Historic Fort Cherry

07/28/2026

If you also don’t like paying taxes, come on out tonight to the WPSU Whiskey Rebellion documentary screening at Chicco Baccello, Canonsburg!

07/16/2026

One hundred years ago, Washington County-based historian Earle R. Forrest released his impressive 1,165 page book The History of Washington County, Pennsylvania. Now, one hundred years later, we are happy to announce the revival of this incredible work in physical print!

Coming soon from our North Vandalia Press imprint is The History of Washington County, Pennsylvania: 100th Anniversary Edition. Finally, after a century, this incredible book will once again be back in print.

This new edition features a vast collection of authentically colorized photographs from across the county, with many additional selections from Earle R. Forrest's personal collection, among many other sources. Katherine Brown Cash, great-granddaughter to Earle, has generously provided us with a personal foreword, offering a rare glimpse into the personal life of this esteemed local historian.

This release covers Vol.1 of the original set released in 1926. Accompanying the original set were two additional biographical volumes compiled by various writers, which are not included in this release. For this new release, the first volume of the original set has been divided into two new copies, each just over 600 pages.

Follow Historic Fort Cherry for updates on the release of this new book. Coming soon!

07/12/2026

There are numerous historic cemeteries in Washington County PA. Hidden away behind the community center building in Hickory sits the historic, yet inconspicuous, Mount Pleasant Cemetery.

This cemetery contains the most burials of 1786 Whiskey Riot participants, with at least three: Samuel Agnew, James Ross, Jr., and James McClellan. Compared to prominent cemeteries of later Whiskey Rebellion fame, like Mingo Creek Cemetery, one may never know about the Mount Pleasant Cemetery insurrection-connection. The whiskey rioters buried here took up arms and committed violence against an excise collector five years before the Whiskey Rebellion officially began, but their stories have largely been neglected, and not a single marker or sign is present at the cemetery to inform of this. In fact, no record of this connection can be found in any written history.

Ann Sloan Cowden is the earliest known burial, dating to 1802, though It is possible there are earlier unrecorded burials. Several members of the families of Cherry’s Fort are also buried here.

The church congregation associated with this cemetery dates back to approximately 1790 when it was founded by local Scots-Irish Seceders. The first meeting house was built of logs in 1803, and the famed Scottish pastor and 2nd cousin of President William McKinley, Rev. William Craig Brownlee, got his start in America preaching here. Craig would later go on to author several notable books throughout his successful career in religion.

The third and final iteration of the church was constructed of brick in 1868 and was tragically demolished in 1985, but the congregation lives on in the current Hickory United Evangelical Presbyterian Church.

The whiskey connection of Hickory remains understated today, even though the town was named after a tavern and had a reputation for an excess of drinking in its early days.

Let’s get some recognition for this historic cemetery and its connection to the first tax protest in post-Revolution America!

07/11/2026

Stop by and see us today from 12pm-6pm at the Whiskey Rebellion Festival in downtown Washington!

07/04/2026

For America 250, we're highlighting an important local event that has been largely forgotten.

Not even ten years after independence was declared from Great Britain, the new American experiment was put to the test when 12 men from Washington County violently resisted Pennsylvania's new liquor excise tax, setting in motion a series of events that would lead to the Whiskey Rebellion five years later.

Read more about the 1786 Whiskey Riot and how it foreshadowed a national insurrection against the new United States government. See it on our website, link in bio!

Happy 250th anniversary of American Independence!

06/19/2026

Slavery within the Chartiers Valley…

Two of the largest plantations in western Pennsylvania utilizing slave labor were right here in the Chartiers valley of Pittsburgh, only separated by 6.5 miles, and originally owned by John Neville and John McDonald.

John Neville, a wealthy Virginia planter, established his new plantation at Woodville in 1775 while serving as commander of Fort Pitt. The limits of his new land tracts, stretching across Scott and Collier Townships, would serve as home to the largest population of African enslaved people west of the Allegheny Mountains, with 78 known individuals.

John McDonald, an Irishman living in Maryland, also established a new plantation in 1775, and would eventually gain title to almost 6,000 acres across western Pennsylvania and Virginia while serving as a judge for Yohogania County, Virginia. The McDonald family plantations would go on to hold 33 known enslaved individuals.

Very few Pennsylvanians utilized slave labor, but these two men, like many other recently arrived settlers, identified as Virginians. They were living in land claimed simultaneously by Pennsylvania and Virginia, and registered their claims with the latter, leaving a southern legacy on what would soon become a northern abolitionist state.

Take a look at the original survey lines on the satellite images above. While both the Nevilles and McDonalds owned other land tracts, and would’ve also utilized their enslaved people elsewhere, these were the home plantations, where a majority of the slave labor in the Pittsburgh region took place. It is possible that more unidentified enslaved people were present on these plantations. Houses associated with both families still stand, Woodville in Collier Twp and Primrose Hill in Robinson Twp.

Interested in learning more about the local history of the enslaved? Stop by Woodville Experience today at 6pm for the Juneteenth event!

06/06/2026

A little update on our 1786 Whiskey Riot plans:
Unfortunately we could not reach the required number of reenactors and will have to cancel our reenactment photoshoot that was scheduled for this Sunday.

We will also be indefinitely postponing the historic marker dedication that was scheduled for later this year, due to manufacturing delays. We will provide updates as we get them from PHMC.

Thank you to all who helped to try to make this happen, and stay tuned for updates in the future!

05/30/2026

A good year for historic markers in Washington County!

05/16/2026

We are still looking for a handful of volunteers in the Pittsburgh area who would like to participate in a photoshoot of the 1786 Whiskey Riot reenactment.

This riot predates both the Whiskey Rebellion, and Shays' Rebellion, making it one of the earliest known tax protests in US history. A Pennsylvania Trails of History historical marker will be dedicated to this event later this year.

If you'd like to join us, check out the link below. We are striving for authenticity, but all volunteers are welcome as long as they strive for their best 1780s impression.

Date: Sunday, June 7, 2026

Time: 8am - Noon

Location: Woodville Experience 1375 Washington Pike, Bridgeville, PA 15017

Please see the form below for more info! We hope to see you there.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfwNNvass65AVpR1qJDo8XuySwfhal45a9EiVGESa8pGAOKaQ/viewform?usp=header

(Photo: Citizens capturing tax collectors during the Whiskey Rebellion; hand-colored woodcut., Encyclopedia Britannica)

05/15/2026

Great article from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette!

Along a quiet tree-lined stretch of the Montour Trail in Washington County, where bikers and hikers pass through rolling farmland, a new marker now invites visitors to pause and look further back.

That land once belonged to George Washington.

A plaque commemorating the first U.S. president’s holdings in Mount Pleasant in Cecil townships was unveiled near mile marker 20.5 Thursday morning, recognizing Washington’s role not only as one of the nation’s earliest heroes, but also as a landowner, surveyor and colonial militia officer during the French and Indian War.

More at the link in the comments. ⬇️