Norvelt, Pennsylvania
Encyclopedia
Norvelt is an unincorporated community
in Mount Pleasant Township
, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
, United States
. Although the United States Census Bureau
includes it in a census-designated place
with the nearby community of Calumet
, they are in reality two very different communities, each reflecting a different chapter in how the Great Depression
affected rural Pennsylvanians. Calumet was a typical "patch town", built by a single company to house coal miners as cheaply as possible. The closing of the Calumet mine during the Great Depression caused enormous hardship in an era when unemployment compensation and welfare payments were non-existent. On the other hand, Norvelt was created during the depression by the US federal government as a model community, intended to increase the standard of living of laid-off coal
miners.
Norvelt also has many smaller creeks, most running through it. The small creeks are lined with stone blocks, and run parallel to the village's circuluar streets and through the yards.
.
A Pennsylvania Historical Marker located at LR 6406 Mount Pleasant Road (State Route 982) on the Volunteer Fire Department V.F.D.
property, Norvelt reads:
Originally called "Westmoreland Homesteads", Norvelt was established April 13, 1934, by the federal government as part of a New Deal
homestead project. With 250 homes, Norvelt provided housing, work, and a community environment to unemployed workers and their families during the Great Depression. It was renamed “Norvelt" in 1937 in honor of First Lady
Eleanor Roosevelt
and her interest in the project.
(NIRA), Congress allocated $25 million for the creation of "subsistence homesteads" for dislocated industrial workers. Over the course of the program’s eleven-year history, the federal government seeded nearly 100 planned, cooperative communities. Norvelt, in southwestern Pennsylvania, was the fourth.
The idea for the program was a throwback to the Jeffersonian
ideal of a "back to the land
" movement, popularized by Americans who promoted small-scale subsistence farming as an antidote to the Great Depression and the alienation of modern life. The idea gained strength in the 1920s among a wide variety of progressive organizations, including church-related groups such as the American Friends Service Committee
(AFSC) which was the social services arm of the Religious Society of Friends
(Quakers).
fields of Appalachia
. So AFSC volunteers traveled to the bituminous-coal regions in West Virginia
and Pennsylvania to help the families of striking and unemployed coal miners. The AFSC also believed in the necessity of economic and social justice as a means of insuring lasting peace in this section of the United States. To that end, it clothed and fed the families of unemployed miners during strikes, and later launched subsistence gardening and vocational retraining programs. After the onset of the Great Depression, these experiences placed the AFSC in the forefront of the movement for cooperative communities, so much so that the Department of the Interior, headed by Altoona
native Harold Ickes
, in 1933 recruited AFSC staff to guide its subsistence homesteads program.
The Great Depression
was an opportunity for these ideals into action. Supporters lobbied for the creation of a government-sponsored resettlement program that would place unemployed industrial workers in farmstead communities. Promoted as a relief measure, it quickly became weighted with the much more ambitious goal of cooperative living.
Harold L. Ickes
named Milburn Wilson to head the newly created Division of Subsistence Homesteads. Wilson, in turn, selected the AFSC’s Clarence Pickett to help administer the program. As the AFSC’s executive secretary, Pickett already had overseen vocational reeducation and cooperative farm programs for unemployed coal miners in West Virginia
. The AFSC’s work supplied the prototype for the federal program. In the years that followed, AFSC lent its support to the federal program and later sponsored its own cooperative community, Penn Craft in Fayette County
.
Although the government opened its program to broad segments of the unemployed, the division was especially keen on it reaching bituminous coal miners. Geographically isolated and dominated by a single employer, the residents of most patch towns were especially vulnerable once employment evaporated. So the division designed the homestead program to give miners and their families an opportunity to become economically independent by working the land, which, in theory, would also free them from the boom/bust cycle of industrial capitalism.
Once the division had identified its target populations, the federal government began buying large parcels of land for subdivision into individual homesteads for up to 300 families. Encouraging home ownership through a rent-to-own program, the program’s administrators expected residents to grow or raise everything they needed to survive, but they also hoped that the new communities would lure local industries that would in turn provide jobs and needed income.
In April 1934, federal officials acquired 1326 acres (5.4 km²) of farmland in Mount Pleasant Township, Westmoreland County, and announced construction of the Westmoreland Homesteads. Following Division guidelines, local architect Paul Bartholomew
designed the planned community’s buildings and its overall layout. On 772 acres (3.1 km²) he arranged 254 individual lots, ranging in size from 1.7 to 7 acres (28,328 m²), in six, mostly curvilinear sections. Each lot was to feature a simply designed, -story Cape Cod
. Originally, the houses were available in 4- to 6-room models, with a living room, eat-in kitchen, utility room, bathroom and bedroom space. Utilities included water and electricity. The remaining 728 acres (2.9 km²) Bartholomew reserved for a cooperative farm, a schoolhouse, playground, post office, and other common buildings. These original depression-era Cape Cod–style homes are called “Norvelt Houses” by the locals.
A six-room house on more than 2 acres (8,093.7 m²) usually ended up costing a family $12,000.
