Washington County's Potter's Field Gets International Attention

February 23, 2020

Washington County's Potter's Field Gets International Attention

For decades, more than 1,300 unidentified Washington County residents lie buried in Chartiers Township in a small Potter’s Field, a cemetery for the poor and unclaimed. Thanks to an Associated Press story in the U.S. News & World Report, their story has now reached a worldwide audience.

This field near the Washington County Fairgrounds is very inconspicuous and consists of about 300 little, white markers with numbers. Many people drive past it daily without noticing or giving the cemetery a second thought. However, a few years ago, the graves were mentioned in the news as the Washington County Commissioners negotiated the sale of the adjacent Washington County Health Center. The cemetery is located on the same piece of property, but the commissioners voted to retain ownership of this sacred ground. That's when questions were raised about the identities of those buried in the graves with no names.

I was working for Washington County Commissioner Harlan G. Shober, Jr. at the time and our office looked through old records to identify as many people as possible. It took about two years, but with the help of office staff and the county’s GIS coordinator, we developed a searchable database and map that includes the names of more than 1,300 men, women, and children. Please note that all of the county records couldn't be located, therefore it is believed that there are actually more people buried in the cemetery.

Barbara Miller, a friend and former colleague at the Observer-Reporter in Washington, wrote a story about the project in December of 2019, and there is a link to her story below. Just last week, Tim and I were on our way to Chicago when one of his colleagues in Westmoreland County faxed him an article about the project that appeared in the Western Pennsylvania Cemetery Association’s newsletter. A quick Google search revealed that the story had been picked up by the Associated Press and even appeared in the U.S. News & World Report. Now that the story has reached readers far beyond the borders of Washington County, I hope that someone is able to use the database to locate one of their ancestors and fill in the blanks of their family tree. I am thankful to everyone who worked hard to make this happen.

To search the names of those buried in the cemetery, please click on this link to the Washington County Potter’s Field Searchable Database.

You can search by marker number, name, originating community, cause of death, date of birth, and date of death.

Please note, that in many cases, there is more than one person buried in a single grave.

http://pottersfield.washcopa.org/PottersField/v20190701c/map.html

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Here are a few samples of what researchers will find on the website.