Fayette County's aged Fort Gaddis is in need of restoration

From the patio of her family's South Union home, Emily Sutton can see the remnants of the Col. Thomas Gaddis homestead.

Tucked off Georges-Fairchance Road stands what some historians believe to be the oldest building in Fayette County and the second oldest log cabin in Western Pennsylvania.

Tree limbs entomb the notched logs, vines snake through doorways, and windows gape open to the elements.

Sutton, 21, a Penn State history major who volunteers at Fort Necessity National Battlefield, worries the cabin will disintegrate into “a pile of rubble.”

“Literally, history is in my backyard. It kills me to see how bad it's getting,” she said.

A group of historians, family members and others want to make sure the site is preserved.

A Revolutionary War patriot, Gaddis oversaw the region's defense in wartime. His home served as a community meeting place and a shelter in times of emergency on the western frontier, according to his descendants. He died in 1834.

John McClellan, 42, who lives near Cleveland, said Gaddis was his “fifth great-grandfather.”

Last fall, McClellan, vice president of the Northeastern Ohio Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, posted the petition “Save the Thomas Gaddis Homestead” on the website Change.org.

“We the undersigned hope to inspire civic leaders, urban planners, and other interested parties to restore Fort Gaddis and to provide for a public access route from (adjacent) Brownfield Road,” it states.

Cynthia Hawkins Wood, 64, of Hopwood, Gaddis' fifth great-granddaughter, joined about 300 others in signing the petition.

“More than my family connection, it's part of Fayette County history,” Wood said.

The homestead, also known as Fort Gaddis, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

A Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission marker near the property reads, “Built on the Catawba Trail as a refuge from the Indians, by Thomas Gaddis about 1764.”

The Fayette County Historical Society is playing a “support and advocacy” role in a preservation effort, said its president, Christine Buckelew.

Research has determined that about 60 percent of the structure's logs are original, she said.

McClellan visited the Gaddis Homestead last year en route to the Whiskey Rebellion Festival in Washington County.

As part of Gaddis' involvement in that protest against an excise tax on distilled spirits, he raised a “liberty pole” on his farm, according to historical reports.

He later served as one of Fayette County's first commissioners.

McClellan said he was “saddened” by the homestead's deteriorating condition.

The petition could be submitted to elected officials after issues such as a budget, acquisition and restoration are addressed, he said.

McClellan is concerned that industries, including Marcellus shale gas drilling, could advance on the homestead.

Uniontown attorney Bernard C. John, who grew up near the homestead, said a title search dating to 1973 restricts grantees from taking any “action to adversely affect Fort Gaddis.”

He said the 66-acre property is on the market for $750,000.

One preservation option might be acquisition of a “footprint,” several acres including a right of way and the cabin, John said.

In the early 1970s, California University anthropology professor emeritus Ronald L. Michael led a student site excavation.

“We found nothing indicating a palisade (a fortification fence made of stakes) around the building,” Michael said. “Is the name ‘Fort Gaddis' improperly applied? Probably not. The purpose was there, a place to gather and defend,”

“It's worthwhile to preserve. ... There are very few structures left associated with anybody that was as significant as Gaddis was,” Michael said.

Mary Beth Pastorius, a Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation trustee, has been involved in preservation projects in Pittsburgh and her native Greene County.

Numerous regional and state preservation organizations, including Heinz History Center, are involved in preservation of the Fort Gaddis site, Pastorius said.

“We are looking for more partners, other people who care about the structure, and people to sign the petition,” she said.

McClellan hopes eventually to see “elements of a living history museum.”

“We should never forget that without the providence and sacrifice of our forefathers, the America we know and love today might never have been,” he said.

Mary Pickels is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 724-836-5401 or mpickels@tribweb.com.