Pickett helped establish the first AFSC
work camp in, what would become Norvelt, to help the Homesteads project with the construction of a reservoir and ditch to hold a water main for the community. In the summer of 1934, 55 young volunteers contributed 10,000 hours at Norvelt by digging a ditch one-and-a-half miles long and constructing a 260,000-gallon reservoir. The directors of this work camp were Mildred and Wilmer Young, who later led several experiments with cooperative enterprises in Mississippi
and South Carolina
.
Three years later, Westrmoreland Homesteads was the largest of President Roosevelt's 92 model subsistence homesteads that provided relief for displaced miners and industrial workers.
senator Harry F. Byrd
criticized such features as an “extravagance" for “simple mountain folk," but Wilson and the First Lady prevailed. Both argued that the project, as a demonstration project, should afford its residents with homes that would elevate their standard of living.
after World War II
—and applied most of workers’ wages directly to the cost of their homesteads.
Families were also expected to paint their own homes. Their choices of paint were white, gray or yellow.
visited Westmoreland Homesteads to mark the arrival of the community’s final homesteader. Accompanying her on the trip was the wife of Henry Morgenthau, Jr.
, the president's Secretary of the Treasury. Residents were so taken by the First Lady’s personal expression of interest in the program that they promptly agreed to rename the community in her honor. (The new town name, Norvelt, was a combination of the last syllables in her names: EleNOR RooseVELT.)
This support helped Norvelt survive until 1944, when the federal government disbanded the program and dispersed its assets. Most residents had by this time already managed to purchase their homes and property. By 1950, the cooperative store and farm had shut down, but the garment factory, now under private ownership, continued for many years.
. The community that was born out of a need to eliminate the strains of capitalism
, soon embraced the economic system
. Residents took up jobs in neighboring Latrobe
, Greensburg
and Mount Pleasant
.
Norvelt never achieved the lofty goals that Eleanor Roosevelt and others had invested in it. As a relief measure, however, it was a success. In 2002, Norvelt’s handful of surviving original pioneers, expressed their appreciation for their town during the festivities for the Historic Marker Designation.
Evidence of the town's original name is still visible. The village's laundromat still carries the name Homestead. And the entrance to the Roosevelt Hall reads Westmoreland Homestead's "Norvelt" Volunteer Fire Department
.
It is no longer a garment factory.
and was designed by Larry S. Liprando of the Liprando Development Company
Steve Bosdosh
, rated by Golf Magazine
as one of the top 100 teachers in the United States, is a native of Norvelt. He is a PGA
golf professional and director of instruction at Four Streams Golf Club in Beallsville
MD. and some of his students have included LPGA Tour players Jackie Gallagher-Smith and Katie Peterson-Parker.
For many years, “Hurst School” was an important stop on the Latrobe
line of the West Penn Railways
’ electric interurban railway system. The distinctive orange cars carried many Hurst students to and from school.
The Hurst name in Mount Pleasant Township
dates from Colonial times. It is understood that the land on which Hurst High School was built was owned by the Hurst family and given to the School District.
In 1961, the Mount Pleasant Township and Borough
districts were joined and Hurst and Ramsay High Schools became the present Mt. Pleasant Area Jr. and Sr. High School- the school's football stadium lights are visible from the Pennsylvania Turnpike
. Today the old Hurst High School houses many small businesses, offices, and shops.
. The Department is located on Mount Pleasant Road.
Branch was originally across the street from the garment factory. Today it is located on Norvelt's main strip in a renovated section of building that burned down in the early 1980s. The building used to be a dentist office. The new post office is located only a few yards from the fire department.
tracks. Simply referred to as “the tracks" by locals, it has often been used a place to ride bicycles and all-terrain vehicles
. As early as 2001, there have been plans involving the Sewickley Creek Watershed Association and the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy to develop the path into a maintained bicycle trail that would connect other developed railroad paths in the region. While plans are under development, the path is private property, and the organizations have made efforts to reduce damage caused by ATVs by posting large fines for trespassing.
Game in Latrobe, PA in 1895
, Norvelt has made significant contributions to the local history of the sport.
that year. At this time the coach of the Hurst Hurricane Football team was Robert Mitinger, Sr., a star guard in 1918 for Greensburg
and a member of ’s great 1921 team. He served as an assistant at Greensburg in 1923 and 1924, as well as 1944. He and his brother, assistant Ed Mitinger took charge at Hurst in 1925.
Mitinger’s son, Robert Mitinger
was an All-American tight end
and defensive end
for Penn State in 1961. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers
and named the 1962 Chargers' team Rookie of the Year. He played 42 games at linebacker
for the Chargers for seven seasons (1962–1964, 1966, 1968), including their 51-10 rout of the Boston Patriots at Balboa Stadium
in the 1963 AFL Championship, the high point of the team's 44-year history. The Robert B. Mitinger Award
, named in his honor, is presented to Penn State Nittany Lions football players who personify courage, character and social responsibility.
Hurst’s 1931 team won the WPIAL Class B championship. At that time the league had gone to a two class format, based on enrollment, in 1928. The AA classification was added in 1932.
The 1938 Hurst team defeated Greensburg for the first time as well as Wilmerding 7-0 to win the WPIAL A title. In 1942, Hurst again reached the championship heights, playing a 14-14 tie with Dormont in the A title playoff.
