The log house,
which dates back to
approximately 1780,
was moved to the
grounds of the Enoch
Wright House.
Celebrating a
Historical Milestone
The Peters Creek Historical Society celebrates
50 years of history in the community.
BY NICOLE TAFE
Photos submitted by Ruthann Seraly
The Enoch
Wright House,
taken after the
turn of the 19th
century at a
Wright family
reunion.
86 724.942.0940 TO ADVERTISE | Peters Township
T
his year marks a milestone for the
Peters Creek Historical Society as
it celebrates 50 years as a historical
organization in the community.
The Peters Creek Historical Society was
founded in 1967 by a group of individuals
within the Peters Creek watershed—an
area that includes parts of Peters Township,
North Strabane and Nottingham townships
in Washington County, and South Park
Township in Allegheny County. The members
made it their mission to promote the
awareness and preservation of local heritage
by reaching out as speakers at schools, clubs
and churches, acting as tour guides to local
historical sites and in dedications to mark
their significance, some of which include a
heritage monument at Mingo Presbyterian
Church, two brick columns and a marker at
the Finleyville Cemetery, a marker at Ft. Cox
and a plaque commemorating the Cincinnati
Mine Disaster of 1913.
The society found its home in 1975 in the
ancestral house built by Enoch Wright, son
of the pioneer Joshua Wright. Sources say
the house was built for two families, with a
kitchen on each end. The house has 12 rooms,
each with their own fireplaces and the bricks
for the building were manufactured on site.
In the spring of 2003, Peters Creek
Historical Society was gifted a log house
located in West Finley Township in
Washington County that dates back to
approximately 1780. The log house reflects
the story of the pioneer and westward
expansion following the French and Indian
War. With this acquisition, the bylaws of
the Peters Creek Historical Society were
amended to include an additional mission
statement that incorporated “The Museum
of Westward Expansion” at the Enoch Wright
House in 2005. The organization’s mission
now reflects the log house in “living history”
and the property comes alive with the help of
re-enactors who bring history to life in dress,
customs and stories.
The Enoch Wright House, located at
815 Venetia Road, serves as the society’s
headquarters in The Museum of Westward
Expansion, and is a living history museum
in addition to a repository dedicated to
collections of Native American artifacts,
articles related to the fur trader and trapper
period and coal mine history and equipment.
Additionally, one of the kitchens has been
taken back to its original 19th century
“keeping room” period and one of the
upstairs bedrooms houses Wright Family
memorabilia. The house was designated
a National and State Register Historical
Site in 2007, since the Wright family and
Enoch Wright House are examples of Peters