Editing Uniontown, Pennsylvania (section)

==History==
[[File:Pennsylvania - Tobyhanna Military Reservation through Wilkes-Barre - NARA - 68148555 (cropped).jpg|250px|thumb|left|Uniontown in 1932]]
{{convert|10|mi|0}} southeast of Uniontown is [[Fort Necessity]], built by [[George Washington]] during the [[French and Indian War]] (part of the international [[Seven Years' War]]) as well as the site of the [[Battle of Jumonville Glen]], where the North American branch of the war began.

Uniontown lies within the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains at an elevation of 999 feet (304 meters) above sea level.  The city rests at the base of Chestnut Ridge, the westernmost ridge of the Appalachian Mountains.

Founded in 1776, Uniontown was known as "the Town of Union" by Henry Beeson, a [[Quaker]] born in [[Virginia]] in 1743 who had settled in the area in 1768, buying tracts of land and running a [[sawmill]].<ref>Hadden 1913, pp. 9–12.</ref> On July 4 (coincidentally, the same day the [[United States Declaration of Independence]] was adopted),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.history.com/news/9-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-declaration-of-independence|title=9 Things You May Not Know About the Declaration of Independence|first=Elizabeth|last=Harrison|website=HISTORY|date=June 28, 2023 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.fayettechamber.com/cwt/external/wcpages/visitor/ "Uniontown"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130721133237/http://www.fayettechamber.com/cwt/external/wcpages/visitor/ |date=July 21, 2013 }}, Fayette County Chamber of Commerce</ref> Beeson published a [[plat]] of quarter-acre plots near his mill to be allocated by [[lottery]] on July 20 to purchasers prepared to build houses on them.<ref>Hadden 1913, pp. 12–13.</ref>

In early years, the town was sometimes unofficially called "Beesonstown", though not by Beeson.<ref>Hadden 1913, pp. 13–14.</ref> In 1783, Fayette County was erected and divided into [[Township (Pennsylvania)|township]]s, of which Union Township contained the namesake town.<ref>Hadden 1913, pp. 13, 16</ref> The town was [[Incorporated town|incorporated]] as a [[Local government in Pennsylvania#Borough|borough]] in 1796 under the name Uniontown and separated from Union Township,<ref>Hadden 1913, p. 16.</ref> which was split in 1851 into the [[North Union Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania|North Union]] and [[South Union Township, Pennsylvania|South Union]] townships.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

The [[National Road]], also known as the [[Cumberland Road]], was routed through Uniontown in the early 19th century, and the town grew along with the road (now [[U.S. Route 40|US 40]]). Uniontown's role in the [[Underground Railroad]] in the antebellum years is commemorated by a marker on the corner of East Main Street and Baker Alley.<ref>[http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=1115 "Underground Railroad"], Historic Markers Database</ref> Residents helped [[Slavery in the United States|slaves]] escaping from the South to freedom.

In the late nineteenth century, the town grew based on the development of coal mines and the steel industry. Uniontown was the site of violent clashes between striking coal miners and guards at the local [[Coke (fuel)|coke works]] during the [[bituminous coal miners' strike of 1894]]. Fifteen guards armed with carbines and machine guns held off an attack by 1,500 strikers, killing five and wounding eight.<ref>G. E. Plumbe, "The Great Coal Strike", [https://books.google.com/books?id=fRR_mxkNlsgC&pg=PA78 ''The Daily News Almanac and Political Register for 1895''], ''Chicago Daily News'', 1895; pp. 77–78.</ref>

The [[Columbia Rolling Mill]], an iron and steel works, was located in Uniontown from 1887 to 1895. The mill was the town's 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. "Coal barons" and [[Carl Laemmle]], the president of [[Universal Films]], sponsored the famous [[Uniontown Speedway]] board track from 1916 to 1922. It was a mile and a quarter raceway.

As with most of [[Western Pennsylvania]], Uniontown's economy waned during the region's [[deindustrialization]] of the late 20th century, when the steel industry restructured and many jobs went elsewhere, including offshore. This decline continued into the 21st century, and the population is about half its peak of 1940.

The only United States Navy ship named for the city was {{USS|Uniontown}}, a {{sclass|Tacoma|frigate|2}} renamed from ''Chattanooga'' on August 16, 1944.

In 1967, Uniontown was the birthplace of the McDonald's [[Big Mac]] sandwich.<ref>{{cite press release|url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mcdonaldsr-celebrates-40-years-serving-twoallbeefpattiesspecialsaucelettucecheesepicklesonionsonasesameseedbunr-58510247.html|title=McDonald's Celebrates 40 Years |work=PR Newswire|publisher=McDonald's|date=August 22, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116065807/http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mcdonaldsr-celebrates-40-years-serving-twoallbeefpattiesspecialsaucelettucecheesepicklesonionsonasesameseedbunr-58510247.html|archive-date=January 16, 2013}}</ref><ref>[http://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/BigMac.html A Meal Disguised as a Sandwich: The Big Mac] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515184604/http://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/BigMac.html |date=May 15, 2013 }} Big Mac History</ref> In 2007, the Big Mac Museum was opened in [[North Huntingdon Township, Pennsylvania|North Huntingdon Township]] in Westmoreland County, to the disappointment of some Uniontown residents.<ref>Big Mac Museum photos.</ref> According to a McDonald's spokesperson, the decision was based on [[logistics]] and access, but Uniontown residents complained in an article that was published in ''[[The Herald-Standard]].''<ref>[http://thinkwebworks.com/ao/History.asp?ID=18 "The Mystery of the Curry Burger!"], ''Herald-Standard'' article, September 15, 2007</ref>

The [[Uniontown Downtown Historic District]], [[Gallatin School (Uniontown, Pennsylvania)|Gallatin School]], [[John S. Douglas House]], [[John P. Conn House]], and [[Adam Clarke Nutt Mansion]] are listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref>{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>