Three members of the 1938 Hurst Hurricanes reached the NFL, with the Pittsburgh Steelers
. Joe Glamp
and Walt Gorinski
would go on to play college football at Louisiana State University
(LSU), while Joe Cibulas
would play offensive tackle for the Duquesne Dukes
. In 1959, Peter Billey of the Hurst Hurricanes finished second in total scoring for Westmoreland County with 121 points. Billey would go on to play college football at the University of Pittsburgh where he played on the 1963 Pitt team that finished #3 in the nation.
In 1961, the Mount Pleasant Township
and Borough districts were joined and Hurst and Ramsay High Schools closed. The new combined school became Mount Pleasant Area High School.
Since 1965, the football field of Hurst Stadium has been the Home of the Mount Pleasant Junior Football Association.
' use of the term "America's Team
". The motto was established after the Colts dominated opponents and won league championships in 1990 and 1991.
The Norvelt Colts hold 12 championships since 1965, second to only the rival United Steelers, who have 17.
, putting it squarely in the middle of the United Steel Workers (USW) - management clashes of the 1930s. Are the rocks being thrown at the visitors of the ovens or the rowdy spirits still fighting the company police
even in the afterlife?
Mining was, and still is, one of the most dangerous occupations in Pennsylvania, and in the early 1900s - death and injury were a constant threat. Companies voluntarily, or by law, developed mine-safety programs beginning in the early twentieth century. The H.C. Frick Coke Company started a safety program in its mines that included training rescue and first-aid teams, and posting warning signs in multiple languages. However while these changes (safety programs, mine inspections, and miners’ actions) made mining safer they did not fully stop many deaths from occurring. Therefore there is only a little surprising that there are hauntings at the abandoned mines and coke ovens in the area.
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
in Mount Pleasant Township
Mount Pleasant Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
Mount Pleasant Township is a township in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the township population was 11,153...
, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 369,993 people, 149,813 households, and 104,569 families residing in the county. The population density was 361 people per square mile . There were 161,058 housing units at an average density of 157 per square mile...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Although the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
includes it in a census-designated place
Census-designated place
A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...
with the nearby community of Calumet
Calumet, Pennsylvania
Calumet is an unincorporated community in Mount Pleasant Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Although the United States Census Bureau includes it in a census-designated place with the nearby community of Norvelt, they are in reality two very different communities, each...
, they are in reality two very different communities, each reflecting a different chapter in how the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
affected rural Pennsylvanians. Calumet was a typical "patch town", built by a single company to house coal miners as cheaply as possible. The closing of the Calumet mine during the Great Depression caused enormous hardship in an era when unemployment compensation and welfare payments were non-existent. On the other hand, Norvelt was created during the depression by the US federal government as a model community, intended to increase the standard of living of laid-off coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
miners.
Sections
The two main areas of Norvelt are “A” section and “B” section, connected into one 2 miles (3.2 km) loose circle made up of East Laurel Circle and West Laurel Circle running on either side of Mt. Pleasant Road. Both circles are built into the rolling hills, and the tree-lined roads.Waterways
Norvelt has many small waterways. The largest is Sewickley Creek. The Sewickley stretches through Mammoth, Trauger, Calumet, and Norvelt. The Sewickley Creek Watershed Association, a non-profit organization monitors recommends and implements actions essential to the conservation of the Sewickley Creek watershed area for recreational purposes.Norvelt also has many smaller creeks, most running through it. The small creeks are lined with stone blocks, and run parallel to the village's circuluar streets and through the yards.
State of Pennsylvania Historical Marker
Dedicated on September 8, 2002 by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum CommissionPennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission is the governmental agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania responsible for the collection, conservation and interpretation of Pennsylvania's historic heritage...
.
A Pennsylvania Historical Marker located at LR 6406 Mount Pleasant Road (State Route 982) on the Volunteer Fire Department V.F.D.
V.F.D.
V.F.D. is a secret organization within the book series A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. The purposes of the organization are never made clear, although the name of the organization is connected to various interpretations of the word "fire." V.F.D...
property, Norvelt reads:
Originally called "Westmoreland Homesteads", Norvelt was established April 13, 1934, by the federal government as part of a New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
homestead project. With 250 homes, Norvelt provided housing, work, and a community environment to unemployed workers and their families during the Great Depression. It was renamed “Norvelt" in 1937 in honor of First Lady
First Lady
First Lady or First Gentlemanis the unofficial title used in some countries for the spouse of an elected head of state.It is not normally used to refer to the spouse or partner of a prime minister; the husband or wife of the British Prime Minister is usually informally referred to as prime...
Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...
and her interest in the project.
Origin
In 1933, as part of the sweeping National Industrial Recovery ActNational Industrial Recovery Act
The National Industrial Recovery Act , officially known as the Act of June 16, 1933 The National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA), officially known as the Act of June 16, 1933 The National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA), officially known as the Act of June 16, 1933 (Ch. 90, 48 Stat. 195, formerly...
