Popularly known as Beesontown, "The Town of Union" was founded by Henry Beeson on July 4, 1776, coincidentally the same date the United States Declaration of Independence was ratified.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. Within 10 miles of Uniontown is Fort Necessity, built by George Washington during the French and Indian War.
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 worksduring the Bituminous Coal Miners' Strike of 1894. Fifteen guards armed with carbines and machine guns held off an attack by 1500 strikers, killing five and wounding eight.
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. 1967 Uniontown was the birthplace of the McDonald’s Big Mac sandwich. In 2007 the Big Mac Museum was opened in North Huntingdon, Pennsylvania to the disappointment of some Uniontown residents.
In 2005, Architectural Antiques went to Union Town, Pennsylvania for an historical salvage. This was one of our furthest salvage trip.
