History of St. Joseph’s in Everson Pennsylvania

The history of St. Joseph’s Catholic parish and Everson Pennsylvania are inseparable.  They have been intertwined since their very beginnings.  The original members of St. Joseph’s parish and the residents of Everson at the time of St. Joseph’s creation were predominantly ethnically Polish as well as members of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church.  This article was created to document that historical relationship.  Even today many of Everson’s resident are still Polish and still connect with their Catholic Polish roots through St. Joseph’s.  Parts of this history were extracted from an article written by LaVonne R. Hanlon on May 20, 2003 entitled “Early History of Everson.”
 
When Christopher Gist led the first white settlers over the Allegheny Mountains and into what is now Fayette County, Pennsylvania, they found the land that later became Everson/South Everson occupied by an Indian tribe under the leadership of an Indian who the settlers dubbed Chief Jacob. A stream of water ran through his reservation and that stream became Jacob's Creek. Those first settlers came in 1755. In 1783 Jacob's Creek became the dividing line between Fayette and Westmoreland Counties.

In 1755 this area of Southwestern Pennsylvania was in Augusta County, Virginia.  In June of 1780, Pennsylvania and Virginia reached an agreement and a state line was established between the two states that put present-day Fayette County into what was then Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. In 1783, Fayette became a separate county from Westmoreland County. In 1862 the portion of Virginia bordering Fayette County, Pennsylvania, became West Virginia.

In the 1920's and 1930's, Indian arrow heads could be found laying along Jacob's Creek in South Everson and over on Tank Hill which is in the vicinity known as Everson Valley or the Valley Works. In 1955, a huge excavation took place where the PAK (Polish American Club) baseball diamond had been located. This was the building of the Allied Mills facility. During this excavation, numerous Indian artifacts were discovered.

Among early settlers were the Mennonites who came into the area in 1790 and established what was known as Jacob's Creek Settlement. There is an old Mennonite cemetery located on a hill in Everson Valley known as the McNeese Cemetery, but its proper name appears to be Alte Menst..  Local folks refer to it as Sherrick's Cemetery. The first person buried there was Joseph Sherrick.  He was born December 25, 1757 and died December 21.

St. Joseph's Church of Everson was established in 1887.  Around 1912 St. Joseph's Catholic Cemetery located on old Route 119 was established.  As the earlier church members passed away, they were buried in the old section of St. John's Cemetery in East Huntingdon Township, Westmoreland County, just beyond the Scottdale Cemetery on South Broadway Street.

Everson is in Tyrone Township.  Tyrone Township was established in Westmoreland County in 1773 before the erection of Fayette County in 1783. In 1877, Tyrone was divided into Upper Tyrone (eastern section) and Lower Tyrone Townships. Everson is located in the section that became Upper Tyrone Township. In late 1903 a group of citizens decided to form a borough and apprised the township supervisors and other officials. Under the leadership of Dr. M. A. Noon, the present borough was established. Mr. B.M. Everson, a local industrialist, operated a small mill on the Fayette County side of Jacobs Creek and granted permission to give the new borough his name. The area below the borough from the B & O Railroad tracks to Jacobs Creek remained in Upper Tyrone Township and became known as South Everson.

During the 1880's when the coal and coke industry was a booming business in the area, there was a large immigration of families from Poland seeking freedom and opportunities to work.  Working in the salt mines of Poland made the transition of working in the coal mines of Pennsylvania easy for these immigrants.  Most if not all of the Polish immigrants were Catholic.  A newly ordained - the first Polish priest ordained for the Diocese of Pittsburgh - served as an assistant to St. John's Church in Scottdale (just across Jacob’s creek).  With his help, those who settled in the area established the first Polish Catholic Church in the Pittsburgh Diocese in Everson.  This event attracted many other Polish Families to the area.  The new parish was named to honor the foster father of Jesus - St. Joseph in 1887. Father Alexander Szmigiel labored hard and even opened a daily school in 1889, to which he invited the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth in 1890 to staff and teach. At his death in 1901, there were over 450 families and nearly 600 children in school. In 1920, the Sisters of the Holy Ghost were invited to staff and teach in the school which continued until its closure in 1990.

The Everson Polish immigrants also created the PAK which was formed from the Citizen's Political Circle.  This club is still in existence today.  This club was organized on January 16, 1904 at a meeting held in the St. Joseph's Congregation Hall in Everson. The club started with 38 members who paid dues of 10 cents a year. Their officers were: Rev. Frank Miskiewics, President; Kazmier Zwolinski, Vice President; John Zgorecki, Recording Secretary and John Suchocki, Treasurer. After four years, this club was reorganized into the Polish American Club and was chartered on December 1, 1908. The first officers for the new club: George Pisula, President; Anthony Szymanski, Vice President; Joseph Gronkowski, Recording Secretary and Andrew Komenda, Treasurer. The Directors were: Michael Komenda, Andrew Luczak, Michael Szwed, Stanley Szwed, and Ignatius Szymczak.

As the community grew the need for other organizations arose. In 1904 the Everson public school replaced one established in the late 1870's by Upper Tyrone Township. St. Joseph's Parochial School and the Holy Rosary Society was started in 1888.  Police protection began in 1904; the Everson Volunteer Fire Department was formed in 1909; the Ladies Auxiliary of the Fire Department was formed in 1970; Post 595 Veterans of Foreign Wars in 1921 and their Ladies Auxiliary in 1922; Boy Scout Troop 4 in 1928; the Polish-American Circle also began in 1922; a third class Post Office with general delivery was opened; baseball and football teams were formed in the 1920's; Everson Women's Democrat Club began in 1933; Everson Civic Organization in 1960; and the Senior Citizen's Club in 1977.

Over the years many vocations to both the priesthood and religious life were nourished within this faith community. The most famous perhaps, was Father Justin Figas, founder of the Father Justin Rosary Hour, or Godzina Rozanchow Ojca Justyna, heard weekly throughout the U.S.A. and Canada from Buffalo, New York.  Presently Father Justin is in consideration for sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church.  Also Archabbot Douglas R. Norwicki OSB.  Archabbot Douglas R. Nowicki, O.S.B., is the eleventh Archabbot of Saint Vincent Arch Abbey, and is the major superior of the Benedictine Community in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. (this paragraph was written on 6 July 2010)

In September 1987 Bishop Bosco of the Greensburg Roman Catholic diocese led the people in a Concelebrated Mass of Thanksgiving on the occasion of the 100th Anniversary of St. Joseph’s church.

The Parish continues to witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church (6 July 2010) and is proud to maintain their precious Polish heritage.