Dec 31, 2018 1 min read

David Hoge plot map

Town development in early Western Pennsylvania was usually done by an enterprising individual who chose a strategic location to purchase in hopes of economic advantage, wrote author R. Eugene Harper. David Hoge, sheriff of Cumberland County, was one such man, buying three tracts of land at “Catfish Camp,” where early Virginia settlers gathered.

Learning that a new county would be created in 1781 he built a cabin at Catfish Camp and developed the plot map for a town named Bassett Town. The first property titled by deed was designated for a courthouse and jail, selling for five shillings (67 cents in today’s currency). Today’s courthouse and jail stand on this property. In 1784 the town was replotted and named in honor of George Washington.

Hoge never moved to Washington but sent his sons John and William to be trusted proprietors of the land development. The brothers remained lifelong residents and community leaders.

Linda Zelch is a volunteer for Washington County Historical Society and a member of the antiquities committee.