About this site. Here is some of the history of Rural Valley and nearby areas in and around Cowanshannock Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania that I've gathered up along the way.

The site started out presenting research about my family, but its focus now is on the history and people of the area. It is a work in progress with much more to be added.

Submissions are very welcome! I am grateful to the people who have contributed content to this site. Special thanks go to Linda Repine for donating items from the estate of Mary Elizabeth Caylor, and to Chuck Colton for scanning his family's collection of old photographs and memorabilia.

How to find what you're looking for:

• Browsing: use the menu to see the major topics and their subtopics. (If you're on a mobile device, the menu will be at the bottom of this page.)
• Searching: use the search box at the top of the menu. Here are some search tips:
  • enter a surname, e.g. Casedy, or perhaps a first name and surname, e.g. Samuel Casedy.
  • enter a town name:
    • if the town's name is a single word, e.g. Sagamore or Yatesboro, just enter it.
    • if searching for Rural Valley, use quotes, e.g. "Rural Valley".
    • if searching for NuMine, copy (NuMine OR "Nu Mine") and paste it into the search box. Be sure to include the parentheses.

If you are researching genealogy, check out the obituary collection and the Rural Valley/Cowanshannock family tree.

What's New?

• January 2022: Uploaded the latest version of the Rural Valley/Cowanshannock family tree, which now has 9,483 people. Updated the obituary collection.
• October 2021: Added the 1924 Rural Valley High School yearbook - see the Schools entry on the main menu.
• August 2021: Added an article from the Indiana Evening Gazette about the history of the Rural Valley Methodist Church. Added a link to the pictures of service members on the Main Street troop banners (see Pictures of People). Uploaded the latest version of the Rural Valley/Cowanshannock family tree, which now has 8,548 people.
• July 2021: Added the 1960 Shannock Valley High School yearbook, kindly donated by Chuck Colton.
• May 2021: Added pictures from the Peoples National Bank calendars.
• April 2021: Rural Valley/Cowanshannock Valley family tree software (Humo-Gen) has been updated. Now you can zoom in on images and download them to your own device.
• March 2021: Uploaded the latest version of the Rural Valley/Cowanshannock Valley family tree, which now has 7,900 people.
• February 2021: Added the 1951 Shannock Valley High School yearbook, kindly donated by Mary Jane (Otte) Woodward.

Most Wanted!

• Historical pictures are always welcome. It would be great to have more pictures of mines, miners, athletes and sports teams.
• Do you have any copies of the old Rural Valley Advance up in the attic? Maybe we can figure out a way to scan them for posterity. Update - a collection of over 300 RV Advances has been found!