Uniontown residents fighting against plans to build Dollar General next to historical home

Residents in Fayette County continue to fight against the possibility of a Dollar General being built next to a historical home and elementary and middle school.

Since 2021, Debby Miller, a Uniontown resident, tells KDKA-TV that she and a group of others have voiced their concerns to the city in hopes of preserving the history on the property at 367 Morgantown Street. 

"(Dollar General is) going to be an eyesore that covers up this architectural gem that we have and it's unnecessary," said Uniontown resident Amy Gartley.

The Craig House was built on the property in the 1870s and was owned by the Craig Family.

"The Craig family played an important role in the early history of Fayette County. Robert Craig was descended from the Honorable John Smilie who was born in Ireland in 1741. He came to this country where he joined the militia when the Revolutionary War broke out," said Chris Buckalew with the Fayette County Historical Society.

"Smilie was fierce in this country. There's a monument of him, I believe, in Philadelphia," Buckalew said.

This week, more than a dozen trees in front of the Craig House were cleared out.

"Every time I looked out my kitchen window, I saw those trees, and I just couldn't believe somebody would do that," Miller said.

"I encourage other people to look at what we currently have here in town and preserve our heritage and our history before it's bought up and gone," Gartley said.

Residents believe a Dollar General will overshadow the history on that property.

"Uniontown was founded on July 4, 1776, along with our country. This was supposed to be part of our 250th celebration. Well, that's not going to be a very nice picture anymore," Miller said.

Miller said in addition to the historical home, she and others fear for students who attend Ben Franklin Elementary and Middle School, which sits just feet away from the property.

Gartley has two children who attend there and said the school pickup and dropoff lines are already congested as it is.

"It's not just the car pickup line alone, which ends up extending clear down Morgantown Street, but we have delivery trucks finding their way through all of this as well," Gartley said.

Miller said residents filed a petition to stop Dollar General from building and claims the city agreed until the property was apparently listed as commercial instead of residential.

"Dollar General told the city that they will sue the city into bankruptcy. They will build this store here," Miller said.

Tim Witt, the solicitor for the city of Uniontown, confirmed to KDKA-TV that there was a question with respect to the initial zoning of the property.

"The lawsuit was resolved. The city acknowledged it would be commercial for that specific project," Witt said.

Witt said multiple permits have been filed and requested for the project.

"That includes a land development plan which has been approved," Witt said.

Right now, there is no parking lot near where a store would be built and the only parking would be along Morgantown Street.

KDKA-TV reached out to PennDOT, which owns and maintains the road. A spokesperson said an application has been made for the location, but the permit hasn't been issued yet.

"They just don't care about anything about our country's history. They don't care about other people's homes, about the children in that school," Miller said.

KDKA-TV reached out to Dollar General to learn how soon the store could be built after a general contractor for the project said on Thursday that the trees were just the first step.

A spokesperson said, "At this time, we are currently in due diligence phase for a new Dollar General location in Uniontown. This means we are reviewing the opportunity to add a new store in Fayette County, but we have not committed to doing so just yet. Based on our current timeline, we anticipate having a final decision by early winter 2026."

"Just in Fayette County alone, I counted on Google over 20 Dollar Generals. That's not counting Family Dollars. That's not counting Dollar Trees. We have walkable access for those who need it, and it's just completely unnecessary, from my standpoint," Gartley said.

"I will fight this to the end," Miller said.

Witt said because the Craig House is on a separate property, it would not be demolished as a result of a store being built next to it. He said there's no estimated timeline for when the Dollar General would be built.