This is a repeating eventJune 20, 2021 9:00 am
Frontier Court Days
19jun9:00 am5:00 pmFrontier Court Days
Event Details
Step back in time to when Hanna’s Town served as the seat of government for Westmoreland County! Join us for reenactments of actual court cases heard at Hanna’s Town between
Event Details
Step back in time to when Hanna’s Town served as the seat of government for Westmoreland County! Join us for reenactments of actual court cases heard at Hanna’s Town between 1773 and 1786 along with militia encampments and demonstrations, living history demonstrations and displays, activities for children, food, and more!
Observe living history demonstrations and reenactments including…
- Reenactments of court cases heard at Hanna’s Town at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. both days
- Encampments, drills, and artillery demonstrations by Westmoreland County’s Proctor’s Militia (I.B.W.C.P.), 8th Pennsylvania Regiment, Fort McIntosh Garrison, 60th Royal Americans, and Rangers of the Ohio Company
- Blacksmithing in the new Blacksmith Shop
- Spinning and weaving
- Woodworking including hewing logs and rail splitting
- 18th century gunsmithing
- 19th century rifle making (Saturday only)
- 18th century religious service (Sunday morning only)
Explore displays and talks interpreting historic traditions and skills including…
- Herbal medicine and midwifery
- Native American history and culture
- Revolutionary War medicine (Saturday only)
Discover historic places around Hanna’s Town…
- Hanna’s Tavern, the first Westmoreland County courthouse
- The Fort, where militia and military groups will be encamped
- 18th century kitchen garden with plants used for food and medicine
- new garden of plants used to create natural dyes developed by the Penn State Master Gardeners of Westmoreland County
- authentic Conestoga wagon
Book talk at 12 p.m. both days by Gail Curtis, author of Woman on Fire: Based on the Life of Elizabeth Guthrie Brownlee Guthrie, a fictionalized story based on the life of a real survivor of the attack on Hanna’s Town, with signed books available in the museum shop.
Event includes admission to Penn’s Woods: Plenty for the Use of Man, new exhibit at the Westmoreland History Education Center opening June 19.
Admission for both days: $10 adults, $5 children, free for ages 5 and under. Admission is valid for both days.
Schedule of events:
Saturday, June 19
- 9:00 a.m. – Gates open
- 10:00 a.m. – Flag raising ceremony
- 11:00 a.m. – Frontier Court Reenactment
- 12:00 p.m. – Book talk by Gail Curtis, author of Woman on Fire: Based on the Life of Elizabeth Guthrie Brownlee Guthrie
- Around 1:00 p.m. – militia and artillery demonstration (weather permitting)
- 2:00 p.m. – Frontier Court Reenactment
- 5:00 p.m. – Event closes
Sunday, June 20
- 9:00 a.m. – Gates open
- 9:15-10:00 a.m. – 18th century religious service
- 11:00 a.m. – Frontier Court Reenactment
- 12:00 p.m. – Book talk by Gail Curtis, author of Woman on Fire: Based on the Life of Elizabeth Guthrie Brownlee Guthrie
- Around 1:00 p.m. – militia and artillery demonstration (weather permitting)
- 2:00 p.m. – Frontier Court Reenactment
- 3:00 p.m. – Event closes
Event times and locations subject to change or cancellation due to weather and/or unforeseen circumstances. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Time
June 19, 2021 9:00 am - 5:00 pm(GMT-05:00)
This Month’s Events
Next Month’s Events
February
01feb1:00 pm2:00 pmBlack History Month Program: The 65th Anniversary of the Sit-In Movement.
Event Details
On Saturday, February 1st, Dr. Kelton Edmonds will launch the Westmoreland Historical Society’s celebration of Black History Month with a presentation on the 1960 Sit-in Movement. February 1, 2025, marks the
Event Details
On Saturday, February 1st, Dr. Kelton Edmonds will launch the Westmoreland Historical Society’s celebration of Black History Month with a presentation on the 1960 Sit-in Movement.
February 1, 2025, marks the 65th anniversary of the launch of the historic Sit-in Movement, by four African American freshmen from North Carolina Architectural & Technical State College (now University) in Greensboro, NC. This simple act sparked the non-violent and student-led wave of protests that ultimately resulted in the desegregation of F.W. Woolworth and other racially discriminatory businesses. The brave freshmen from NCA&T, who were later adorned with the iconic label of the “Greensboro Four,” were David Richmond, Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil, and Ezell Blair Jr. (Jibreel Khazan). On February 1, 1960, the Greensboro Four bought items at Woolworth’s, then sat at the ‘white-only’ lunch counter and refused to leave until they were served. Although waitresses refused to serve them, in accordance with the store’s racist policies, the four continued their protest and in the following days and weeks were joined by more students from other nearby colleges and high schools. By April, the protests that flooded the lunch counters of the segregated store spread to other cities throughout the South, involving thousands of Black student activists and sympathizers. The coordinated demonstrations put insurmountable pressure on Woolworth’s, as it became nearly impossible for regular customers to purchase items, eat at the lunch counters, or even enter the store. With the possibility of facing bankruptcy, F.W. Woolworth acquiesced and desegregated all of its lunch counters throughout the nation by the end of the summer of 1960.
Over 50,000 Black students and sympathizers participated in the sit-ins of 1960. As historian Clayborne Carson highlighted, “Nonviolent tactics, particularly when accompanied by rationale based on Christian principles, offered black students…a sense of moral superiority, an emotional release through militancy, and a possibility of achieving desegregation.” Soon after the sit-ins began, students realized their collective prowess, and their activism helped to define the decade of the 60s that forced monumental political, legal, and social changes throughout the nation. Students cemented their place in one of America’s most significant traditions, the protest tradition, which has continuously defined and propelled our country since its inception.
Dr. Edmonds will examine the layers, legacies, and significance of this monumental movement through his interactive discussion.
This event is free and open to the public. Reservations are recommended by calling 724-836-1800 x212.
Time
February 1, 2025 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm(GMT-05:00)
View in my timeWestmoreland History Education Center