Gettysburg Campaign

Adams County, PA

Marker Text: The Battle of Gettysburg began here the morning of July 1, 1863, when Union cavalry scouts under Gen. Buford met Gen. Hill's army advancing from the west. Arrival of Gen. Ewell's army that afternoon drove Union troops to south of the town.

Location: On U.S. Route 30 at the western approach to Gettysburg. Erected by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in 1947.

View of the marker looking west toward Cashtown.  Confederate troops appeared along this road.  Click any photo to enlarge.

  As you approach Gettysburg from the west. On U.S. Route 30 from Chambersburg and Cashtown you enter Gettysburg on northwest side of town, you come to the statue of Brig. Gen. John Buford where the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg began. Today, the field where the Battle of Gettysburg was fought is covered by hundreds of markers, monuments, and memorials to the men from both sides that fought here between July 1-3, 1863.

Statue of Buford located across road from the marker, looking west on U.S. Route 30.

  Like, this state historical marker, it is only one of a few state historical markers located in and near the battlefield telling the visitor of the events related to the battle. I have photographed many Battle of Gettysburg monuments, but someone could spend several weeks photographing all the monuments and several years writing a blog telling the stories of this battle alone.

  On June 30, 1863, Union Cavalry under the command of Brigadier General John Buford entered Gettysburg, PA. Buford realized that the high ground south of the town would be key in any battle fought in the area. He recognized that any combat involving his cavalry division would be a delaying action at best. Buford ordered his men to dismount and posted his troopers on the low ridges north and northwest of this location with the goal of buying time for the army to come up and occupy the heights.

Gettysburg Campaign

Adams County, PA

Marker Text: Crossing South Mountain from Chambersburg, Gen. Hill's Corps of Lee's army assembled here on June 29-30, 1863. On July 1, his advance guard moved up from near Marsh Creek and met Union troops west of Gettysburg.

Location: On old Route 30 (Chambersburg Road) just west of SR 3011, north of Cashtown about eight miles west of Gettysburg, PA. Erected by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in 1947.

  When I was a kid and my parents first took me to Gettysburg, I remember passing the Cashtown Inn on the way to Gettysburg. At the time I was unaware that Confederate General Robert E. Lee had stopped here with his army as they traveled toward Gettysburg. At the same time, Lee was unaware that his army would soon be engaged in one of the bloodiest battles and a turning point in the Civil War.

Marker is west of the Cashtown Inn and photo taken looking east toward Gettysburg.  Click any photo to enlarge.

  On June 29, 1863 the residents of this small community about 8 miles west of Gettysburg probably thought the whole Rebel army had arrived in their town when the soldiers of Lt. Gen. A.P. Hill's Third Corps suddenly descended from the eastern ridgeline. To Cashtown Innkeeper Jacob Mickley, who witnessed the spectacle, it appeared as if “the entire force under Lee...passed within twenty feet of my barroom.”

  Including a brief occupation by Confederate cavalry under Jeb Stuart in October 1862, this was the second time in less than a year that the Rebels had invaded Cashtown* (*Cashtown Inn gave its name to the peaceful crossroads village where the inn was built circa 1797. The name Cashtown was derived from the business practices of the first innkeeper, Peter Marck, who had insisted on cash payments for the goods he sold and the highway tolls he collected.)

Cashtown Inn, Civil War Trails marker is on the left of the Inn and a photo of the marker and text is below.

  During the Gettysburg Campaign, Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia had surged across southern Pennsylvania at will until June 28. Until June 28, 1863, Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia had met little resistance to their entering Pennsylvania, then later that day, scouts informed Lee that the Union army was north of the Potomac River and coming his way. Quickly Lee ordered his scattered army to concentrate at Cashtown, which stood strategically on his supply line back to Virginia. Within hours, legions of lean Rebel soldiers descended from Cashtown Gap.

Confederate Conference

Franklin County, PA

Marker Text: On June 26, 1863, Gen. Robert E. Lee and staff entered this square. After conferring with Gen. A.P. Hill near the middle of the "Diamond," Lee turned eastward and made headquarters at the edge of town.

Location: On the Southwest quadrant of public square in Chambersburg, PA in front of the Presbyterian Church. Erected by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in 1953.

