recreation Authority and operates as a part of the Time Gift Shop and Visitors Center, and currently houses the Gue House Gallery.
St. Nicholas Byzantine Catholic Church, also known as St. Nicholas Greek Catholic Church, is an historic Catholic church. It was built between 1912 and 1918, and is a 30 feet by 60 feet yellow brick building in the Byzantine Revival style. It has a cruciform plan and the gabled roof is topped by four onion domes. The church served a community of Rusyns who originally settled in the area prior to 1907. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.
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