Former O-R editor explores Washington County’s mysterious murders
When you read Park Burroughs’ “True Murder Mysteries of Southwestern Pennsylvania,” one fact stands out: Washington County was once a pretty violent place.
In the early part of the 20th century, when Black Hand mobsters terrorized the county’s communities, business owners who crossed them had their stores leveled by dynamite. Others ended up with bullets pumped into their torsos or daggers thrust in their chests.
And that’s setting aside the murders that unfolded due to domestic disputes, card games gone awry or any number of other provocations that led to bloodshed.
Burroughs believes that knowing this give us some perspective about the times in which we live.
“We think we live in a violent world,” said Burroughs, a 71-year-old South Franklin resident and former executive editor of the Observer-Reporter. “But that is not borne out by the statistics. This is probably the most peaceful time in human history.”
“True Murder Mysteries of Southwestern Pennsylvania,” published in October by the History Press, is Burroughs’ second book documenting the area’s most legendary killings, following 2014’s “Washington County Murder and Mayhem: Historic Crimes of Southwestern Pennsylvania.” The stories in “True Murder Mysteries in Southwestern Pennsylvania” were first published in serialized form in the Observer-Reporter, and include the still-unsolved 1796 murder of a girl who lived on a farm near Cross Creek; killings carried out by gangs from Italy; and the disappearance of a local huckster who only left behind a bloodied hat. The tales include archival photos and maps, as well as illustrations by Burroughs, who is also an artist.
Despite having illuminated some of the darkest corners in Washington County’s history, Burroughs is himself not a fan of murder mysteries, and maintains that “True Murder Mysteries of Southwestern Pennsylvania” will be the last time he compiles Washington County’s most dastardly deeds between two covers. Burroughs was drawn to writing about them because he is a history buff, not because he wants to ponder life’s darker sides.
“I just love digging into old newspapers,” Burroughs said. He added, “When I walk around Washington and I look at the old buildings, I just imagine what those buildings were like 100 or 150 years ago.”
“True Murder Mysteries of Southwestern Pennsylvania” also looks at the roles women and other people on the margins played in everyday life 100 or 200 years ago.
“When you read the history textbooks, there is very little about women,” Burroughs said. “It’s always about the great, white, American-born men. That’s not the way history is.”
“True Murder Mysteries of Southwestern Pennsylvania” is available on Amazon, at the Barnes & Noble outlet at South Hills Village and at the Bradford House in Washington and the Washington County Historical Society. Additional information is available at www.historypress.com.