  As Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army arrived in Pennsylvania they entered the town of Chambersburg, PA which was a logical destination when traveling north through the Shenandoah Valley. The first Confederate troops to arrive was Confederate General Albert G. Jenkins' cavalry brigade who entered Chambersburg on June 15^th. They only stayed briefly expecting the appearance of new Union troops. Jenkins' cavalry returned to Chambersburg on June 24, after the arrival of the infantry division of Robert Rodes and the following day Edward Johnson's brigades also passed through Chambersburg and encamped near Rodes' veterans.

Marker is in front of the Presbyterian Church and the town square is in the background.  Road leading east to Gettysburg is in the background to the right of the courthouse.  Click any photo to enlarge.

  On Friday, June 26, General Richard S. Ewell's two divisions north of town broke camp and headed north up the Cumberland Valley toward Carlisle. About eight o'clock on the morning of June 26, Harry Heth's Division of Lee's Third Corps marched into Chambersburg, turned east in this square, then headed out the Gettysburg road as far as Fayetteville, where the men made camp.

Gettysburg Campaign

Franklin County, PA

Marker Text: Here on June 22, 1863, the First N.Y. Cavalry attacked the Southern advance force of cavalry under Gen. A.G. Jenkins. Here died the first Union soldier killed in action in Pennsylvania. Corporal William H. Rihl of Philadelphia, serving in a Pennsylvania unit assigned to the New York regiment.

Location: On U.S. Route 11, just North of Greencastle, PA. Erected by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in 1964.

  The main Confederate invasion of Pennsylvania began on the morning of June 22, 1863 when Richard S. Ewell's Second Corps of Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia vacated their camps in Maryland and headed north across the Mason-Dixon Line. On that day, Confederate Brigadier General Albert G. Jenkins' cavalry brigade again was the advance force that crossed the state border into Pennsylvania. Jenkins' men had earlier on June 15 had entered Pennsylvania to conduct scouting duties.

Photo taken looking north on Route 11 toward Chambersburg.  Monument to Rihl across the road.  Click any photo to enlarge.

  The Confederate troops rode into the undefended town of Greencastle early that morning, then halted to await the slower advance of General Robert E. Rodes' foot soldiers. Some time that morning, one of Jenkins' patrols encountered D. K. Appenzellar, a young Pennsylvanian who was on his way to Chambersburg to enroll in the militia. When asked by Jenkins' men whether he knew of any Yankee military movements in the area, Appenzellar lied. He said that while in Chambersburg the day before he had learned that the Army of the Potomac's first popular commander, General George B. McClellan, had been placed in charge of the state's defenses and was marching south from Harrisburg with 40,000 men.

Windber Strike of 1922-23

Somerset County, PA

Marker Text: Windber-area Berwind White workers joined a national strike by United Mine Workers of America in April 1922 for improved wages and working conditions, civil liberties, and recognition. The strike lasted 16 months; families of strikers were evicted from company housing. A City of New York inquiry exposed deplorable living and working conditions and urged nationalization of coal mines.

Location:  On Graham Avenue (PA Route 160) and between 13th & 15th Streets in Miner's Park, Windber, Pennsylvania in Somerset County across from the Arcadia Theater near prior marker post “Windber.” Erected by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in 2003.

"We are no longer slaves and we are done loading three ton for two. We will never return under a scab system. We want union to protect our rights."
Striking miners at Windber, April 10, 1922

  Similar to my prior posts about the Battle of Blair Mountain and William Blizzard in West Virginia other conflicts between miners and coal companies occurred throughout the U.S. in the early 20^th century. A year after the Battle of Blair Mountain, miners in Windber, PA went on strike in 1922 to gain union recognition, preserve their pay rates, and have coal that they dug weighed accurately so they would be paid fairly by the ton.

Marker is in Miner’s Park the old train station in background, now a visitor’s center.  Click any photo to enlarge.

  These men were part of a much larger, national strike. Coal operators and the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) had agreed in 1919 to wage increases and other gains for workers, however, when the contract expired on March 31, 1922, coal operators were determined to roll back any gains. No agreement could be reached, so John L. Lewis, president of the UMWA, led some 610,000 miners out on strike during the first week of April, 1922. This was the first national strike by both anthracite and bituminous miners. The nonunion miners in Windber also fought for the right to have the UMWA bargain collectively for them and to end the autocratic control that the Berwind-White Coal Mining Company had over the mines and the community of Windber.

