Greene Artifacts: A Fire Damaged Statue

One surviving artifact from the Downey House fire serves as a gripping reminder of the incident. In the aftermath of the fire, the hand from the original statue of Nathanael Greene was discovered. It eventually became part of the collection of the Greene County Historical Society Museum. 

The hand was on display in the GCHS Museum for many years and is now part of an exhibit of Courthouse history on display on the first floor of the Greene County Courthouse. This exhibit was installed by the GCHS in 2022 and showcases historical photographs and artifacts relating to this history of the courthouse. 

Stop by during operating hours to get a glimpse of this artifact and tour the museum. Keep an eye out on the Greene County Historical Society Facebook page and website for information on our upcoming events and presentations, and to stay up to date on new exhibits and other exciting happenings at the GCHS!

About Matt Cumberledge

Matt has been a lifelong resident of Brave, in Wayne Township where his family first settled in the 1770s. Matt graduated from Waynesburg Central High School in 2000, and afterwards worked for Developed Structures Inc, in Waynesburg where he was in charge of quality and control of drawings going to steel fabrication shops throughout the country. Matt then spent 7 years in the Army National Guard, based out of Waynesburg PA, and was deployed to Iraq twice. Following the military, Matt worked for the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections until 2018. He is currently the Greene County Historical Society’s executive director. Matt joined the GreeneScene team in early 2019, as a contributing writer providing the “Going Greene” and “Greene Artifacts” columns, as well as additional articles. “Writing for the GreeneScene has been one of the most fun decisions I have ever made,” according to Matt, “I love the positive nature of the paper and the support it provides to the community.” Outside of work, Matt is involved in many local organizations: Cornerstone Genealogical Society, The Warrior Trail Association, The Mon Yough Chapter of the Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology, Greene County Tourism and several others. Matt is a hobbyist blacksmith, and enjoys doing carpentry work.