Historic Fort Cherry

10/03/2026

It's Hickory Apple Festival weekend! Stop by and see us from 10AM-5PM today and tomorrow!

09/21/2026

Woodville Experience hosted their George Washington Day event yesterday and invited us out to discuss George Washington's western lands and the involvement of Presley Neville with the Miller's Run tract. Thanks to all who came out to learn more about the father of our country!

09/13/2026

Behold, George Washington’s red handkerchief.

The Neville House at Woodville Experience will be open for tours tomorrow! During your visit, stop in to see our newest product at the gift shop. This handkerchief is a faithful reproduction of an original example that was commissioned by Martha Washington for her husband, and printed by Philadelphia printer John Hewson circa 1776, made in collaboration with Historic Fort Cherry.

As local legend goes, George Washington brought along a red handkerchief on his 1784 journey to western Pennsylvania, and used it to taunt a group of squatters who were challenging his claim to the Miller’s Run tract.

“Gentlemen, I will have this land just as surely as I now have this handkerchief,” he allegedly proclaimed.

Woodville’s own Presley Neville was at Washington’s side during this incident, and later served as an aid to his legal team during the ejectment case - George Washington v. James Scott., et al, 1786. Neville then served as a land advisor to Washington into the latter’s first presidential term.

During our George Washington Day event on September 20, this handkerchief will be 20% off retail price only in our gift shop!

09/10/2026

There's just under two hours left to donate through WCCF Gives! We are very close to the ten unique donors needed to unlock additional potential funding.

If you have yet to pledge your support to us, please take a chance to look through some of these photos taken over the past two years to see how your donations may help us. There has never been a better time to support local history than on our nation's 250th anniversary.

Thank you for your support!

https://www.wccfgives.org/organizations/historic-fort-cherry-association

09/10/2026

We could use your help today! We can only continue to carry out our mission with help from our community, and the Washington County Community Foundation has made it quick and easy to support us and your other favorite local non-profits through WCCF Gives Day 2026.

If you would like to help us in our mission, head on over to the WCCF Gives website, say hi to the adorable squirrel in their new logo, and check out the story on our profile. Anyone may donate today only from 8am-8pm. The link is below:

https://www.wccfgives.org/organizations/historic-fort-cherry-association

Your contributions can help support:
• Bringing historic local literature back into print
• Upgrading our office and meeting space for future public events
• Upgrading our public outreach tent display
• Preserving a site on George Washington's Miller's Run tract
• Installing historic markers at local unmarked sites, like Cherry's Fort
• Expanding our current collection and increasing preservation capabilities
• Supporting archaeological work on our local historic sites
• Much, much more!

Thanks to all of our generous supporters!

08/30/2026

Thanks to all who showed up yesterday! SNPJ Lodge 89 hosted a great bike run for us right in our hometown of Midway. Our community has been giving us a lot of support and we can't thank them enough.

08/25/2026

Up for auction: An original Joseph Brant portrait. 245 years ago, Brant led Mohawk forces against a group of western Pennsylvania militiamen, completely decimating them in what became known as Lochry's Defeat. Colonel Archibald Lochry was the commander of the Patriot forces, and was executed after the battle. Lochry's forces consisted of about 100 soldiers, all of whom were killed or captured. Brant's equal number of forces did not suffer a single casualty.

This very rare portrait from 1786 is expected to fetch $14,400-21,600.

Bid now on Invaluable: Unidentified Artist, possibly James Peachey (d. 1779), British, PORTRAIT OF KANYEN'KEHÀ:KA (MOHAWK) LEADER JOSEPH BRANT (THAYENDANEGEA), 1786 from Waddington's on September 03, 2026, 02:00 PM EST.

08/20/2026

Thanks to our friends at Woodville Experience for inviting us on the Pennsylvania Cable Network special "Things You Didn't Know About the Wh***ey Rebellion!"

It was great getting to discuss the unsung event known as the 1786 Wh***ey Riot to a wider audience, all while learning a bit more of the obscure facts about the Wh***ey Rebellion by local fellow researchers, scholars, and authors.

Tune in to the PCN channel on your TV this evening at 7pm to catch the program, or watch it now directly on YouTube or on the PCNTV website right now for free!

Woodville Experience panel discussion on things you didn't know abo...

08/15/2026

Stopping by the The Washington County Agricultural Fair, Inc. any time between today and August 22? Head on over to historic John White House and see our friends at the Washington County History & Landmarks Foundation . They have two sample sets of our newest North Vandalia Press book release, The History of Washington County, Pennsylvania: 100th Anniversary Edition, by Earle R. Forrest!

This two-volume set is for sale directly on our website, available as a new print for the first time in a century! Both paperback and hardback options are available. Altogether this book set is about 1,200 pages (that's the same size as an average Bible).

Because we are a small non-profit with a limited budget, we can only offer these books strictly in a print-on-demand format through online orders. Go check out a set in person and get your hands on this amazing resource for Washington County history, perfect for celebrating America 250!

08/09/2026

Thank you to the Cook family and all involved with the incredible Cook Farm 250 celebration! Truly an event fit for the celebration of our nation's semiquincentennial.

The event was held on Saturday at the historic Colonel Edward Cook house, which was built in the early 1770s. While almost all settlers in western Pennsylvania were building small log houses out of bare necessity, many of which have been lost over time, Edward Cook managed to build this incredible stone mansion near Belle Vernon, among the most impressive farmhouses west of the Allegheny Mountains. Even more impressively, the house continues to be occupied by his direct descendents to this day, making it one of the most unique and precious properties in the United States.

Colonel Edward Cook features prominently in our recent 1786 Wh***ey Riot article, and he was also mentioned in the 1784 diary of George Washington, as Washington passed through the area on his way to Canonsburg and Miller's Run from Perryopolis.