  UMWA leaders knew that having nonunion miners turn out was critical to winning the strike and the mostly immigrant miners in Windber wanted union help to win union recognition and curb owners power. Most of the miners in Somerset County are Poles, Russians, Slovaks, Hungarians, with a few Welsh and very few Irish. Many of them have been there for many years. In some instances, two generations have been working in these mines and the second generation is just as poor as was the first.

Meadville

Crawford County, PA

Marker Text: Founded in 1788 by David Mead and other settlers from the Wyoming region. In 1800 made county seat. First direct primary in U.S. held here in 1842. Making of hookless fasteners was pioneered here.

Location: On U.S. Route 322 near southern city limits of Meadville, PA. Erected by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in 1946.

  Today's marker is about Meadville, PA which is one of many communities which I have a personal fondest. I along with actress Sharon Stone were born here in Meadville, though I never meet her, at least, as far as I know. After graduate school I came back to live in Meadville for about eight years and Meadville was where I meet my best friend and wife. My grandfather operated a garage and gas station in Meadville during the 1950-60's.

  The city of Meadville is the county seat of Crawford County, PA and is about 40 miles south of Erie, PA. It was the first permanent settlement in northwest Pennsylvania. Today, Meadville's population is about 13,388 according to the 2010 census.

Photo taken looking north on Route 322 toward Meadville. Channellock tools company plant is on the left in the photo.  Click any photo to enlarge.

  Meadville was founded on May 12, 1788 by a party of settlers led by David Mead who came from the Wyoming Valley, a region in northeastern Pennsylvania, today it includes the metropolitan areas of Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, PA. Meadville's location was chosen because it lies at the confluence of Cussewago Creek and French Creek and is only a day's travel by boat to the safety of Fort Franklin. Around 1800, many of the settlers to the Meadville area came after receiving land grants for their service in the American Revolutionary War.

Ida M. Tarbell

Crawford County, PA

Marker Text: Noted oil historian, biographer of Lincoln, journalist, lived in this house about six years. She was graduated from the Titusville High School in 1875.

Location: At 324 East Main Street (PA Route 27), Titusville, PA. Erected by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in 1954.

  "Muckrakers" was the name that Theodore Roosevelt gave journalists of the early part of the 20th century who exposed abuses in American business and government. Ida Tarbell, one of the original muckrakers, was able to help shut down the Standard Oil Company monopoly that had hampered her father's efforts in the oil industry in Pennsylvania. Standard Oil founder John D. Rockefeller, irked by her stinging éxpose, dubbed her "Miss Tarbarrel."

At the time I took the photo in 2009, the Tarbell home was being restored.  Click any photo to enlarge.

  Ida Minerva Tarbell was born in a log cabin on a farm in Erie County, Pennsylvania, on Nov. 5, 1857. Her parents were Franklin S. Tarbell and Esther Ann McCullough Tarbell. When oil was discovered in Pennsylvania, Ida's father became the first manufacturer of wooden oil tanks after oil was discovered not far from this home in Titusville, PA. The Tarbell family first moved to Rouseville, a village on Oil Creek south of Titusville and later to this house in Titusville.

  Ida was still very young when the family moved to Rouseville to take advantage of Pennsylvania's budding oil industry. In school, Ida became fascinated by her science classes. At Titusville conditions were better for the girl, who was sent to good schools and graduated from Titusville High School and later to Allegheny College in Meadville, PA, located west of Titusville in the same county. At Allegheny College she majored in biology, where she received the A. B. degree in 1880, the only woman to graduate in a class of forty and then earned the M. A. degree in 1883.

  After graduation Miss Tarbell taught school for some time at Poland, Ohio, but she was not in her element and found little to challenge her there. She was asked to do some work for The Chautauquan. Eventually she became managing editor of the publication and stayed for eight years.

Searight's Tollhouse

Fayette County, PA

Marker Text: Erected by Pennsylvania, in 1835, to collect tolls on the National Road.
Administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.

Location: On the site Searight's Tollhouse on U.S. Route 40 (National Pike) between Lacy Road & Dearth/Canistra Roads, 5 miles Northwest of Uniontown, PA between Uniontown and Brownsville, PA.

