Fayette group concerned over possible Dollar General store in Uniontown

A Fayette historical group opposes the possible construction of a Dollar General discount store next to a Uniontown school, which could result in the demolition of an 1870s-era house.

From the perspective of the Fayette County Historical Society, even if the store is built on a section of the 1.79-acre parcel fronting 367 Morgantown St. and would not require demolishing the 1876 house known as the Craig Mansion, it would destroy the historical nature of the property. The property itself, dates to the time when Native Americans roamed the region, said Chris Buckelew, president of the historical society.

“The store would be built on a site of two (Native American) trails — Nemacolin and the Catawba,” Buckelew said. Buckelew wants to ask the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission to conduct an archaeological dig.

The Catawba Trail, used by Native American warriors, stretched from present-day Georgia to New York. Part of the Nemacolin Trail, connecting present-day Cumberland, Md., to Brownsville, was used by Gen. Edward Braddock in his ill-fated 1755 attempt to capture the French-built Fort Duquesne at present-day Pittsburgh.

The store also would be adjacent to the Benjamin Franklin Elementary-Middle School. That could create safety problems by adding vehicle traffic and tractor-trailers delivering goods to a busy road in an area where children would be walking, said Debbie Miller, who lives on Emerson Street, located behind the Craig Mansion.

“Mostly, I don’t think a Dollar General belongs next to a school,” Miller said. “I don’t want my neighborhood ruined.”

Dollar General has not decided if it will build a store on the site, said Emma Hall, a Dollar General spokeswoman. She said the company is working through its due diligence process for placing it on a vacant section of the property on Morgantown Road.

Hall said the company anticipates making a final decision by late spring.

“We have not committed to doing so quite yet,” Hall said of the company’s interest in adding a store in Uniontown.

A new store in Uniontown would be one of about 1,100 stores that Dollar General, based in Goodlettsville, Tenn., has committed to opening this year.

It currently has more than 17,800 stores nationwide, according to the company’s earnings report filed for the quarter that ended on Oct. 29. The company said it believes its stores provide economic benefits, including more access to affordable products, jobs, career development opportunities for workers and tax revenue for the municipality.

For now, the property is owned by RJDM Enterprises Inc. of New Salem. RJDM bought it in August 2021 for $250,000, according to documents filed with the Fayette County Recorder of Deeds.

In addition to the three-story house, which has been divided into three apartments, the property has a garage with an apartment above it and a smaller house that is occupied.

A spokesman for RJDM could not be reached for comment. An attorney representing the firm signed the deed and the company is not incorporated in the state of Pennsylvania, according to state corporation records.

The parcel that RDJM purchased was once owned by Robert Craig, a successful farmer, who built the three-story house in the Queen Anne-style, after Craig toured the South, according to Buckelew.

Craig’s family had deep roots in Fayette County. His maternal grandfather had a farm in the area and served in the Revolutionary War. He was one of the framers of the Constitution, was at the Constitutional Convention and was elected to Congress seven consecutive terms, beginning in 1792, according to historical society research.

Opponents had presented their reasons for opposing the project during a meeting of Uniontown Council this past week, said Miller.

Her online petition opposing the project had received a purported 3,665 signatures as of Saturday morning. The petition contends that the quiet, residential status and property values of nearby the Craig Meadows I neighborhood would be impacted by the store.

The petitioners want to preserve the historical mansion, but, despite its age, the site is not one of those in Fayette County that is on the National Register of Historic Places.

One of the challenges of those opposing the proposed discount store on the property is determining whether the property is zoned for residential purposes or for commercial use, Miller said. If zoned for residential purposes, the owner would have to get Uniontown officials to rezone it.

Uniontown officials have said the property previously was rezoned for commercial use, but Miller said she has not been shown proof of the rezoning.

Tim Witt, city solicitor, could not be reached for comment.