*** ONLINE AS OF AUGUST 5, 2011 ***
    



Borough of Wampum PA

Wampum, population about 600, is a borough founded by the Davidson family in 1796 and located along the Beaver River south of New Castle, Pennsylvania. The town was a hotbed of railroading activity in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s as the lines of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad (P&LE), and Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (B&O) all passed through the area. The area was and still is well known for its extensive limestone mining operations and is home to a CEMEX (former Medusa/Southdown) facility, which originally opened in 1876 and is the oldest continually operated Portland cement manufacturing plant in the United States.

Wampum is also the birthplace of professional baseball star Richard “Dick” Allen, legendary high school basketball coach L. Butler Hennon, and college basketball whiz Don Hennon. These three individuals and others helped propel the Wampum High School basketball team to international fame in the 1950’s. The old limestone mines along Route 18, some of which are part of the renowned Gateway Commerce Center storage facility, were also used as a filming location for George A. Romero’s 1985 horror movie Day of the Dead.

My family has a lot of history with this small town. My parents – and my aunt Carol Jean (DeMarc) Gierlach – were married in St. Monica’s Catholic Church, my relatives Robert and Mary (LaPatka) Aiello and others of the Doutt family lived here for many years, and me and my sister Carol were baptized in St. Monica’s. Wampum has the feel of a quaint little town hit hard by the tough economic times, but I feel like I’m home whenever I pass through the area.


(2010)


(2010)


(2010)


(2010)


(Mar 2013) Full Size


(2010)


(2010)


(2010)


(2010)


(2010)


(Mar 2013) Full Size


(2010)


(2010)


(2010)


(2010)


(Mar 2013) Full Size


(Apr 2010)


(Nov 2009)


(Apr 2010)


(Aug 2010)


(Feb 2011)


(Nov 2009)


(Mar 2013)


(Mar 2013)


(Mar 2013)


(Mar 2013)

Comments

  1. Does anyone remember Minlow?

  2. (EDITOR’S NOTE)
    Here is a transcript of Menlo’s obituary from the New Castle News of Feb 6, 1976:

    WAMPUM – Menlo Eversole, 57, of Main Street, died at. 2:15 p.m. on Thursday in Golden Hill Nursing Home In New Castle
    after a two month illness. He was born in Mitchell, Ind., on July 13, 1918, to Lingle Eversole and the late Iva Beasley
    Eversole. Mr. Eversole was a member of Wampum United Presbyterian Church. He is survived by his father Lingle Eversole
    of Wampum; a sister Mrs. Louis (Margaret) Bencinic of Loweleville RD 2, Ohio; two brothers, Leland of Miami, Fla. and
    Robert of Wampum RD 2. His mother preceded him in death in 1972. Friends will be received at the Robert S. Marshall
    Funeral Home, Main Street, from 7 to 9 p.m. on Friday and from 2:30 to 4:30 and 7 to 9 p.m. on Saturday. The service
    will be at 2 p.m. Sunday, at the funeral home conducted by Dr. Albert J. Conley of the church. Burial will be in
    Graceland Memorial Park Cemetery in New Castle.

  3. menlo eversole

  4. This message concerns the photo of the CAST IRONWAMPUMTOWN MARKER shown on your website.

    Can you give me a street address (intersection of ? and ? – or is it at the town hall, etc.)

    I represent the Keystone Marker Trust, a volunteer group that works to document and preserve as many of these historic town name signs as we can. We always seek current photos of any of these markers.

    Thank you.

    Jack Graham
    for the Keystone Marker Trust

  5. My ancestor on both my father’s and my mother’s side was Arthur Richard Eckles (1742-1831), a Revolutionary War soldier who was paid at war’s end with a grant of 400 acres in Lawrence County. His land bordered Wampum and he built a stone house where my paternal grandmother Esther Estella Eckles (1862-1904) was born. Eckles Run is obviously named for him, and there was a family cemetery, called “Eckles’ Burying Ground” established on his land. I visited the area some forty years ago and I believe I saw the house he built there, now in the possession of the state of Pennsylvania. I wonder whether you, as an historian of the area, have any information about my ancestor. I can in turn supply an account of his life written by one of his descendants in the early decades of the 20th century. Many thanks, John G. Slater, Professor of Philosophy emeritus, University of Toronto.

Comment

Enter your comment below. Fields marked * are required. You must preview your comment before submitting it.