History & local legend
Darlington's Old Shot Tower was a tall wooden building across Third Street from Greersburg Academy. A legend collected by Tony Lavorgne centers on Mary, a woman who lived there and fell in love with a man who left for South America as a missionary. Before sailing, he promised to return.
Mary waited at her window, rocking in a chair and watching the street. The years passed, the man did not come back, and in the story she eventually died still waiting. Neighbors said her figure continued to appear at the window afterward.
The building later became a wagon workshop. On April 28, 1898, it collapsed shortly after wagon maker George Yutes had stepped outside. Local storytellers supplied an ending that matched Mary's long vigil: perhaps, they said, she had finally given up waiting.
