May 20, 2007 By Frances Borsodi Zajac 8 min read

The story of a house that stands along the National Road in Henry Clay Township and once served as a 19th century tavern is being preserved with the help of two Laurel Highlands High School seniors. Cameron Muma and Greg Friend of South Union Township decided to work together to track down the story of the Holt-Griffin House, which is located along present-day Route 40, as the subject of their senior project. Their work is the first step on the path toward having the building declared eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.

“We have an interest in local history,’ said Friend, 18, a son of Greg and Mary Friend, who plans to study pre-medicine at Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pa.

“We have a lot of classes together and we’re good friends,’ said Muma, 17, a son of Jesse Wallace and Shannon Muma, who plans to study business and law at James Madison University in Virginia.

The suggestion for this particular project came from Laurel Highlands history teacher Irwin Brambley, a transplant to the area who discovered the two-story stone house when stopping there to purchase wood.

“I moved here three years ago from Carlisle, Pa. I was driving the road and saw a sign ‘wood for sale’ and that’s when I met John Holt,’ said Brambley.

John P. Holt is the current owner of the house, which is occupied by the Savage family. Brambley said Holt enjoyed showing him around the property. The more he heard, Brambley said, the more he realized this would make a great senior project.

Brambley approached Jim Tobal, a Laurel Highlands School Board member and former Laurel Highlands history teacher who had helped organize a workshop last year for local history teachers. The workshop was sponsored by the Redstone Foundation, Fayette Chamber of Commerce and the National Road Heritage Corridor.

Tobal said, “We invited all American history teachers from Fayette County to come, and this is one of the byproducts of it. The focus of the workshop was how to incorporate local history into your curriculum. The idea was to restore pride in Fayette County.’

Enthused by the workshop, Brambley became intrigued with this gem of local history he discovered in the Holt-Griffin House and soon found two students willing to share his interest in Friend, whom Brambley taught U.S. history as a junior, and Muma, whom he coached in wrestling.

“I know these two guys are hard workers,’ Brambley said.

They approached Donna Holdorf, executive director of the National Road Heritage Corridor, about doing the project.

“The most important thing is these students represent a generation that’s going to inherit this area,’ said Holdorf. “It’s great to see they have an interest in the heritage that is so rich here.’

Brambley and Tobal acted as advisers to Muma and Friend. Tobal provided information on where the students could search for information. They worked with Holt to learn what he knew of the house. They also received help from Bill Callaghan of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission on what must be done to place the house on the National Register of Historic Places.

The students discovered the property must be at least 50 years old and still be mostly original. It also must be associated with events that have made a significant contribution to history or be associated with the lives of people significant to history, or it may have yielded or be likely to yield information that is important to history.

Muma and Friend did extensive research to lay the groundwork for placing the house on the National Register.

“We took the proper steps. We went to the courthouse and did research at the library. Vicki Leonelli was great,’ said Muma, referring to the curator of the Pennsylvania Room at the Uniontown Public Library which maintains an extensive local history collection.

Leonelli asked the students to provide a copy of their research to the library when they were finished to share with others.

“We found the deed and the original owner,’ said Friend. “During the research, we found more than we expected.”

“We worked on a description of the house and its history,’ Muma continued. “…Hopefully, we’ll have a new historic site in Fayette County.’

Holdorf noted the students undertook the first steps in having the house placed on the National Registry.

“The idea is to have the property declared eligible and the reason we’re able to do this is that Mr. Holt is cooperative,’ she said.

Holt, who was born in the house, said he’s glad the students did the project and remarked, “I think it should be on the National Register.’

The roots of the house date to 1826.

“It was built as a tavern for people traveling the National Road after the Revolutionary War,’ said Muma. “As they traveled the road, they needed places to rest.’

Stone for the house came from the property. One source that lists the property is “History of Fayette County, Pennsylvania,’ by Franklin Ellis (1828-85), which explains the original owner John Griffin married Sarah Knotts and came to the area from Delaware in 1823.

Ellis wrote, “He bought the old Twelve Springs tavern and lived in it (until) he built his stone tavern. His daughter Elizabeth now lives in it. Her husband was Jacob Stone, a son of Squire Stone of Greene County.’

The house was built along what was originally Braddock’s Road, which was constructed during the French and Indian War, and later the National Road, which is the nation’s first federally built highway. President Thomas Jefferson signed legislation that created The National Road in 1806, and construction began in Cumberland, Md., in 1811. In Pennsylvania, the National Road runs 90 miles through Somerset, Fayette and Washington counties. The National Road eventually stretched to Vandalia, Ill., providing a gateway to the West for American settlers.

Ellis wrote, “After 1790, wagons were put on the road, and regular tavern stands were established along the road.’

He listed the taverns, calling them “tavern stands,’ that stood along the National Road in Fayette County, and refers to the Griffin place.

Holdorf noted the place was originally referred to as a stage stand and later a wagon stand. Ellis said that Griffin built his place as a stage stand and it became a wagon stand after his death and was kept by his widow and his son William “after whom came Benjamin Miller, Charles Kemp, Isaac Denny, William Spau and William Griffin again. It is now occupied by Mrs. Elizabeth Stone, a daughter of John Griffin.’

Talking about the project, Muma said, “We learned a lot about history and working with people, and we got a lot of people interested in it. We’d like more people in school to do things like this – learn more about the places they live.’

Friend said, “We’d like to get more of the community involved. It will definitely help the chances of it getting on the National Register.’

Holdorf applauded the work of Friend and Muma, noting, “We want people to realize the value of the historic, cultural and natural resources that are here.’

She talked about the way these resources are being lost and said, “It doesn’t mean we have to save every building, but it’s about thoughtful development.’

Tobal said he is pleased with the work of these students.

“These guys have been bitten by the history bug,’ Tobal said.

He recalled his own work with fellow history teacher Bill Simpson and their Laurel Highlands students on Oak Hill, the home of coal baron J.V. Thompson, which now is owned by the Sisters of St. Basil and called Mount St. Macrina. It also is located on Route 40, just west of Uniontown across from Uniontown Mall. The students put a book together on Oak Hill and each year give tours at the mansion during the National Road Festival, which begins Friday.

“We adopted that place and it’s special to me. I can see it in these guys that place is special to them,’ Tobal said. “If we can get people to adopt these places, then it becomes special to them.’

Tobal said he is proud of the work done by Friend and Muma.

“I never saw them frustrated,” said Tobal. “There were a couple of times when they didn’t know what to do, but they did everything.’

He also complimented the enthusiasm of Brambley for the project.

Tobal said, “Irwin is really fascinated by the house and he made a friend in Mr. Holt.’

Work will continue on having the property declared eligible for the National Register. And Brambley said the property contains work for other possible senior projects, such as the Twelve Springs Tavern and a cemetery that includes the gravesite of William Griffin, son of the original owner.

Both Friend and Muma would like to see other students pursue similar projects.

Muma said, “We’re stepping stones for future classes.’

For more information on sites along the National Road, visit www.nationalroadpa.org.