JULY 2009 - Allegheny West Magazine

“Carnot was a country crossroads
which had almost all of Moon
Township’s stores in the early days,”
Ron told the students as the bus
slowly wound through that part of
town where Brodhead and Beaver
Grade Road intersect with University
Boulevard. He said that Moon’s
first church was Sharon Church,
built in 1828 and replaced in 1868.
Moon’s first school was at Carnot,
too.
Ron said that the old Carnot
School was replaced by a four-room
brick building in 1914, which
subsequently burned down in 1948.
The bus went on down the hill to
the valley called Stoops Ferry along
the Ohio River, where the children
saw the stone house built by Andrew
Boggs in 1841.
“Captain William Stoops of
Sewickley bought the house and
moved there in 1869, operating the
ferry back and forth across the river
until he died in 1879. The Stoops
Ferry Railroad Station was built
there in 1879,” he said. When the
highway was constructed along the
river near Stoops Ferry, both
buildings were taken down.
Next stop was the Roselea estate.
Built by Attorney George Shaw in
1907, it was sold several times before
being purchased by Russell and
Nancy Spring Patton, real estate
developers, in 1950. Nancy’s
daughter, Nancy Mills, and her
husband, Richard, continue the
legacy of Roselea. They took the
children to the pasture where they saw and fed the
goats.
As the bus headed out of Roselea, Ron pointed
out the J.R. McCune Mansion across the street,
which was built in 1935, burned down, and was
replaced in 1938. The home is now part of the
Montour Heights Country Club, which opened in
1987.
At the historic Boggs school on the other end of
the township, the children ate lunch and learned
about school in a one-room schoolhouse. They
saw authentic school books from the 1800s that
recreation volunteer Amy D’Ottavio showed
them. Each student also took their turn at placing
their handprint on a large flag that will hang in
the school once the renovation is complete.
Interspersed into the tour was a stop at the Giant
Eagle store, where Jody Januck, store tour guide,
took the children around to each department to
show them how things are different today from
what they were many, many years ago. The children
each received goodies and a bag of treats and
information, and learned about the many departments
that are needed for today’s stores to operate.
It was soon time to disembark from the bus, and
the school day was ending.
McCormick Elementary first graders’ school year
experience ended on a great chapter -- learning more
about this place they call home, taught by one who
can share so much about the children’s hometown --
local historian Ron Potter.
“I hope maybe not now but later the children will
understand and appreciate this,” Ron said.
PICTURED, STARTING TOP LEFT: Ron Potter shows photos of
some of Moon’s old buildings, Amy D’Ottavio of the parks and
recreation board shows the children an original reader book that
children used in the 1800s during their visit to the historic Boggs
school house; teacher Sharon Kuhn listens intently as Ron Potter
tells a story; Pat Potter explains to the students how families once
cooked, slept, and lived in the Coventry Log Cabin; Nancy Mills
helps the children feed the goats at Roselea; the children watch as
cupcakes are decorated by the bakers at Giant Eagle.
TOP: Students, teachers, parents, gather for a photo in front of the
historic Boggs school house, along with Ron and Pat Potter.
To learn more about the Moon Township Historical
Society, call Ron Potter at (412) 264-8096.