Dunbar (Images of America)

Settled in the 1790s and incorporated in 1883, Dunbar was named for Col. Thomas Dunbar, who along with Gen. Edward Braddock and George Washington came to the area in 1755 to take back Fort Duquesne. In 1791, Isaac Meason started the Union Furnace, marking the beginning of the industrial growth that became Dunbar’s lifeblood for more than a century. Vintage photographs in Dunbar capture the town’s industry, tragedies such as the Hill Farm Mine disaster, faith, weddings, pastimes that entertained young and old alike, intriguing people, and beautiful buildings that stand as a testament to a more prosperous age. Today tourism opportunities such as the Sheepskin Trail, the Fayette Central Railroad Tourist Train, and the coke oven project at the Dunbar Historical Society’s park are helping the community reinvent itself and provide a new future for the little town.