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, and also for seeking out other resources to add to the site.

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?

• November 2022: Added "Memories of the Rural Valley Bakery" album ("Pictures of Places" tab). with pictures kindly donated by Mitch Christoff. Added panoramic photos of the Rural Valley/Yatesboro area ("Pictures of Places" tab), circa 1954-1955 and in the 1970s, kindly donated by the Spera family.
• September 2022: Miscellaneous pictures kindly donated by Greg Rearick. New feature: family records sections from area family Bibles (see "The Genealogy Corner") from my personal collection, plus images from a Marshall Bible donated by Greg Rearick.
• August 2022: Uploaded the latest version of the Rural Valley/Cowanshannock tree, which now has 10,477 people. Updated the obituary collection. Added an album of pictures of the 1977 tornado (see "Pictures of Places") kindly donated by Greg Rearick. Added a 1934 profile and brief history of Atwood (see "Civic Histories").
• June 2022: Added "History of the Town of Rural Village" by D. E. Kirk (David E. Kirkpatrick), kindly donated by Greg Rearick. Added a photo of Curly Moore Chevrolet, kindly donated by Keith Moore. Added photos kindly donated by Mitch Christoff.
• May 2022: Added Peters family pictures, kindly donated by Carol Rearick Hall. Added a history of the Rural Valley Advance newspaper.
• April 2022: Uploaded the latest version of the Rural Valley/Cowanshannock family tree, which now has 10,057 people. Updated the obituary collection.
• March 2022: Added miscellaneous family pictures, kindly donated by Beverly Stewart and Chuck Colton.
• February 2022: Added the Marken-Pennsy family album ("Pictures of People" tab), kindly donated by Alan McGill.
• January 2022: Uploaded the latest version of the Rural Valley/Cowanshannock family tree, which now has 9,483 people. Updated the obituary collection.

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!
• Family records sections from old family Bibles.