Toll House
Fayette County, PA

Marker Text: One of the six original toll houses on the Cumberland or National Road. It was built by the State after the road was turned over to it by the U.S. in 1835. The road was completed through this section in 1817-18.

Location: On the U.S. Route 40 (National Road), near Dearth/Canistra Roads, five miles northwest of Uniontown, PA. Erected by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in 1947.

  Today's post is covers two related markers referring to the same old toll house on the old National Pike or Road. The two markers are only about 150 yards from each other. I wonder why the standard state historical marker is not located at the site of the toll house rather than further south.

State marker is east of the toll house which can be seen in the distance on the left.  Photo taken looking west on U.S. Route 40.  Click any photo to enlarge.

  I have taken photos of three existing toll houses on the old National Road. Each toll house is similar in design, but each made from different materials, one in Maryland (which I posted earlier) is wood frame structure. Another in Petersburg, PA (Addison) is made with hand cut limestone. Today's toll house is build of brick. Older photos of Searight's Tollhouse can be found at this link.

  Searight's Tollhouse received its name from its location near the village of Searights, named for its most prominent citizen, William Searight. Searight was one of the wealthiest men in the region of Fayette County, PA during the first half of the nineteenth century. Searight used his political connections to land the position of Commissioner of the Cumberland Road (National Road) for the state of Pennsylvania in 1842.

Franklin County

Town of Chambersburg, PA

Marker Text: Formed on September 9, 1784 from Cumberland County and named for Benjamin Franklin. Site of Falling Spring, noted limestone trout stream. Birthplace of James Buchanan, 15th President of the United States. Chambersburg, county seat, was laid out 1764.

Location: County Courthouse, Memorial Square (N. Main St.), corner of U.S. Route 11 & 30, Chambersburg, PA. Erected by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in 1981.

The front of the Franklin Co. Courthouse can be seen to the left of the marker.  Click any photo to enlarge.

  While taking photos of historical markers, I have noticed that each state deals differently with how they place markers related to the historical background of individual counties. In Virginia and West Virginia, they place markers related to counties at the borders between counties, so there are as many county markers as there a roads entering a county. Where in Pennsylvania and Kentucky place county related markers in front of the county courthouse. I generally don't photograph multiple county markers, unless I notice the text is different between markers, like I noticed with two Warren County, VA markers I posted earlier.

Marker is in the town square of Chambersburg in front of the courthouse, the Underground Railroad marker is located in the background.

  In Pennsylvania, today's marker was taken in Chambersburg, PA in Franklin County. From an historical point of view Franklin County and Chambersburg is full of history. John Brown stayed here for awhile prior to his raid on Harper's Ferry. Franklin County was at the center of Underground Railroad activities. Franklin County was the birthplace of Jame Buchanan the only U.S. President to date to come from Pennsylvania. Chambersburg was one of few northern towns invaded by the Confederates during the U.S. Civil War and almost completely destroyed by the Confederate army of Gen. James McCausland in 1864, the only northern town to experience this degree of destruction. Many of these events have individuals markers and some I will post later or have posted.

Freedom Road

Mercer County, PA

Marker Text: In search of freedom, men and women brought from the South by the "Underground Railroad" settled near here about 1825 and later. After 1850, most of them went on to Canada. Their cemetery, still in use, lies a short distance above the road.

Location: On U.S. Route 62 southeast of Stoneboro, PA, southwest of Sandy Lake across from the Stoneboro Fairgrounds. Erected by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in 1947.

Marker next to Route 62 with Stoneboro Fairgrounds in the background.  Click any photo to enlarge.

  The location of this marker indicates the former presence of a old African-American community and the remains of an old cemetery left behind by this community dating back between 1825 to 1850. This marker is related to other markers informing the traveler to the early efforts to establish an underground railroad for escaping slaves.

  In 1820, the Pennsylvania legislature adopted a personal liberty law that aimed to protect African-American residents from being kidnapped by southern slave catchers. This law was amended and strengthened in 1826. Following these changes, free African-Americans or escaped slaves felt more confident residing in Pennsylvania.

Flora Black (1870-1951)

Somerset County, PA

Marker Text: On this farm lived Flora Black, a civic leader active in the county and Commonwealth. Here on October 14, 1914, she organized the Society of Farm Women of Pennsylvania. In the ensuing years, groups in many Pennsylvania counties became Society affiliates, in furtherance of its aim to strengthen the role of farm women and promote better conditions in farm homes across the Commonwealth.

