Rain Day Festival

The Rain Day Festival is held every year on July 29th it is a street fair in the heart of town, live entertainment on the courthouse steps, arts and crafts booths, hometown food booths, children’s games and assorted other diversions – including an umbrella decorating contest. Best of all, the admission is free! www.raindayfestival.com

It all started during the late 1800’s at JT Rogers & Co Drug store on High Street (the main street in Waynesburg, PA. An unknown local farmer remarked to pharmacist William Allison, that it always seems to rain on his birthday, July 29th. This comment inspired Allison to keep an annual record of the rainfall on that day.

After recent research in July 2019, This “Unknown farmer” is now known as Caleb Ely who was born on July 29th, 1829 in Washington County. Son of Jonas and Euphen (Wilson) Ely. He enlisted in Company F, 44th Regiment, 1st Cavalry of the Pennsylvania Volunteers. In 1863 Caleb was wounded during heavy fighting in Auburn Va. He was sent to the rear and spent the remainder of his 3 year enlistment under more peaceful conditions. At the end of the way he returned home. He married Miss Elizabeth Patterson. Caleb spent the remainder of his life on his farm and making periodic trips to Waynesburg and regular visits to the drug store operated by Mr. Allision. It was Caleb, who always mentioned in the 1890’s to Mr. Allison it always seemed to rain on his birthday.

Caleb died in Oak Forest, Center Township on May 4, 1915 at the age of 85 years and buried at the Fairall United Methodist Church in Whitely Township. Read more on Caleb Ely here.

William’s brother, Albert, continued recording the event. Then, sometime during the 1920’s, the record keeping was taken over by the late Byron Daily.

Rain Day would have remained a local phenomenon if it hadn’t been for the efforts of the late Waynesburg newsman John O’Hara, who began sending Rain Day stories to other newspapers in the 1930’s. For many years, the only observances of Rain Day were a brief ceremony on the Courthouse steps, the annual hat bet between Byron Daily’s son, John, and a national or regional celebrity. Today, newspapers, TV and radio stations from around the world contact Waynesburg every July 29th to learn if it has indeed rained.

Rain Day has so much history and meaning to this Greene County town. The festivities are silenced each year to pay a moment’s tribute to the men of Company K, 2nd Battalion, 110th Infantry – a battalion from Waynesburg that lost men in France during World War I on Rain Day, 1918. Nearly half of the 250 Greene County men were either killed or wounded on that day. As John O’Hara once wrote, “On that Rain Day in 1918, it rained bullets on the men of Company K”. 18 local Greene County soldiers who were killed in action or died of their wounds following the battle of July 29, 1918 in WWI. The first soldier being James Leo Farrell on July 28th, who was preparing for the July 29th battle when his headquarters was bombed. There were 58 Greene County fatalities in WWI.
For more information go to www.raindayboys.com

We hope you can Join us on this day! We have so much to do for all ages! Music, Food, games, Dunk booth, petting zoo, Children’s activities and ending the night with fireworks!