The Borough of Dunbar, Fayette County, Pennsylvania is a small borough of just a little over 1,000 residents. The town is named after Col. Thomas Dunbar, an English force commander that battled at nearby Jumonville and then onto Philadelphia after suffering defeat by the French and Indians.

Nestled in the foothills of the Laurel Highlands, at approximately 39°58′36″N 79°36′53″W with an elevation of approximately 1, 012 ft above sea level Dunbar has one tributary flowing to the Youghiogheny River, a lenape, which ultimately leads to the Ohio River and into the Mississippi River. Dunbar Borough is approximately 0.606638 square miles of land and approximately 8.9 miles of roadway.

The Borough of Dunbar has a very rich history, of which, there is a fantastic description provided by our Dunbar Historical Society. In short, Dunbar Borough was a very bustling town at one time with a population in the early 1900’s nearly double what it is today. Dunbar was pivotal during the industrial revolution for the production of coke to support steel production in Pittsburgh, wire glass, rail yards, bluestone, and much more.

In the earliest days, Dunbar Borough was a town that you could come to and not have to leave. There were churches, theaters, multiple banks, grocery stores, bakeries, confectionery, clothing store, butcher shop, and many bars and restaurants. If you did have to leave town, there was no need for a car as Dunbar had a trolley system in place to connect you to just about anywhere.