(NIRA), Congress allocated $25 million for the creation of "subsistence homesteads" for dislocated industrial workers. Over the course of the program’s eleven-year history, the federal government seeded nearly 100 planned, cooperative communities. Norvelt, in southwestern Pennsylvania, was the fourth.
The idea for the program was a throwback to the Jeffersonian
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
ideal of a "back to the land
Back to the land
The back-to-the-land movement calls for occupants of real property to grow food from the land on a small-scale basis for themselves or for others, and to perhaps live on the land while doing so....
" movement, popularized by Americans who promoted small-scale subsistence farming as an antidote to the Great Depression and the alienation of modern life. The idea gained strength in the 1920s among a wide variety of progressive organizations, including church-related groups such as the American Friends Service Committee
American Friends Service Committee
The American Friends Service Committee is a Religious Society of Friends affiliated organization which works for peace and social justice in the United States and around the world...
(AFSC) which was the social services arm of the Religious Society of Friends
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
(Quakers).
Labor strife and the Great Depression
During the 1920s, the AFSC had become deeply concerned with the violence that resulted from labor strife, particularly in the bituminous coalBituminous coal
Bituminous coal or black coal is a relatively soft coal containing a tarlike substance called bitumen. It is of higher quality than lignite coal but of poorer quality than Anthracite...
fields of Appalachia
Appalachia
Appalachia is a term used to describe a cultural region in the eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York state to northern Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Canada to Cheaha Mountain in the U.S...
. So AFSC volunteers traveled to the bituminous-coal regions in West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
and Pennsylvania to help the families of striking and unemployed coal miners. The AFSC also believed in the necessity of economic and social justice as a means of insuring lasting peace in this section of the United States. To that end, it clothed and fed the families of unemployed miners during strikes, and later launched subsistence gardening and vocational retraining programs. After the onset of the Great Depression, these experiences placed the AFSC in the forefront of the movement for cooperative communities, so much so that the Department of the Interior, headed by Altoona
Altoona, Pennsylvania
-History:A major railroad town, Altoona was founded by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1849 as the site for a shop complex. Altoona was incorporated as a borough on February 6, 1854, and as a city under legislation approved on April 3, 1867, and February 8, 1868...
native Harold Ickes
Harold L. Ickes
Harold LeClair Ickes was a United States administrator and politician. He served as United States Secretary of the Interior for 13 years, from 1933 to 1946, the longest tenure of anyone to hold the office, and the second longest serving Cabinet member in U.S. history next to James Wilson. Ickes...
, in 1933 recruited AFSC staff to guide its subsistence homesteads program.
The Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
was an opportunity for these ideals into action. Supporters lobbied for the creation of a government-sponsored resettlement program that would place unemployed industrial workers in farmstead communities. Promoted as a relief measure, it quickly became weighted with the much more ambitious goal of cooperative living.
The planning of Westmoreland homesteads
In 1934, Interior SecretaryUnited States Secretary of the Interior
The United States Secretary of the Interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior.The US Department of the Interior should not be confused with the concept of Ministries of the Interior as used in other countries...
Harold L. Ickes
Harold L. Ickes
Harold LeClair Ickes was a United States administrator and politician. He served as United States Secretary of the Interior for 13 years, from 1933 to 1946, the longest tenure of anyone to hold the office, and the second longest serving Cabinet member in U.S. history next to James Wilson. Ickes...
named Milburn Wilson to head the newly created Division of Subsistence Homesteads. Wilson, in turn, selected the AFSC’s Clarence Pickett to help administer the program. As the AFSC’s executive secretary, Pickett already had overseen vocational reeducation and cooperative farm programs for unemployed coal miners in West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
. The AFSC’s work supplied the prototype for the federal program. In the years that followed, AFSC lent its support to the federal program and later sponsored its own cooperative community, Penn Craft in Fayette County
Fayette County, Pennsylvania
Fayette County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the2010 census, the population was 136,606. The county is part of the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area....
.
Although the government opened its program to broad segments of the unemployed, the division was especially keen on it reaching bituminous coal miners. Geographically isolated and dominated by a single employer, the residents of most patch towns were especially vulnerable once employment evaporated. So the division designed the homestead program to give miners and their families an opportunity to become economically independent by working the land, which, in theory, would also free them from the boom/bust cycle of industrial capitalism.
Once the division had identified its target populations, the federal government began buying large parcels of land for subdivision into individual homesteads for up to 300 families. Encouraging home ownership through a rent-to-own program, the program’s administrators expected residents to grow or raise everything they needed to survive, but they also hoped that the new communities would lure local industries that would in turn provide jobs and needed income.
In April 1934, federal officials acquired 1326 acres (5.4 km²) of farmland in Mount Pleasant Township, Westmoreland County, and announced construction of the Westmoreland Homesteads. Following Division guidelines, local architect Paul Bartholomew
Paul Bartholomew
Paul Amos Batholomew was an architect in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. From the beginning of his practice, he received a variety of high-profile commissions for both residential and non-residential structures, mainly in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. His buildings typically had historicist...
designed the planned community’s buildings and its overall layout. On 772 acres (3.1 km²) he arranged 254 individual lots, ranging in size from 1.7 to 7 acres (28,328 m²), in six, mostly curvilinear sections. Each lot was to feature a simply designed, -story Cape Cod
Cape Cod (house)
A Cape Cod cottage is a style of house originating in New England in the 17th century. It is traditionally characterized by a low, broad frame building, generally a story and a half high, with a steep, pitched roof with end gables, a large central chimney and very little ornamentation...