Location: On U.S. Route 219, three miles northwest of Meyersdale, PA.  Erected by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in 2006. Note: This marker may have been a replacement for an earlier marker dedicated in 1989.

"Being it is necessary and advisable to perpetuate that which was good in the pioneer homes of our grandmothers; and to preserve their spirit of patriotism and sacrifice; to foster a love for the farm and rural life of today; to uphold the dignity of farming, to teach the responsibility that lies in working the soil; to enhance the charm of a real country home; therefore to create and maintain organized groups to accomplish these ends, we, the Society of Farm Women of Pennsylvania, do associate ourselves together and adopt this constitution" Preamble, Official Bylaws and Constitution, Society of Farm Women, 1951.

Photo taken looking north on Route 219.  Click any photo to enlarge.

  Flora Snyder was born in Somerset, PA on February 20, 1870. As a girl growing up in rural Pennsylvania, she helped her mother and learned the skills necessary to be a good wife and mother. After attending schools in Somerset, Snyder went to the Maryland College for Women. In 1883, she married Franklin B. Black and assumed the duties of a rural wife and mother of four children. She applied the knowledge she learned as a youngster to keep her family's home. She did miss the social networks she had experienced during her college years. Mrs. Black became convinced that farm women should also have time to get together for "fun and learning."

Richard Henderson

Crawford County, PA

Marker Text: Born a slave in Maryland in 1801, he escaped as a boy and about 1824 came to Meadville. A barber, he was long active in the Underground Railroad. His Arch Street house, since torn down, is estimated to have harbored some 500 runaway slaves prior to the Civil War.

Location: At the corner of Liberty and Arch Streets, next to Bethel AME Church, Meadville, PA.  Erected by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in 1980.

  When the Richard Henderson marker above was approved in 1980, it represented only the third time a African American Pennsylvanian had been honored by a state historical marker.

Bethel A.M.E. Church is on the left of the marker and faces Liberty Street, Arch Street is on the right. Click any photo to enlarge.

  According to Meadville tradition, Richard Henderson was the first permanent black resident of Meadville. Richard had escaped from slavery at the age of 15 with his two brothers and a sister. The brothers survived, but the sister died after catching pneumonia during the journey. One of the Henderson brothers continued north to Canada. The other two, Richard and Robert, established a barbershop in town.

  Richard Henderson's residence was located near this marker according to a 1875 Meadville map his home would have been across the street from the church about three houses east of the church on Arch Street. His home operated as a station along the Underground Railroad and is estimated to have aided some 500 runaway slaves.

Arch Street is on the right and according to 1875 map, Henderson’s home would have been located approximately where the yellow house is across from the church in the photo.

  While his brother Robert eventually left to establish his own barbershop in nearby Brookville, Richard remained in Meadville. There, he was a leader in the local Underground Railroad network from the 1830s to the 1860s. Abolitionist John Brown lived north of Meadville until 1835 and did came to Meadville often. He helped to establish other stations for the Underground Railroad in the surrounding area. Though I did not find any specific evidence of a connection and it is very likely that John Brown and Richard Henderson knew each other in regard to Underground Railroad operations and may have learned from each other.

  Richard Henderson was a prominent member of the African American community, where he helped to form Meadville's Bethel A.M.E. Church in 1849 (where this marker is located) and served as an early trustee. Richard Henderson married twice. His second wife, Mary, was born in Erie, PA in 1821. Together they raised two sons, Edward and Lincoln. Edward Henderson recalled that he saw his parents provided shelter and a hiding place in their home for as many as twenty fugitives at a time. Richard Henderson died in 1880 at the age of 79 and is buried in Meadville.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution No Derivatives license.

Desegregation of Pennsylvania Schools

Crawford County, PA

Marker Text: An event here in September 1880 led to the end of segregation by race in the state's public schools. At the South Ward schools, Elias Allen tried unsuccessfully to enroll his two children. He appealed to the Crawford County Court of Common Pleas, and Judge Pearson Church declared unconstitutional the 1854 state law mandating separate schools for Negro children. This law was amended, effective July 4, 1881, to prohibit such segregation.

