It makes a nice story. Revolutionary War hero and Indian fighter Gen. "Mad Anthony" Wayne, while watering his horse at a stream near the site of present-day Waynesboro, remarked, "What a beautiful place to build a town."
That is the legend. What is known is that Scottish-Irish settler John Wallace laid out the town that was to become Waynesboro in 1797. Wallace was an admirer of General Wayne, having served under him at the Battle of Stony Point, New York.
The area that is now Waynesboro borough was settled in the 1750's. It was previously called Mount Vernon by Wallace's father, an early settler also named John, and was also known as Wallacetown. When first incorporated in 1818, the town was named Waynesburg. But the name was contested by several other towns in Pennsylvania with the same name. When the federal government decided that post offices in one state could not have the same name, the town was incorporated as Waynesborough, later shortened to Waynesboro in 1831.
The younger Wallace's 1797 plot was described as being "along the country road leading from Greencastle to Baltimore threw {sic} John Wallace's town also called Waynesburg." The town square, still located in the same spot today, also included the north-south road from the Franklin County seat of Chambersburg to Hagerstown, Maryland.
The crossroads location served Waynesboro well. The first turnpike through town was built in 1816 and was a major route between Baltimore and Pittsburgh. Blacksmith shops, wagon makers, and harness shops sprang up to serve the travelers. Nearby furnaces at Mont Alto, Pine Grove, and Caledonia ensured that there were good to carry along the roads.
Mills ground the grain of area farms. Tanneries, such as Royer's and Forney's, supplied leather for distant markets. Near what is now the southwest corner of South Potomac and Main Streets, local artisan John Bell had a thriving pottery operation. By 1839, Waynesboro had between 140 and 150 dwellings and businesses and a population of 888.
The town's first bank, the Waynesboro Savings Fund Society, was established on March 5, 1853, and was succeeded by the First National Bank of November 18, 1863. The slowly growing town's quiet existence was disrupted when it was twice occupied by Confederate troops for a total of 15 days in 1863. Gen. Jubal Early's forces came up from Smithsburg, Maryland, on June 23 and Early's staff used the town hall on the southeast corner of the square as a headquarters.
Although there were a couple of incidents, the troops were on generally good behavior during the occupation and the later retreat from Gettysburg. Gen. Robert E. Lee is said to have dined at Stephey's Tavern in nearby Rouzerville during the withdrawal and also (although it is subject to dispute) to have watered his horse, Traveler, at the Waynesboro pump in Center Square.
In a crucial development for Waynesboro, George Frick brought his shop to Waynesboro in 1861 to manufacture a grain separator patented by local inventor Peter Geiser. Frick set up in a 50-by 100-foot shop on what is now South Broad Street. Deciding to concentrate on producing steam engines, he later sold the separator business to the firm of Geiser, Price and Company in 1867 to raise capital.
Still short of funds and lacking easy access to railroads, Frick was ready to move to Hagerstown in the early 1870's, but a group of 13 local citizens came up with $34,000 in capital in 1873 and formed Frick and Company, saving the industry for Waynesboro. When the railroad finally arrived in Waynesboro in 1879, Frick moved to a new site adjacent to the line at the west end of town.
Waynesboro started to take off during this era. Telephone service arrived in 1883, and electrification occurred in 1893. The population grew from 1,988 in 1880 to 5,396 in 1900 and shot up to 11,000 by 1920.
Further impetus to industrial growth came in 1879, when the Geiser Manufacturing Company, looking for engines to power its machinery, bought the steam engine works of Lancaster County's Landis brothers, Abraham B. and Franklin F. The Landis brothers moved to Waynesboro to work for Geiser, and the ingenious designs they developed there led them to start their own factory manufacturing grinding and boring machines in 1890. Landis Tool came out of that company in 1897, and Landis Machine followed in 1903. It is hard to overestimate the inventive prowess of the Landis brothers. Both are members of the American Precision Museum's Machine Tool Hall of Fame, which has fewer than 50 members.
As Waynesboro's factories grew, more workers were hired and more wealth was created. Downtown Waynesboro had stored of all kinds, and stately homes appeared on borough streets. By 1930, Landis Tool employed 800 workers, Frick 1,200 and Geiser 1,000. Waynesboro's average per capita wealth of $5,600 was almost double the national average of $2,918 in 1930.
On the Blue Ridge Mountains above Waynesboro, vacationers from Baltimore and Washington took in the mountain air at plush resorts hotels and cottages. The Western Maryland Railroad's Pen Mar Park brought thousands of visitors to the area and gave the railroad a thriving business. Waynesboro area residents used the Chambersburg, Greencastle and Waynesboro Street Railroad to travel to Pen Mar for summer fun. A railroad part at Mont Alto, north of Waynesboro, also attracted multitudes of visitors.
Waynesboro industries contributed mightily to America's production in both world wars. Frick delivered hundreds of refrigeration units and sawmills, Landis Tool grinders turned out parts for war machines, Geiser produced military wagons during World War I, and Landis Machine shell tappers threaded millions of shells. The Landis companies and Frick continued to prosper after World War II. Geiser went out of business during the Great Depression. At various times, all three were the largest or among the largest in their production lines.
Today, the railroad resorts are gone, victims of the automobile, and Waynesboro's big companies, none of which are locally owned now, hire a fraction of the number of workers they once did. Waynesboro faces many problems typical of American small towns buffeted by foreign manufacturing competition and malls that threaten downtown small businesses.
Yet Waynesboro, with its unique buildings, scenic surroundings, and proud history, remain a pleasant place to live. Recently, more people from outside the town seem to be discovering Waynesboro's charm and moving in to renovate grand old houses. One gets the sense that there is life in the old borough yet. |