COUNTY COMMISSIONERS CHIEF OF STAFF DIANA IREY VAUGHAN JOHN W. HAYNES CHAIR 724-228-6725 LARRY MAGGI CHIEF CLERK VICE CHAIR CYNTHIA B. GRIFFIN NICK SHERMAN 724-228-6723 724-228-6724 @ounflJ of asqingfon FAX: 724-228-6965 COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA I 00 WEST BEAU STREET, SUITE 702 WASHINGTON, PA I 530 I
July 31, 2020
RE: National Garden of American Heroes Task Force Recommendations
Dear Mr. Jeffrey Small:
We thank President Donald J. Trump and Secretary of Interior David Bernhardt for the oppottunity to provide recommendations for the creation of a National Garden of American Heroes. In advance, we thank the Task Force for consideration of our proposal.
We believe that Washington County, Pennsylvania would be an ideal geographic location for such site. We propose to the Task Force a concept that would move from a single location to a "National Corridors of American Heroes."
CONCEPT -- NATIONAL CORRIDORS OF AMERICAN HEROES Though not afforded to all, some of us have had the opportunity to travel the United States, seeing historical landmarks like the Statue of Liberty, the Lincoln Memorial, Mount Rushmore, Pearl Harbor or the 9/11 Living Memorial. While contemplating travel, we considered the journey of our forefathers, arriving at the concept of a corridor that would parallel a journey versus a single destination. We outline below this concept, which we believe may still support the overall stated mission and vision of preserving our American story.
QUESTION 1: Concept - National Corridors of American Heroes. We suggest a variation on the concept of a National Garden of American Heroes. Our concept would be an expandable and scalable concept called 'National Corridors of American Heroes,' whereby individual heroes would be honored at intervals of 1 or 2 miles along several different historically significant roads and byways of our country (with appropriate statuary displays or other interpretive displays at each interval). There could be several such corridors in various regions of the country, allowing for regional-specific recognition of heroes and allowing a broader diffusion of the economic and tourism benefits of such a federally-funded effort.
Washington County, Pennsylvania, which was and is a significant part of the National Road Historic Corridor, is ideally situated to be a site of one such Corridor of American Heroes. The Washington County Corridor of American Heroes would follow the path of the original National Road, much of which ran through Washington County and made this county the true 'gateway to the west' during the earliest phase of westward migration from 1800 to 1840. The National Road Heritage Corridor runs approximately 40 miles in Washington County. Mr. Jeffrey Small Page 2 July 31, 2020
Washington County is located near the confluence of two major highway systems: Interstate 70 (running east-west), Interstate 79 (running n01ih-south), and is also very near to the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
Washington County is also located within a 150-mile "one tank" driving radius of a population of roughly 4 million inhabitants in 28 counties in Pennsylvania, 19 in West Virginia, 5 in Ohio, and 2 in Maryland.
Sources:
https://en. wikipedia. orglwiki/Greater- Pittsburgh - Region https://en. wikipedia. orgl,t1iki/Pittsburgh-New _ Castle-Weirton,_PA-OH - WV Combined Statistical Area
QUESTION 2: Although Washington County, Pennsylvania does not have any statues or monuments that would be suitable for relocation, we have several historic sites along the National Road Heritage Corridor that would be suitable for inclusion on the 'Corridor of American Heroes' running through Washington County.
Madonna of the Trail. The Madonna of the Trail is a series of 12 identical monuments along the National Road Heritage Corridor dedicated to the spirit of pioneer women in the United States. The monuments were commissioned by the National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR). Created by sculptor August Leimbach and funded by contributions, The Madonna of the Trail outside Beallsville, Pa., was dedicated on December 28, 1928. Each state along the National Old Trails Highway, 12 in total, dedicated an identical statue that year. These monuments were intended to symbolize the spirit and courage of pioneer women. On July 4, 1928, at the dedication of the Ohio Madonna of the Trail, Harry Truman said of these women, "They were just as brave or braver than their men because, in many cases, they went with sad hearts and trembling bodies. They went, however, and endured every hardship that befalls a pioneer."
The Dr. F. J. LeMoyne House. [Described Question 3 below.]