Location: On South Main Street in front of The Second District School, Meadville, PA. Erected by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in 2000.

  My last post about school integration during the 1950's in what was called “Massive Resistance” over segregation within Virginia schools was only one event in many years of struggle to integrate public schools. The first struggles to integrate public schools began less than 20 years after the end of the Civil War, like this marker located in Meadville, PA indicates.

Photo taken looking south on S. Main Street in Meadville, PA. Click any photo to enlarge.

  On May 8, 1854, Governor William Bigler signed Pennsylvania's common school law creating “separate schools for the tuition of negro and mulatto children.” Twenty-six years later in September 1880, Elias Allen, an African American living in Meadville, Crawford County, challenged the legislation by trying unsuccessfully to enroll his two children in the South Ward school in Meadville. The following year he adamantly refused to send his son to an all-Black school to which the county’s school board had assigned him.

Underground Railroad Activity in Chambersburg

Franklin County, PA

Marker Text: Throughout the pre-Civil War period, there were a number of Underground Railroad "stations" in this area, temporary places of refuge for former slaves escaping through the mountainous terrain to freedom in the North. One local Underground Railroad agent was a free black barber, Henry Watson, who assisted fugitive slaves as they passed through Chambersburg, helping to keep them safe and undetected by the slave-catchers and bounty hunters searching for them.

Location: Main St. & U.S. Route 30 (Lincoln Highway), on the Northeast quadrant of the "diamond," in downtown Chambersburg. Erected by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in 2002.

  Today's marker is one of many historical markers related to the Underground Railroad, as it was to be called. Many communities in Pennsylvania were located just north of the Mason-Dixon line and were natural locations for involvement in the Underground Railroad movement.

  There would probably be hundreds of historical markers about the Underground Railroad in Pennsylvania, if we knew of their existence, therefore no historical markers will ever commemorate their actions. Maintaining records by the people involved about the activities of the Underground Railroad would have been potentially dangerous for the persons helping African-American slaves escape and the escapees themselves, so few records exist. Through later local stories told by residents following the Civil War and the limited number of records that were maintained, we today know about possible routes fugitive slaves would have followed on their journey. What appears clear, however, is that people with widely different backgrounds from across Pennsylvania contributed to the success of the Underground Railroad. They did so at considerable risk, but most remained surprisingly defiant despite the dangers.

Windber

Somerset County, PA

Marker Text: Founded 1897 by the Berwind-White Coal Mining Co. Distinctive among bituminous coal towns, this community had a large independent center surrounded by 13 "patch towns." Among notable structures built by Berwind-White were the Wilmore Building here (1914) and Arcadia Theatre across the street (1919). Thousands of immigrants came across here to work the mines; largest in output was Eureka Mine #40, 2 miles NW. Company mining ceased, 1962

Location: At the intersection of Graham Avenue (Pennsylvania Route 160) and 15th Street near street address, 501 15th St., Windber. Erected by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in 1999.

  Today's marker I discovered while specifically looking for markers about Alan Freed and Johnny Weissmuller, both whom lived here during their childhood. On the same street there were two other markers. I did not know anything about “Windber” and the other marker the “Windber Strike of 1922-23” before my visit.

  Windber is a borough in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, eight miles south of Johnstown. It was at one time a place of industrial activities which included coal mining, lumber, and the manufacture of fire brick. In 1897, the community was founded as a company town by Charles and Edward Julius Berwind owners of the Berwind Corporation based in Philadelphia, PA.

Erie Extension Canal

Mercer County, PA

Marker Text: Route of travel and trade, Pittsburgh to Great Lakes, 1840-1871. Important to the western Pennsylvania iron industry before the rise of the railroads. The only remaining canal lock still stands in Sharpsville.

Location: West of the intersection with PA Route 18 & 518 on Route 518, east of Sharpsville. Erected by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in 1946.

Second Marker Text: Route of travel and trade, Pittsburgh to Great Lakes, 1840-1871. Important to the western Pennsylvania iron industry before the rise of the railroads. Lock #10, a guard lock, represents the only remaining canal lock.

Location: In front of the park where this canal is located. East High Street Extension along the route going to the Shenango Dam. Project sponsored by: PA Department of Community Affairs State P-500 Bond Program.

