History of Cross Creek Township

Cross Creek Township takes its name from the Cross Creek Watershed, which flows through the heart of our western Washington County Township on its way to the Ohio River in the West Virginia panhandle. Our township has a rich history of rolling farms, some in the same families for over two hundred years. Above the rocky bluffs of Cross Creek is the oldest known human habitation in North America, the rock shelter at Meadowcroft Village, dating back some 13,000 years. We also sit atop the Pittsburgh Coal Seam, one of the richest veins of bituminous coal in the world. In 2005, we marked the beginning of exploration for natural gas and have seen ongoing drilling and natural gas production from the Marcellus Shale and other gas seams.

Historically, our residents have come from many different places, and they brought with them a variety of cultures, faiths and languages. Together they created this community that exists today.

We are called “Cross Creek” because of the creek that flows through almost the middle of Avella. Established in 1789, by early settler, Alexander Wells who established a grist mill in Browntown, which was a landmark for many years. Also a sawmill operated in connection with the grist mill and utilized water power from the Creek.