QUESTION 3: In addition to the 31 individuals referred to by the President's Executive Order, we would suggest the inclusion of the following individuals (specific to concept the Washington County 'Corridor of American Heroes'):
Dr. Francis Julius LeMoyne (1798-1879). Born in Washington, Pennsylvania in 1798, Francis Julius LeMoyne graduated from Washington College (now Washington & Jefferson College) in 1815, and later earned a medical degree from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. Upon becoming established as a leading physician in Washington, Pennsylvania in the early 1830s, Dr. LeMoyne became convinced of the need to abolish slavery. As a leading abolitionist, Dr. LeMoyne led the effort to destroy the institution of slavery through his public and political Mr. Jeffrey Small Page 3 July 31, 2020
involvement in the Abolitionist Movement, as well as his private involvement in the Underground Railroad. He became a member of the American Anti-Slavery Society, gave public lectures beside his home and travelled to U.S. slave states to lecture also, and in 1841, 1884 and 1847 ran as a candidate with the Abolition party (the Liberty Party) for the Governor of Pennsylvania. Became an advocate not only for equality for all regardless of race, but also for equality regardless of gender. Indeed, social reform may be justly considered as the 'LeMoyne family business.' His home in Washington, Pennsylvania (which is situated on the National Road Historic Corridor) was designated by the National Park Service as a National Historic Landmark relative to LeMoyne's involvement in the Abolitionist Movement and the Underground Railroad.
George Walls (1812-1885). Although few people outside of Washington County are familiar with George Walls, he was the epitome of greatness and we believe he would be an ideal candidate for the 'Corridor of American Heroes.' An African American man born about 1812 in Pennsylvania, George Walls eventually became one of the most prolific figures associated with the Underground Railroad in Washington County. During his 20-year career as an Underground Railroad operative, Walls is regarded as the leading conductor in this county, often personally escorted Freedom Seekers on foot from one station to the next, and often recruiting other African Americans to assist him. George Walls's later recollections of the Underground Railroad form a significant basis of what we know about the movement in Washington County. For these reasons, George Walls was later referred to as "the general agent" of the Underground Railroad in Washington County. George Walls died on August 26, 1885 in Washington, Pennsylvania.
Dr. Charles "Pruner" West (1889-1979). Pruner West was born in Washington County on January 25, 1889. He was a track and football star at Washington & Jefferson College. On January 2, 1922, West made history by becoming the first African American quarterback to start in the Rose Bowl when W&J faced off against the California Bears. He won 2 national pentathlon championships, made the 1924 Olympic team, and was offered an NFL contract. He turned the contract down, allowing the academic side of his personality to take over, so that he could pursue a career in medicine. After receiving a medical degree from Howard University, where he coached track, West set up his practice in the Washington, D.C. area where he lived until his death in 1979.
Joe Walker (1921-1966). Born in Washington, Pennsylvania on February 20, 1921, Joe Walker was an American World War II pilot, experimental physicist, test pilot with NASA, and a member of the U.S. Air Force 'Man In Space Soonest' (MISS) spaceflight program. He is the first person to fly to space twice and the only X-15 pilot to fly above 100 kilometers. In 1963, he made two X-15 Experimental rocket aircraft flights beyond the altitude of 100 kilometers at the edge of outer space. These were the first spaceplane flights past that threshold and qualified Walker as an astronaut under both the rules of the U.S. Air Force and of the Federation Aeronautique Internationale.
William Holmes McGuffey (1800-1873). McGuffey, author of the Eclectic Readers, was born in a one-room log home in West Finley Township, outside Claysville, Pennsylvania, on Mr. Jeffrey Small Page 4 July 31, 2020
September 23, 1800. Beginning in 1835 McGuffey authored a series of schoolbooks offering basic lessons in many subjects. The McGuffey Readers were among the first textbooks in America that were designed to become progressively more challenging with each volume. It is estimated that at least 120 million copies of McGuffey's Readers were sold between 1836 and 1960, placing its sales in a category with the Bible and Webster's Dictionary. Since 1961 they have continued to sell at a rate of some 30,000 copies a year. No other textbook bearing a single person's name has come close to that mark. McGuffey's Readers are still in use today in some school systems, and by parents for home schooling purposes.
We appreciate the opp01iunity to respond to the Task Force with our recommendations.
Respectfully,
WASHINGTON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Diana Irey Vaughan Larry Maggi Nick Sherman Chair Vice Chair Commissioner