Ritchie and West Parks

        Ritchie Park originally started in 1796 as a grazing land for cattle and other domesticated animals, as Greene County was originally a very agricultural county, selling wool, eggs, meat and horses. However, as the need for grazing land decreased as the number of large farms increased, it was converted into a park in 1883 at the behest of its namesake, J.G. Ritchie.

After WWI a victory parade was held along Ritchie Park, with speeches being given by Judge Ray and Col. Martin, the leader of Company K, which was comprised entirely of Greene County residents who had trained for bayonet charges by charging up and down the stretch of parks.

One prominent feature of Ritchie Park is the Elaine Puglia Memorial Gazebo, which has had two iterations. One had existed around 1894, but was torn down and later reconstructed in 1987 by the Waynesburg Park Commission, of whom Elaine Puglia was a chairwoman who had worked to improve these very parks in Waynesburg.

In the neighboring West Park, not much resides today, yet in 1894, there was a pond complete with steel bridge that was used for ice skating in the winter. Some modern maps still show it despite it being drained years ago.

The signs for all the Parks at Waynesburg University were made by Lake Shore Markers, in Erie, Pennsylvania. They are made of aluminum with an enamel background with a size of 24 by 28 inches. The text for the signs was prepared by Elaine Puglia, of which the one outside Ritchie Park reads “Converted to a Park in 1883 by petition of the Court by J.G. Ritchie.”

Hanna, William. History of Greene County. Waynesburg, Pennsylvania. Hanna Publishing, 1882.

Toothman III, Glenn J.R.T.. Buchanan, Candice L.. Images of America: Waynesburg. Charleston, South Carolina. Arcadia Publishing, 2015.

High, Fred. Waynesburg: Prosperous and Beautiful. Parsons, West Virginia. McClain Printing Company, 1973.