Rices Landing has plenty to offer outdoor enthusiasts

By Ken Yonek
For the Mon Valley Independent

By way of introduction, I grew up in the Lower Mon Valley, the home of the steel mills and densely populated, blue-collar industrial towns.
I’ve been involved in various community groups in the Mid-Mon Valley for several years and I can find my way from California to Monongahela without a GPS.
But the more rural Mon Valley, south of Fredericktown, is pretty much unknown territory to me. When I heard about the Riverfest in Rices Landing I thought I’d pay it a visit.
Rices Landing goes back to 1786 when John Rice purchased land along what is now Pumpkin Run. He named the community he built Rices Landing. It was once a busy town of shops and trading posts which made a living off the trees, clay, sand, coal and river transportation available in the area.
It’s quieter now but still a very pretty place on the river.
The Riverfest, an annual two-day celebration, began in 1976. However, as often happens in volunteer groups, the original organizers aged and passed on and there was a hiatus of several years while time waited for new organizers to step up.

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