. Originally, the houses were available in 4- to 6-room models, with a living room, eat-in kitchen, utility room, bathroom and bedroom space. Utilities included water and electricity. The remaining 728 acres (2.9 km²) Bartholomew reserved for a cooperative farm, a schoolhouse, playground, post office, and other common buildings. These original depression-era Cape Cod–style homes are called “Norvelt Houses” by the locals.
A six-room house on more than 2 acres (8,093.7 m²) usually ended up costing a family $12,000.
Pickett helped establish the first AFSC
American Friends Service Committee
The American Friends Service Committee is a Religious Society of Friends affiliated organization which works for peace and social justice in the United States and around the world...
work camp in, what would become Norvelt, to help the Homesteads project with the construction of a reservoir and ditch to hold a water main for the community. In the summer of 1934, 55 young volunteers contributed 10,000 hours at Norvelt by digging a ditch one-and-a-half miles long and constructing a 260,000-gallon reservoir. The directors of this work camp were Mildred and Wilmer Young, who later led several experiments with cooperative enterprises in Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
and South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
.
Three years later, Westrmoreland Homesteads was the largest of President Roosevelt's 92 model subsistence homesteads that provided relief for displaced miners and industrial workers.
Political opposition
Although the project faced few political hurdles, the design of the houses for Norvelt and other subsistence farmstead communities set off a debate that revealed top government officials’ contrasting ambitions for the program. Both US President Franklin Roosevelt and Harold Ickes believed that the houses should be constructed to minimal standards, without electricity and running water, as befit a relief program. But program director Milburn Wilson and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt insisted that the homes be furnished with plumbing, electric lights, and other modern conveniences. VirginiaVirginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
senator Harry F. Byrd
Harry F. Byrd
Harry Flood Byrd, Sr. of Berryville in Clarke County, Virginia, was an American newspaper publisher, farmer and politician. He was a descendant of one of the First Families of Virginia...
criticized such features as an “extravagance" for “simple mountain folk," but Wilson and the First Lady prevailed. Both argued that the project, as a demonstration project, should afford its residents with homes that would elevate their standard of living.
A "build it yourself" government project
Westmoreland received over 1,850 applications for just 250 slots. The first 1,200 residents were broadly representative of the region’s ethnic and racial diversity. As they arrived, heads of households were put to work building the houses they would later occupy. By having the people building their own homes and community, this is in stark contrast to the government handout programs seen in the late 20th century and early 21st century. This ensured that the community would be a "hand up" program instead of a "hand out."Paying for your home
Basically the government purchased the land and people built their own homes on a lease-to-purchase agreement. Families rented their homes from the government for $12 to $14 a month, which was applied to the future purchase price of the house. By 1946, all the renters had purchased their homes. These early homes had everything a family would need to survive. These amenities included a grape arbor, 3-4 acres of land to plant a garden, and chicken coops.Building your home
To make construction as efficient and cost-effective as possible, the division assigned crews to a single, specific construction task, such as digging the foundation or installing flooring—thus anticipating the mass building methods that would characterize large-scale residential developments such as LevittownLevittown, Pennsylvania
Levittown is a census-designated place and planned community in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States, within the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The population was 52,983 at the 2010 census. It is above sea level...
after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
—and applied most of workers’ wages directly to the cost of their homesteads.
After your home was built
The government then provided each family with a wheelbarrow, rake, hoe and shovel. Mounds of earth were then dumped in front of the houses, and the tenants prepared their own lawns.Families were also expected to paint their own homes. Their choices of paint were white, gray or yellow.
Creating a community
In May 1935, the first families began moving into Westmoreland Homesteads, and the task of creating a community began. Under the direction of a community manager, homesteaders established garden plots and raised livestock, including hogs and chickens. Some families produced enough to sell their surplus at a market, but for most, subsistence farming failed to meet their needs. To remedy the situation, administrators at the Division, now under the Rural Resettlement Administration, approved a loan for the construction of a small garment factory on site. Administered by the Cooperative Association, a nonprofit entity which also operated a cooperative store and a community health center, the factory by 1940 employed around 150 men and women.The First Lady's visit
On May 21, 1937, First Lady Eleanor RooseveltEleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...
visited Westmoreland Homesteads to mark the arrival of the community’s final homesteader. Accompanying her on the trip was the wife of Henry Morgenthau, Jr.
Henry Morgenthau, Jr.
Henry Morgenthau, Jr. was the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury during the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt. He played a major role in designing and financing the New Deal...
, the president's Secretary of the Treasury. Residents were so taken by the First Lady’s personal expression of interest in the program that they promptly agreed to rename the community in her honor. (The new town name, Norvelt, was a combination of the last syllables in her names: EleNOR RooseVELT.)
