Fort Mason Historical Society and Museum
The Fort Mason Historical Society was formed in 1988 to establish an historical museum in Masontown. This museum would preserve the many historic treasures, which rapidly were disappearing from the town. In 1992, the Society purchased a Masontown house at 548 North Main Street, the former home and medical office of Dr. Edgar Wells and his family.
The Society arranged rooms in the museum with antiques received from the community and from members, featuring life in the early 1900's. A complete kitchen, dining room, bedroom, schoolroom, and sewing room reflect this time period. In addition, there is a partial living room; an industrial room displaying farming, manufacturing, and mining implements; a complete physicians examing room and office; a miscellaneous area; and a library with numerous books, newspapers, photographs and genealogical records. The library also is a meeting room for the Society which meets at 7:00 p.m. the third Thursday of each month, with the exceptions of November and December. Officers are selected each January.
The foremost goal of the society is the constant care of the museum. Continuous work is done to acquire funds to meet this goal through memberships, donations, memorials, grants and fund-raisers. A newsletter, newspaper articles and Open House events inform others of this goal.
Guided museum tours begin the first Saturday of June and coninue until Labor Day. These are from 1:00-4:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays; however, special arrangements can be made for tours at other times by calling 724-583-8849. Be sure to visit this unique Masontown Museum.
Some Masontown History . . .
About 1752, the first white settlers arrived in Mount Sterling and Provance's Bottom, namely Wendell Brown and Sons. In the 1770's more settlers poured into the Masontown area, including families such as Robbs, Mack, Provins, DeBolt Franks, Poundstone, Riffle and Newcomer among others. A fort was built on the site of Masontown (Fort Mason), as was one near the present Lutheran Cemetery called Fort Riffle. While it is true that the Riffle family maintained Riffle's Fort, it is true that Johanias Mansonge and his wife Apalonia took up land and erected the fort on what is now South Water Street. The "Americanized" names were John and Abigale Mason; and their fort was Fort Mason. John Mason patented his land claim as "East Abbington," laid out a plan for a town, where logs 66 x 165 feet sold for a Spanish half-dollar. Many German-speaking people settled here, hence the names "Germantown" and German Township. It is often said that Germans came to this beautiful country because it so reminded them of their native homeland. Masontown was finally incorporated in 1798 after many years as a fledling village.
| 1905 | The people of Masontown enjoyed electric lights for the first time. |
| 1907 | The first street car line reached town. |
| 1910 | The Borough got its first street lights. |
| 1912 | The first paving of town streets occurred. |
| 1912 | Water system began in town. |
| 1917 1918 | One of the coldest winters on record. The Monogahela River froze 3 feet deep and temperatures of 22 degrees below zero were recorded. |
| 1918 | Masontown was ravaged by an epidemic of the Spanish influenza, keeping local morticians and gravediggers busy. |
| 1920 | In July, a devastating fire leveled a whole block of Masontown Business District; but the diehard citizens rebuilt. |
| 1922 1933 | Great coal strikes idled the area's mines and coke ovens. And no native of Masontown during Thanksgiving weekend of November 1950 will forget "the big snow storm." Mother Nature dumped 20 inches of wet snow on the area. |