Southwestern PA
Waynesburg is one of those rare communities that has maintained an old-fashioned, small-town flavor through it 200-plus year history. It's a great place to raise your children and it's a wonderful place to retire; many residents feel that the nearby metropolitan areas are a nice place to visit, but they are glad to call Waynesburg their home!
Location
Greene County's location and topographic features can be briefly stated; it is situated in the extreme southwestern corner of Pennsylvania, and is bounded on the north by Washington County, on the east by the Monongahela River which separates it from Fayette County, on the south by West Virginia, and the western extremity of the Mason and Dixon's line forming the dividing boundary, and on the west by West Virginia & Ohio, known as the Panhandle. Greene County is considered the cornerstone of the keystone state.
In a fast-paced world where communication is instantaneous, you can slow down a bit and relax in Greene County. In our many communities, as well as in our county seat of Waynesburg, folks pass you on the street and call you by name. Friends chat on the courthouse steps or at the local grocery store. But the high-speed connection to the world is alive and well here and can be accessed at a moment's notice. The best of both worlds can be found in our communities, with a small-town atmosphere and a sense of belonging to a community. We welcome visitors and newcomers with open arms and quickly become old friends.
Greene County has many historical communities such as downtown Waynesburg, Greensboro, Rices Landing, Jefferson, Carmichaels, our historic Jacktown Fair in Wind Ridge, and so many others. Our rural agriculture heritage makes Greene County a place like no other . . . with educational opportunities here in the county and in neighboring counties to offer our youth excellent opportunities.
Greene County is 89.2 percent rural; with a population of about 40,000+ residents. The county seat for Greene County is within the Borough of Waynesburg, located at exit 14 of Interstate 79, about 60 miles south of Pittsburgh.
Pennsylvania has 67 individual governmental units designated as counties. Counties are distinguished into different classes based on their population, ranging from the first class county of Philadelphia to eighth class counties like Cameron, Forest, Fulton, Montour, Potter and Sullivan. Greene County is designated as a sixth class county (population of 45,000 to 94,999; counties with a population of 35,000 to 44,999 can be sixth class if the board of commissioners passes an ordiance or resolution to do so.) Population changes could place a county in a different class following the decennial census. Before a county may officially change its class, however, a difference in population must appear in two consecutive censuses, and the governor must certify the change.
Physical Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 578 square miles (1,497 km²), of which, 576 square miles (1,491 km²) of it is land and 2 square miles (5 km²) of it (0.36%) is water.
The watershed, which separates the waters of the Mon River from the Wheeling system, commences at a point on the Washington County line a little north and east (near the northern extremity of Morris Township), and pursues a southwesterly course cutting a small section of the eastern portion of Richhill Township, striking Jackson Township at a point near the intersection of Jackson and Center Townships.
The glacial ice cap did not reach Greene County but apparently caused a temporary damming of the northern flow of the Monongahela River creating a lake. Into this lake the contributing streams poured their clay and silt-laden waters. These alluvial sediments accumulated on the lake bottom to a thickness of 75-feet or more producing what was to become known in the geological literature as Carmichaels Formation. Greene County is part of the Allegheny Plateau. Its elevation varies from about 500-feet to over 1,600-feet. There are numerous stream-cut valleys separated by rolling hills, ridges, and knobs that follow a northwest to southeast trend. There are many creeks and runs that makeup the Monongahela River watershed. These include the Ten Mile Creek, Muddy Creek, Whiteley Creek, and Dunkard Creek. Enslow's Creek, Fish Creek and Wheeling Creek flow westward.
It contains within these limits 389,120 square acres of surface, or about 608 square miles. The average length east to west is 32 miles and the width is about 19 miles. The terrain is hilly with the general trend of the hills from northwest to southwest. Many streams drain the slopes. The surface is drained by the Monongahela River, which unites with the Allegheny at Pittsburgh and forms the Ohio proper, and by the Wheeling River which also falls into the Ohio, and forms part of the great Mississippi.
After the northward retreat of the glacial ice cap, the lake again became the Monongahela River and the area became an attrative fertile valley. This valley undoubtedly helped draw the early settlers to the area, and to provide the sand and clay for the early glass and pottery industry.