This support helped Norvelt survive until 1944, when the federal government disbanded the program and dispersed its assets. Most residents had by this time already managed to purchase their homes and property. By 1950, the cooperative store and farm had shut down, but the garment factory, now under private ownership, continued for many years.
Legacy
Norvelt was born out of the socialist idea of community farming. However, many in the community soon abandoned working on the government farm in exchange for higher paying jobs in the private sectorPrivate sector
In economics, the private sector is that part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is run by private individuals or groups, usually as a means of enterprise for profit, and is not controlled by the state...
. The community that was born out of a need to eliminate the strains of capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
, soon embraced the economic system
Economic system
An economic system is the combination of the various agencies, entities that provide the economic structure that defines the social community. These agencies are joined by lines of trade and exchange along which goods, money etc. are continuously flowing. An example of such a system for a closed...
. Residents took up jobs in neighboring Latrobe
Latrobe, Pennsylvania
Latrobe is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania in the United States, approximately southeast of Pittsburgh.The city population was 7,634 as of the 2000 census . It is located near the Pennsylvania's scenic Chestnut Ridge. Latrobe was incorporated as a borough in 1854, and as a city in 1999...
, Greensburg
Greensburg, Pennsylvania
Greensburg is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States, and a part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The city is named after Nathanael Greene, a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War...
and Mount Pleasant
Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania
Mount Pleasant is a borough in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It stands 45 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. Population in 1900, 4,745 people; in 1910, 5,812 people; and in 1940, 5,824 people...
.
Norvelt never achieved the lofty goals that Eleanor Roosevelt and others had invested in it. As a relief measure, however, it was a success. In 2002, Norvelt’s handful of surviving original pioneers, expressed their appreciation for their town during the festivities for the Historic Marker Designation.
Evidence of the town's original name is still visible. The village's laundromat still carries the name Homestead. And the entrance to the Roosevelt Hall reads Westmoreland Homestead's "Norvelt" Volunteer Fire Department
Volunteer fire department
See also the Firefighter article and its respective sections regarding VFDs in other countries.A volunteer fire department is a fire department composed of volunteers who perform fire suppression and other related emergency services for a local jurisdiction.The first organized force of...
.
Garment factory
The garment factory is still open and running. It is located on Mount Pleasant Road in Norvelt. The factory is owned and operated by Union Apparel Incorporated, which manufactures and exports men's and boy's tailored dress and sport coats; as well as women's, misses' and juniors' suits and coats.It is no longer a garment factory.
Golf course
Norvelt Golf Course is located at the Norvelt Golf Club located on Pennsylvania SR 981. The course has water hazards on various holes. The fairways are narrow, and the greens are average sized. It opened in 19681968 in sports
1968 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup:** Men's overall champion: Jean-Claude Killy, France** Women's overall champion: Nancy Greene, Canada-American football:...
and was designed by Larry S. Liprando of the Liprando Development Company
Steve Bosdosh
Steve Bosdosh
Steve Bosdosh is an American professional golfer.Bosdosh has worked predominantly as a teaching professional, and is the director of instruction at Four Streams Golf Academy in Beallsville, Maryland. He previously held the same position at the TPC at Avenel in Potomac, Maryland for over fourteen...
, rated by Golf Magazine
Golf Magazine
Golf Magazine is a monthly golf magazine owned by Time Inc.. It was started in 1960 by Universal Publishing and Distributing, who sold it to Times Mirror in 1972. Time Inc. acquired it in 2000. It was the world's most widely read golf publication from August 2006 to January 2007. The magazine is...
as one of the top 100 teachers in the United States, is a native of Norvelt. He is a PGA
Professional Golfers Association
Professional Golfers' Association, , is the usual term for a professional association in men's golf. It is often abbreviated to PGA...
golf professional and director of instruction at Four Streams Golf Club in Beallsville
Beallsville, Maryland
Beallsville, Maryland is an unincorporated community in Montgomery County, Maryland. It is a small community outside of Poolesville, Maryland.- Darby Store :...
MD. and some of his students have included LPGA Tour players Jackie Gallagher-Smith and Katie Peterson-Parker.
Hurst High School
It was built in 1905, and has been used as a high school and a junior high school.For many years, “Hurst School” was an important stop on the Latrobe
Latrobe, Pennsylvania
Latrobe is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania in the United States, approximately southeast of Pittsburgh.The city population was 7,634 as of the 2000 census . It is located near the Pennsylvania's scenic Chestnut Ridge. Latrobe was incorporated as a borough in 1854, and as a city in 1999...
line of the West Penn Railways
West Penn Railways
West Penn Railways, one part of the West Penn System, was an interurban electric railway headquartered in Connellsville, Pennsylvania. It was part of the region's power generation utility.-History:...
’ electric interurban railway system. The distinctive orange cars carried many Hurst students to and from school.
The Hurst name in Mount Pleasant Township
Mount Pleasant Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
Mount Pleasant Township is a township in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the township population was 11,153...
dates from Colonial times. It is understood that the land on which Hurst High School was built was owned by the Hurst family and given to the School District.
