Henry Beeson

  General Notes:

Henry Beeson and his wife, Mary Martin (18 Nov 1745 d. 1821) moved from Berkeley Co, VA
(now WVA) to Red Stone Creek, Fayette Co., PA about 1768 where he built a grist mill on the
stream. A settlement grew around his land which came to be known, first as Beeson's Mill, then
Beesontown. On July 4, 1776, Henry opened up the land to be sold in lots. In 1796, along with his
brother, Jacob, the two joined their settlements and formed Uniontown, PA.

On July 4th, 1776, Henry Beeson opened up his land in Fayette County, PA for purchase. It was to become, in 1796, the town of Uniontown, PA. The following excerpts were taken from a late 1800 newspaper article. It was published most recently in the "Fayette County Tourism Guide", Fall 1996, on the occasion of the Bicentennial Celebration of of the founding of Uniontown, PA.

"The erection of a mill by Henry Beeson naturally induced settlements to be made in the near vicinity. He received numerous communications from various sources requesting him as a matter of accommodation to sell off small tracts upon which new settlers and tradesmen might build homes. It is related that Col. Alexander McClean prevailed on him to lay out a town, as the tide of immigrations was beginning to flow this way, and that in the near future a town located here would attain some prominence. Mr. Beeson would have spurned the idea of being a "land boomer" in the sense that term is used today, but in
compliance with the expressed wishes of many friends he had a plot made for a small village. Col. McClean was said to be and no doubt was the surveyor who laid off the town and made the plot. The original copy was preserved and is now the prized inheritance of Mr. Beeson's great grand daughter, Miss Mary I. Beeson.

On the 4th day of July, 1776, the grandest assemblage that ever met was in session at Philadelphia and signed the grandest political document the world ever knew, thus laying out the foundation of the best government on the face of the globe, while at the same time there was gathered at the old Beeson mill, a motley crowd who there and then laid the corner stone of what was destined to be the shire town of Fayette County, and they cracked no bell either. This new town was ever recognized by its founder as Beesontown, but from Beeson's mill the transition was natural and easy to that of Beeson Town. From its very inception, Mr. Beeson named it "the town of Union.""

In the Uniontown Courthouse, a bronze table bears the following inscription:

In memory of Henry Beeson
Born May 19, 1743 Died Feb 23, 1819
Founder of Uniontown and the Donor of the
Central Public Grounds on which this
Court House Stands

Henry married Mary Martin. (Mary Martin was born about 1745 and died about 1821.)