The History of The Washington Area Humane Society

The Washington Area Humane Society (WAHS) was incorporated on March 6, 1906 and Judge John McIlvaine, of Washington County, was among the prominent citizens who signed the original incorporation papers. Through the will of Clara C.B. Lockhart, who died in 1931, a trust was established to initiate a humane society in the county. Clara had a farm in Claysville, PA where she rescued and cared for over 1,000 animals including horses, cats, dogs, and sheep. A lack of interest delayed the use of the Lockhart Trust funds for about 20 years, but in the early 1950s the American Humane Association reactivated the society under the terms of the Lockhart Trust. Rutherford Phillips, of the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, purchased the current property for $16,000, housing the WAHS in Eighty Four under the American Humane Association and operated the shelter from his office in Philadelphia. Mike Kudak was the shelter manager in residence at the Eighty Four site. 

In May 1955 Nelson Morrison was hired as shelter manager and improvements were made to the house and kennel buildings. In 1956 Phillips transferred to the AHA in Denver as executive secretary. Remote operations from Denver were not satisfactory and it was requested that local board and management be established. A reorganization meeting was held April 22, 1968 and the current organization began. Alan Gregg was named administrator in 1969 and a building fund campaign was initiated. With the help of several foundations and many benevolent area individuals, the campaign moved into high gear and the prospect of a new shelter moved closer to reality. The American Humane Association agreed in July 1970 to transfer the title of the property in North Strabane Township, now occupied by the Washington Area Humane Society, to the Washington County Humane Society. The new shelter was built in 1976 and opened in 1977 with Mr. and Mrs. John Chilzer as managers.

Another transition took place in 2000 as the Washington County Humane Society changed its name to the Washington Area Humane Society. This was done, according to WAHS officials, “mainly to end the misconception that the shelter was funded or operated by Washington County.” In that same year the society became a no-kill shelter. in 2016 Kelly Proudfit was hired as the first executive director of the Washington Area Humane Society, and in 2018 the Washington Area Humane Society launched a New Home, New Hope Capital Campaign to raise money for a new 10,000 square foot facility with the cost of 4.6 million dollars. Construction began late 2018 and was completed in December of 2019. The entire project was funded through the success of the campaign and staff and volunteers moved animals up to the new building on the back of the property on December 31, 2019.  The construction and campaign was a complete success and the WAHS hopes to reside in the new facility for decades to come.

Washington Area Humane Society’s board of directors is “dedicated to the well-being and continuation of the shelter as an organization as well as the humane care and placement of the approximately 1,000 animals that pass through its doors each year.”