In 1961, the Mount Pleasant Township and Borough
Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania
Mount Pleasant is a borough in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It stands 45 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. Population in 1900, 4,745 people; in 1910, 5,812 people; and in 1940, 5,824 people...
districts were joined and Hurst and Ramsay High Schools became the present Mt. Pleasant Area Jr. and Sr. High School- the school's football stadium lights are visible from the Pennsylvania Turnpike
Pennsylvania Turnpike
The Pennsylvania Turnpike is a toll highway system operated by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. The three sections of the turnpike system total . The main section extends from Ohio to New Jersey and is long...
. Today the old Hurst High School houses many small businesses, offices, and shops.
Norvelt Elementary School
Built in 1938, the school is a K-6 institution that is a part of the Mount Pleasant School District. It is the largest structure in the village. It was originally built as a replica of Independence Hall in Philadelphia. The structure is a two-story brick building which was renovated and expanded in the early 1990s. It sits on top of a hill in the middle of “B” section, overlooking the fire department and post office. Norvelt School has a wide lawn in front with a baseball field and playground equipment. The flat grassy lawn at the base of the hill is about 150 yards (137.2 m) wide and 100 yards (91.4 m) deep. The Norvelt Colts use the open space for football practices. Other use the space for golf practice, dog walking, or jogging.Norvelt Fire Department
The Norvelt Fire Department is an all-Volunteer Fire DepartmentVolunteer fire department
See also the Firefighter article and its respective sections regarding VFDs in other countries.A volunteer fire department is a fire department composed of volunteers who perform fire suppression and other related emergency services for a local jurisdiction.The first organized force of...
. The Department is located on Mount Pleasant Road.
The original schoolhouse
The original Norvelt schoolhouse later became the Norvelt Firemans Social Club once Norvelt Elementary was built in 1960. The first school that was built was not big enough to accommodate all of the children, so some students went to class in the morning and some in the afternoon. School lunches provided to students by the government usually consisted of bean soup and peanut butter and honey sandwiches. The club was demolished and the organization moved to a new facility that was added on to Roosevelt Hall during the late 1990s. The Norvelt Fireman's Club-Roosevelt Hall is located only a few yards away from the old school site.Post office
Norvelt's US Post OfficeUnited States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
Branch was originally across the street from the garment factory. Today it is located on Norvelt's main strip in a renovated section of building that burned down in the early 1980s. The building used to be a dentist office. The new post office is located only a few yards from the fire department.
Roosevelt Hall
The Norvelt Fireman's Hall is named Roosevelt Hall in honor of Eleanor Roosevelt. This is primarily used for wedding receptions."The Tracks" and Rails-to-Trails
Along the banks of the Sewickley Creek is a path left by the removal of the Pennsylvania RailroadPennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
tracks. Simply referred to as “the tracks" by locals, it has often been used a place to ride bicycles and all-terrain vehicles
All-terrain vehicle
An all-terrain vehicle , also known as a quad, quad bike, three wheeler, or four wheeler, is defined by the American National Standards Institute as a vehicle that travels on low pressure tires, with a seat that is straddled by the operator, along with handlebars for steering control...
. As early as 2001, there have been plans involving the Sewickley Creek Watershed Association and the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy to develop the path into a maintained bicycle trail that would connect other developed railroad paths in the region. While plans are under development, the path is private property, and the organizations have made efforts to reduce damage caused by ATVs by posting large fines for trespassing.
Football culture
Only 10 miles (16.1 km) away from the site first Professional FootballAmerican football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
Game in Latrobe, PA in 1895
1895 in sports
-American football:College championship* College football national championship – Penn Quakers and Yale Bulldogs Events* 3 September – the earliest known professional football game is played in Latrobe, Pennsylvania where Latrobe YMCA defeats the Jeannette Athletic Club 12–0.-Association...
, Norvelt has made significant contributions to the local history of the sport.
Hurst Hurricane football
1927 was the first year of WPIAL’s Gardner point system that was used to establish champions and playoff participants. Hurst High fielded a magnificent unscored-against perfect record teamHigh school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
that year. At this time the coach of the Hurst Hurricane Football team was Robert Mitinger, Sr., a star guard in 1918 for Greensburg
Greensburg, Pennsylvania
Greensburg is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States, and a part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The city is named after Nathanael Greene, a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War...
and a member of ’s great 1921 team. He served as an assistant at Greensburg in 1923 and 1924, as well as 1944. He and his brother, assistant Ed Mitinger took charge at Hurst in 1925.
Mitinger’s son, Robert Mitinger
Robert Mitinger
Robert Bray Mitinger was a former professional football player, attorney and civic leader.-Professional career:...
was an All-American tight end
Tight end
The tight end is a position in American football on the offense. The tight end is often seen as a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like offensive linemen, they are usually lined up on the offensive line and are large enough to be...
and defensive end
Defensive end
Defensive end is the name of a defensive position in the sport of American and Canadian football.This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations have substantially changed how the position is played over the years...
for Penn State in 1961. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and named the 1962 Chargers' team Rookie of the Year. He played 42 games at linebacker
Linebacker
A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...
for the Chargers for seven seasons (1962–1964, 1966, 1968), including their 51-10 rout of the Boston Patriots at Balboa Stadium
Balboa Stadium
Balboa Stadium is a football and soccer stadium located in San Diego, California. The original stadium was built in 1914 as part of the many buildings erected for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition located in Balboa Park. Originally called City Stadium, and designed by the Quayle Brothers...
in the 1963 AFL Championship, the high point of the team's 44-year history. The Robert B. Mitinger Award
Robert B. Mitinger Award
The Robert B. Mitinger Award is presented to Penn State Nittany Lions football players who personify courage, character and social responsibility. It was first awarded in 2004 and is named for the former Penn State All-American tight end and San Diego Chargers linebacker, Bob Mitinger who later...
