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‘Do You Know Who I Am?’ The legend of Waynesburg’s ghost

By John Lydic for The 3 min read
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“Do you know who I am? Do you know who I am?”

This is the question asked by the founder of Waynesburg’s ghost.

In 1796, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed legislation to create Greene County, dividing Washington County into two parts with the lower part becoming Greene County.

Part of the legislation required a city to take the county seat for the section of land. According to local resident Glenn Toothman, former Greene County district attorney, the commissioners chose Waynesburg as the place for the county seat because it was in the center of the county.

Thomas Slater owned the land which is now Waynesburg. According to the Living Places website, Slater purchased the land from a Native American for a 2-year-old heifer and a flint-lock rifle. In that time, land development required a patent from William Penn. The town at that time was referred to as Eden, named after his wife Elanor’s maiden name, according to the Angel Fire website.

Toothman believes that the Eden name brought good fortune to Waynesburg.

“I always say Waynesburg has been a special place because it began with the name Eden,” said Toothman.

County commissioners bought the 158 acres of land from Slater for $2,376 for the purpose of building a jail, courthouse and other public buildings. The commissioners changed the name to Waynesburg, after Revolutionary War General Anthony Wayne. Despite selling the land, though, Slater remained in the area.

He lived next to the Waynesburg VFW where two trailers now sit. Slater lived in his house until his death in 1815 at the age of 76, according to Toothman.

He was buried in what was the Hookstown Cemetery located on Liberty Street.

The cemetery was eventually torn down to make room for public housing.

A court order was issued to remove the bodies, but because of the age of the cemetery, the order could not be carried out. Only the headstones were removed, leaving Slater’s remains underneath the housing complex, according to Toothman.

One day about 10 years ago, a lady showed up at the Cornerstone Genealogical Society on East Greene Street, asking for help to find out about Thomas Slater, according to Toothman.

The unnamed lady asked a worker about who Thomas Slater was, and the worker asked why she was inquiring.

“He is a ghost living in the closet of my bedroom,” the lady replied. “He asks me ‘Do you know who I am? I am Thomas Slater. Do you know who I am?'”

When she replied “no,” Slater said, “you need to find out who I am.”

The volunteer told the lady about Thomas Slater and who he was, but she asked where this lady lived.

The woman replied, “I live on Liberty Avenue where the public housing is located,” according to Toothman.

The volunteer went agape because the location of the lady’s house was right over top of Thomas Slater’s gravesite.

The lady left with her answer and never returned.

According to legend, Slater still walks the lands around Waynesburg where his house and his gravesite were located. Toothman added that reports of Slater encounters have also happened at the graveyard behind the girls’ dorms at Waynesburg University.

Not far from that location, a memorial plaque in Green Mount Cemetery bears Slater’s name, and is the only remaining landmark of Slater’s legacy.

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