Greater Monessen Historical Society

09/08/2026

As school begins today for Monessen students, we look back at our parochial schools. At one time there were 4 individual Catholic schools operating in the city. St. Hyacinth (Polish) was the first established in 1910, followed by St. Leonard (Irish) in 1925. Holy Name School (Slovak) started in 1928 and St. Cajetan (Italian) in 1958.

09/06/2026

09/03/2026

Happy Birthday Monessen! On September 3, 1898, the Westmoreland County Court granted the petition to authorize a borough charter. We will celebrate with our annual Founders Day dinner on Saturday, October 3. Call the Heritage Museum to reserve your tickets now! 724-684-8460. More details to come. There will be great food and dancing!

07/02/2026

Happy 250! Fly the flag, be safe, enjoy the picnic and remember what sacrifices it took to become a nation.

06/30/2026

Happy Birthday, Colonel Schoonmaker! The Colonel was born on June 30, 1842. Following the Civil War, for which he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, he went into the coke business with his father in law and controlled the Redstone Coke Company and the Morewood Coke Company, as well as the Alice Mine. He would sell the coke business to Henry Clay Frick and become involved in banking and the railroad, organizing the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad. Schoonmaker was a director of the company for fifty years. He also was president of the Western Pennsylvania Association for the Blind and the Pennsylvania Association of the Blind. He was an early advocate for veterans. In 1894, he formed the East Side Land Company, which would establish Monessen. Colonel Schoonmaker visited Monessen often and boasted about "His Town". At his funeral in 1927, there were 29 pallbearers, including Taylor Allderdice, Howard Heinz, B. F. Jones, Richard B. Mellon, William L. Mellon and Senator David A. Reed.

06/24/2026

The Heritage Museum is gearing up for America's 250th! The front show window has life-size cutouts of the five U. S. Presidents, who visited Monessen. The Exhibition Hall windows are also ready for the patriotic celebration. We are working on a new exhibit: "Monessen and America 250".

In Addition: We received requests for the names of the Presidents, who visited and when they came.

William Howard Taft visited after his presidency in 1919, at the invitation of the Monessen Board of Trade (Chamber of Commerce). He was the speaker at the annual Board of Trade Lecture Series. The Board refered to him as "One of the Country's Greatest Living Statesmen". Taft called Monessen "this busy bee-hive of industry".. Taft also spoke to the students at Monessen High School, and the workers at the Pittsburgh Steel Company. The Board of Trade used part of the proceeds from the lecture to purchase books for the high school library.

Warren Harding visited during the Presidential Election of 1920 and was the keynote speaker for the annual Board of Trade Banquet. In November, he won the election.

Harry Truman came to Monessen in 1956 as part of a campaign tour for Democratic candidates, after leaving the Presidency.

John F. Kennedy visited McKeesport and Monessen in 1962 during his time in office, while campaigning for Democratic candidates. He spoke in the lot where Foodland is now located.

Donald Trump, while campaigning for office, was invited to a private event at Alumisource, in the Riverfront Industrial Park in 2016. In November, he won the presidency.

Lastly, First Lady Rosalynn Carter, during a campaign visit for her husband Jimmy Carter in 1980, made a speech in Monessen asking for her husband's reelection. Carter lost to Ronald Reagan in November.

06/09/2026

On Saturday, June 6, 2026, Monessen Public Library celebrated their 90th anniversary. The Historical Society provided historic Monessen photos for the event. Congratulations to 90 years of service to Monessen and the Mon Valley!

05/21/2026

Today, we celebrate the birthday of Monessen Founder, William Henry Donner, who built Monessen's first industry -- the National Tin Plate Company in 1897. Donner also was the only founder to actually live in Monessen. He built a three story, twenty-five room home on Parkway that overlooked his tin mill. He served on the first school board that built Monessen's first school building, the McKinley, and was instrumental in the creation of the water company. His daughter, Elizabeth married Elliott Roosevelt, the son of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, in the social event of 1932. Donner supported pioneering medical research, including that of Nobel Prize-winner Dr. Ernest O. Lawrence at the Donner Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley. The work of that laboratory, applying physics, chemistry, and mathematics to medicine, marked the beginning of atomic medicine.

05/10/2026

Wishing all mothers, a very happy day!

05/08/2026

We remember V E Day, May 8, 1945, and recall those who fought to defeat N**i Germany. As the ranks of our World War II soldiers diminish, continue to cherish their memories and achievements.