The Race Track – AKA Armstrong Field, Ringgold Soccer Field In Monongahela PA

I am working on an upcoming blog post and could use your help. Do any of you have any information or memories about the area known around Monongahela as the “Race Track” aka Armstrong Field? Currently located there is a soccer field, a softball field and on the southern end is Cox’s arena.

Here is a link to a great article in the Union-Finley Messenger with information about the Cox arena and Armstrong Park. To summarize the article:

• In 1874 the Monongahela Valley Agricultural Association purchased the 25 acre plot known as the “Driving Park”. The association sponsored fairs featuring horse racing.
• Later, the “Monongahela Driving Park Association” sponsored harness racing. Betting was allowed and thousands attended.
• Later the area became known as the “Monongahela Speedway” as harness racing gave way to automobile racing. In 1936 “Deb Miller drove a Miller Special at an average speed of over 70 miles per hour which broke all records at that time for dirt track racing.”
• During World War II victory gardens were planted there.
• Shane and Kate Cox currently sponsor equestrian events most weekends throughout the summer. You can contact Shane and Kate at thecoxarena@aol.com

I found a few old newspaper articles that mention this area and I’ll post a few stories this week.

Josiah Loves Cordelia – Monongahela Cemetery

Tombstones of Josiah W. and Cordelia A. Carmack, Monongahela Cemetery, Monongahela PA

Reorganized and added photograph my earlier Monongahela Panorama post

I reorganized and added a photo to an earlier post I made last year

1909 Monongahela Panorama Virtual Scavenger Hunt.

As a side note, I spoke to one of the software engineers over at Gigapan and he complimented us on your participation in the comments area of the Monongahela panorama. Shortly after the panorama was posted, the image was ranked within the top 25 most interesting images on the whole Gigapan site! Gigapan is a partnership between Carnegie Mellon, Nasa and Google.

So far the Monongahela Gigapan has been viewed 4200 times and has received 43 comments.

1909 Monongahela Panorama Virtual Scavenger Hunt

Have you ever heard of a Gigapan? It is a photograph comprised of sometimes hundreds of small snapshots, all stitched together by computer software to create one incredibly detailed high resolution image. When the image is uploaded to Gigapan.org you can view it and keep on zooming and zooming to see all kinds of interesting details.

Click this image visit my Gigapan page. (Once there, click on the panorama image on the upper right side to view it full size)

The image above is a panorama I made by stitching together two old postcards of Monongahela which were postmarked back in 1909. Click here to view the photograph over at Gigapan.org. (You have to double click the image to get it to zoom in)

The original postcard  photographs were shot from two close but separate positions on Cemetery Hill so it was impossible to get a perfect stitch (due to parallax error) but it’s good enough to make a decent panorama. Unfortunately you can no longer photograph from the same vantage point today because the view is now blocked by large trees. But this aerial picture below can give you some idea what the area looks like today:

A modern view of the same area where the original postcard photographs were shot. Though now Monongahela, this area was once known as Catsburg. The Catsburg mine was located off the picture to the right. Click image for larger view.

Ok, lets go on a virtual scavenger hunt. To participate you need to create a Gigapan.org account (free). Then navigate back my Gigapan Monongahela panorama page. Then zoom in and take a “snapshot” and then leave a comment on my Gigapan page.

In the panorama you will find:

(strike throughs mean the item has been identified by somebody as of Monday, March 15, 2010 – 3:19 pm)

- at least two people
- at least two horses or mules
- train cars (aka railroad cars lol, I couldn’t remember the correct term, It’s hell getting old)
- Gregg’s Warehouse (This is the warehouse for the A.M. Gregg Hardware store as seen in this 1908 photograph. You can also see an old ad and picture of the proprietor here.
- 3 and possibly 4 churches (extra credit if you can name them) (two have been found)
- a ladder
- my girlfriend’s old house
- two coal mine tipples (extra credit if you name the coal mines to which they belong)
- two houses with rain barrels (one found so far)
- a barn
- at least 1 coal barge
- another barge (not necessarily a coal barge)
- a saltbox
- three bridges
- Whiskey Point
- an outhouse
- this railroad tower: http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4045/4427907903_66f481e672_o.png
- a factory
- laundry
- the McGough Residence (oldest part built in 1802) was the oldest brick building in town until it was replaced by the architectural masterpiece known presently as the Monongahela Senior Center
- the Hotel Main
- the village of Axleton
- worker houses built by Liggett Spring and Axle Co.
- a gas lamp
- River Hill

I will reveal the location of several of the items above each day until March 20, 2010 unless you all find things first. Also, don’t be afraid to snapshot something you discover that isn’t on this list.

Oldest Section of Monongahela Cemetery In Poor Shape

I visited the old section of the Monongahela Cemetery the other day and was shocked at the damage I found there. Some was caused by the heavy snow storms in February. Other damage is a result of vandalism or earth movement. Either way, this section looks as bad as some old coal patch cemeteries I have seen.

click for larger view, click again for largest view

click image for larger view

Monument toppled due to earth movement - freeze/thaw cycle

To find the old section, go up to where the chapel and office are located. Then head down the hill in the direction of the river.

I went up to the cemetery with the intention of taking a few pictures of our downtown from the same vantage point used on an old postcard panorama of Monongahela. (It ended up that I couldn’t get the pictures because so many trees have grown up thus blocking the view.) The whole trip distressed me. It is frustrating to see money spent erecting more war memorials and ugly cement block fountains in Chess Park while the portion of the cemetery where the veterans are actually buried is neglected. There is a whole section devoted to civil war and WWI veterans in this part of the cemetery. You can actually see it in this satellite picture (circled):

Old Veterans Section Of The Monongahela Cemetery

I wonder if the cemetery is responsible for repair when a tree falls on a monument. Is anything ever done to repair monuments which topple over due to earth movement? If nobody is responsible for fixing them, why not set up a fund for that purpose? Money could come from people who would rather make a monetary contribution to a good cause in lieu of flowers sent to a funeral home.

See more pictures over at the Lost Monongahela Flickr site.