History of Fort Jackson Hotel uncovered
WAYNESBURG — David Cressey searches through files at the Cornerstone Genealogical Society in Waynesburg.
Looking through years of Greene County history, he finally pulls out a file titled “Fort Jackson Hotel.”
The file was filled with dozens of articles from the 1930s, as well as today.
“This is everything we have,” Cressey said.
The file serves as a reminder of the rich history in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania.
The parcel of land on which the Fort Jackson Hotel building sits, until recently, has always been a hotel.
The hotel business narrative started before the Civil War.
The old Bull’s Head Tavern served as an inn and was erected in 1803. In 1869, The Downey House was built to replace the Bull’s Head Tavern.
The Downey House served guests until 1925 when a fire destroyed it as well as surrounding buildings. Flames engulfed the Grossman Building, destroying it, and wind spread the fire to the wooden cupola of the Greene County Courthouse as well as the wooden statue of General Greene.
“The formation of the Waynesburg Volunteer Fire Company was a direct result of the Downey House fire,” said Cressey.
The loss of five volunteer firemen caused the replacement of the borough run department with an organization that is specifically dedicated to fighting fires.
After the destruction of the Downey House, local businessmen worked to form The Fort Jackson Hotel Company.
“The reason they formed the Fort Jackson Hotel Company was because the owner of the Downey house wasn’t fully insured,” said architectural historian Mary Beth Pastorious. “He was the major stockholder of First National Bank and they were afraid the bank would go under.”
In January of 1926, The Fort Jackson Hotel Company bought the property from T.J Wisecarver for $100,000.
The Fort Jackson Hotel was designed by the renowned architectural firm Bartholomew and Smith. The building stands 60 feet tall by 180 feet wide, and is built with red brick and Indiana limestone.
Half a million dollars was spent on the construction of the new hotel; when accounted for inflation, that would be almost $7 million in today’s economy.
A hundred guests filled the Fort Jackson Hotel for its grand opening on July 23, 1927.
Gen. Edward Martin, a Waynesburg College graduate in 1901, was among the few who gave speeches at the grand opening commemorating the hotel.
The hotel had the capacity for 70 rooms spread across two floors. The first floor was occupied by seven local businesses. According to an old Democrat Messenger, the hotel had an arrangement with the Greene County Country Club, allowing its weekend patrons to play a round of golf at their facilities. In addition, the rate per night varied between $2 and $3.50.
Pastorious, a native of Waynesburg, can recall memories about the Fort Jackson Hotel in her childhood.
“When I was a little girl there was a drug store with a soda fountain, a women’s clothing shop and a barber,” Pastorious said. “Blair Zimmerman and I had a conversation about our impression of the lobby of the Fort Jackson, which was businessmen in suits smoking cigars.”
The hotel had several booming decades where they serviced thousands of guests, then ceased its operation as a hotel in the late 60s. However, it is unclear of the specifics about its departure. Although the hotel may not be operating under its original use, its building is still being used to serve people in the Greene County area.
Pastorious believes that the continual preservation of historic buildings is important, especially in her hometown of Waynesburg.
“Buildings are different from artwork,” Pastorious said. “Historic artwork you can pack away, but a building can’t be packed away. It has to be occupied and be continuously maintained.”