  For today's posting there are two markers making reference to the same remaining canal lock on the Erie Extension Canal. One marker is near Hermitage, PA at the turn going west to Sharpsville where the lock is located. There is a similar, but smaller marker in front of the park leading to the only remaining lock. The complete masonry remains of Erie Extension Lock number 10 are preserved in a public park with picnic grounds and fishing facilities.

Alan Freed (1921-1965)

Somerset County, PA

Marker Text: Disc jockey who coined the term “Rock & Roll” in the early 1950s. Freed used the term to describe up-tempo black rhythm and blues records he played as DJ “Moondog” on his radio show. Freed further popularized this music through TV programs, movies, and concerts, including what is considered to be the nation’s first Rock & Roll concert (1952). Raised in Windber, Freed was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.

Location: At Miner’s Park, near corner of Graham Avenue and 13th Street, Windber, PA. Erected by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in 2003.

“He coined the phrase ‘rock and roll,’ and not only sparked the trend but fanned it into flame.” (Quote about Freed from article in Pageant magazine in July, 1957)

  Alan Freed, a well-known disc jockey was commonly referred to as the "father of rock and roll.” Freed is credited with popularizing the term “rock and roll” to describe the music style as he used the phrase in his public radio broadcasts in Cleveland, Ohio. The term rock and roll had been used in songs by other famous artists at the time prior to Freed using it.

Bonnet Tavern

Bedford County, PA

Marker Text: This inn at the junction of the Forbes and Burd Roads was operated, 1779-1815, by Jean Bonnet and his heirs. In mid-1794, during the Whiskey Rebellion, embattled farmers met here and raised a liberty pole to protest the federal excise tax on whiskey. That October, troops called by President Washington camped here on their march west to quell the insurrection.

Location: At the junction of U.S. Route 30 and PA Route 31, 4 miles west of Bedford, PA.  Erected by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in 1992.

  As roads were developed to open up lands west of the Allegheny and Appalachian mountains local commerce appeared with the opening of inns and taverns, stables and other services needed by the traveler. The Jean Bonnet Tavern was located at the junction of two early roads, the Old Forbes and Burd Roads (Routes 30 and 31). Bonnet Tavern due to its unique location destined it to witness some of the early history of the U.S from 1779-1815.

  The tavern was built on the only road connecting eastern Pennsylvania with the Ohio River and territories beyond. The tavern is still located today near a major east-west transportation route, the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The tavern can be seen from the Turnpike about four miles west of the Bedford exit. Unfortunately, you can not exit here to visit the tavern but have to exit the turnpike at the Bedford exit and travel west on Route 30.

The Bucktails

McKean County, PA

Marker Text: At the call of Col. Thos. L. Kane, 100 Civil War volunteers assembled here on Apr. 24, 1861, to go to Harrisburg. Tails of buck deer, worn as distinctive insignia, provided the name of the famed 42d Regiment, of which they were the core.

Location: On U.S. Route 6 in front of the McKean County Court House, Smethport, PA. Erected by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in 1948.  Two other markers are in front of courthouse, “Smethport” and “McKean County.”

Monument to the men who served during the Civil War from this county in front of the McKean County Courthouse.

  In the weeks following the surrender of Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina and with other southern states considering succession. Abraham Lincoln issued a request on April 15, 1861 for 75,000 volunteers to sign up for 90 day enlistments. In communities both north and south, they took action to form military regiments for a fight they knew that was about to happen. This marker in McKean County, Pennsylvania observes the formation of one among hundreds that were to form in the coming months and one of Pennsylvania's most famous Civil War units, called the “The Bucktails.”

John Brown's Tannery (Part 2)

Crawford County, PA

Marker Text:  John Brown of Ossawatomie and Harper's Ferry worked here as a tanner, 1825-35. The nearby house was then his home. His first wife and son are buried near.

Location:  On John Brown Road, a short distance south of PA Route 77, New Richmond, PA. (There is another marker same title on Route 77, just west of this road.) Erected by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in 1946.

Photo taken looking toward Route 77 with the path to the museum on the right.

  This is the second marker of two historical markers related to John Brown. (see Part 1) This marker is the older of the two and located on a secondary road across from the old tannery foundation. The newer one (1969) was probably erected to point people to this location, since you would not see this marker, unless you happened to drive this road or knew the tannery was here.