After a day of Thanksgiving eating, join hikers and history buffs at the Harmony Museum from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 27, for a scenic walk and “history party” commemorating George Washington’s travels through Butler Country in 1753. The event replaces a Harmony Museum commemoration Nov. 28.
Washington, then a 21-year-old major in the Virginia militia, traveled through Pennsylvania Indian country to confront the French who were building forts on land claimed by England and the Virginia Colony. The findings of his trip were instrumental in the start of the French and Indian War less than a year later.
The event starts and ends with Harmony Museum tours and a reception in the museum’s Stewart Hall, at the center of Harmony’s National Historic Landmark District.
Groups of hikers will be taken by bus to a hiking path in Connoquenessing Township that closely follows the Indian path that Washington likely traveled in the winter of 1753. Slippery Rock University history students will serve as guides on a 45-minute hike through the woods. The program is sponsored by the Harmony Museum, The Old Stone House and Washington’s Trail 1753.
Carl Robertson, director of Providence Plantation, will discuss his research on Washington’s fateful journey. Artist Deac Mong will discuss “The First Shot,” depicting a “French Indian” firing the French and Indian War’s first shot at Washington near today’s Evans City. The Harmony Museum and Old Stone House will offer their recently republished book on Washington and guide Christopher Gist’s journals.
Hike departures are scheduled for 11 and 11:45 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. Cost is $5 a person, $12 a family. Reservations are strongly encouraged to secure a hiking time. The first 100 hikers to reserve a spot will receive a free “Washington’s Trail 1753” button. Make reservations by calling the Harmony Museum at 724-452-7341.