, named in his honor, is presented to Penn State Nittany Lions football players who personify courage, character and social responsibility.
Hurst’s 1931 team won the WPIAL Class B championship. At that time the league had gone to a two class format, based on enrollment, in 1928. The AA classification was added in 1932.
The 1938 Hurst team defeated Greensburg for the first time as well as Wilmerding 7-0 to win the WPIAL A title. In 1942, Hurst again reached the championship heights, playing a 14-14 tie with Dormont in the A title playoff.
Three members of the 1938 Hurst Hurricanes reached the NFL, with the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
. Joe Glamp
Joe Glamp
Joseph J. Glamp was a professional football halfback and place kicker with the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1947 thru 1949. After going to high school at Hurst High School, located in Norvelt, Pennsylvania, Glamp attended Louisiana State University. Glamp made his professional debut in the National...
and Walt Gorinski
Walt Gorinski
Walter A. Gorinski was a professional football player in the National Football League for the Pittsburgh Steelers. After attending Hurst High School, located in Norvelt, Pennsylvania, Gorinski attended and played college football at Louisiana State University. Gorinski made his professional debut...
would go on to play college football at Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
(LSU), while Joe Cibulas
Joe Cibulas
Joseph James Cibulas was an American football offensive tackle in the National Football League. He played for the Pittsburgh Steelers during the 1945 season. Cibulas was born near Norvelt, Pennsylvania, located between Greensburg and Latrobe. He attended Hurst High School located in Norvelt,...
would play offensive tackle for the Duquesne Dukes
Duquesne Dukes
The Duquesne Dukes are the athletic teams of Duquesne University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.Duquesne has played men's basketball only in NCAA Division I and has played football as a club team from 1891–1894, 1896–1903, 1913–1914, and 1920–1928, in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision ...
. In 1959, Peter Billey of the Hurst Hurricanes finished second in total scoring for Westmoreland County with 121 points. Billey would go on to play college football at the University of Pittsburgh where he played on the 1963 Pitt team that finished #3 in the nation.
In 1961, the Mount Pleasant Township
Mount Pleasant Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
Mount Pleasant Township is a township in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the township population was 11,153...
and Borough districts were joined and Hurst and Ramsay High Schools closed. The new combined school became Mount Pleasant Area High School.
Since 1965, the football field of Hurst Stadium has been the Home of the Mount Pleasant Junior Football Association.
The Norvelt Colts
Norvelt is also the Home of the Norvelt Colts Football Team of the Mount Pleasant Area Junior Football League. The team's motto is "The Area's Team" that was inspired by the Dallas CowboysDallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
' use of the term "America's Team
America's Team
The term America's Team is a popular nickname in American sports that refers to the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League. The nickname originated with the team's 1978 highlight film, where the narrator opens with the following introduction: The term is recognized and often used by media...
". The motto was established after the Colts dominated opponents and won league championships in 1990 and 1991.
The Norvelt Colts hold 12 championships since 1965, second to only the rival United Steelers, who have 17.
Haunted history
This section is used to describe the supposed ghost hauntings that take place on the area. They are based on stories, legends and eyewitness accounts through the years. In no way does this section intend to either prove or disprove the existence of any form of paranormal activity.Norvelt coke ovens
Abandoned coke ovens. People have heard the noises of rocks being thrown into a pond, while there were no signs of animals present. There have also been reports of ghostly figures walking in the shadows wearing old miner equipment and traveling deep into the woods. This was the home to men that worked for the HC Frick Coal & Coke CompanyHenry Clay Frick
Henry Clay Frick was an American industrialist, financier, and art patron. He founded the H. C. Frick & Company coke manufacturing company, was chairman of the Carnegie Steel Company, and played a major role in the formation of the giant U.S. Steel steel manufacturing concern...
, putting it squarely in the middle of the United Steel Workers (USW) - management clashes of the 1930s. Are the rocks being thrown at the visitors of the ovens or the rowdy spirits still fighting the company police
Company police
Company police, also called private police, are police officers who work for a private company rather than a government agency.-United Kingdom:...
even in the afterlife?
Mining was, and still is, one of the most dangerous occupations in Pennsylvania, and in the early 1900s - death and injury were a constant threat. Companies voluntarily, or by law, developed mine-safety programs beginning in the early twentieth century. The H.C. Frick Coke Company started a safety program in its mines that included training rescue and first-aid teams, and posting warning signs in multiple languages. However while these changes (safety programs, mine inspections, and miners’ actions) made mining safer they did not fully stop many deaths from occurring. Therefore there is only a little surprising that there are hauntings at the abandoned mines and coke ovens in the area.