Jun 23, 2026 By Garrett Neese 4 min read

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is one in a monthlong series of profiles of the people who live and work in Washington, Greene and Fayette counties, in celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary.

It’s not like Josh Haynes hadn’t known about Perryopolis.

He’d been driving past it most of his life, going back and forth on Route 51 between Pittsburgh and his home in Uniontown.

But once he had a family and started looking for a peaceful place to live, he learned of the homes along the river, with a bike trail conveniently nearby.

“It’s quiet, and it seems family-oriented around here, and especially for them,” he said, gesturing to his daughters, busy enjoying the playground at Washington Run Park.

Haynes’ own childhood in Uniontown was full of “regular old kid stuff,” he said: going to the park, playing with friends, and riding his bike to Dairy Queen. It’s different there now — more buildings, more hotels.

Haynes was relishing the relaxation at home before returning to the road. He became a truck driver in 2017 after a friend suggested he get his commercial driver’s license.

It’s good pay, he said — more than he’d been making in telemarketing.

“There’s really not too much in terms of layoffs or anything like that,” he said. “You’re always going to need a truck driver to drive something. And it’s good money, taking care of my family.”

The job follows where the money goes: first Western Pennsylvania, where the start of his career coincided with an energy boom. Starting in 2019, the money flowed to North Dakota, where he works two weeks a month before returning to Perryopolis.

Haynes met his wife, Alexandra, through a friend. They both wanted a family. They were both career-minded: she’s starting her own business as a nail tech.

Also, they both wanted to settle down someplace peaceful.

“You don’t really live in areas like this when you don’t have kids, right?” he said. “We kind of wanted to get quieter, and start a family and get our careers going.”

They started dating nine years ago. COVID derailed their wedding plans for a few months, but they finally tied the knot in August 2020.

Along with Alexandra’s daughter from a previous relationship, now 11, they’ve had two more daughters, 6 and 4.

With the trail right there, Haynes likes to go for walks, biking with the kids, or taking them fishing by the creek.

Haynes is still there to see the kids hit milestones. His youngest daughter was just potty-trained. And his middle child just started riding a bicycle without training wheels.

“It’s sad, but also amazing at the same time,” he said. “No more diapers, so that’s a good thing. But yeah, seeing little stuff like that is great, rewarding. You raised them right.”

With the youngest daughter now heading to pre-K, the family’s venturing out further on vacations. Their last trip was to Florida, which will be followed this summer by Ocean City, Maryland — both places with the beaches they don’t have here.

But they always gladly return to Perryopolis, and a bucolic life that left Haynes apologizing multiple times for a lack of suspenseful stories.

He’s lived in Perryopolis for five years now, and plans to stick around.

In addition to the quiet, it’s also close enough to other places — 30 miles from Pittsburgh, Uniontown or Morgantown — to be the starting point for trips, and not just a place to pass through.

“If we do move, it’ll be up here, like on top of the hill,” he said.