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Protecting
Hannastown
Posted 2-21-2006
Recently, the county
commissioners met with members of the Westmoreland County Historical
Society to discuss the future of Hannastown -- the historical site, not
the community. Many citizens of our county know that Hannastown was the
original county seat, but I believe many do not know of its complete
historical significance. Our discussion with the Historical Society
focused on how the site can be better developed into a tourist
destination in the same way, or even better than, Fort Ligonier and
Bushy Run. Historical tourism is a growing industry, and tourism overall
in Westmoreland County has become a $300 million business. We recognize
our county will never have a destination like a beach or Disney World,
so we must capitalize on the assets we have.
Just as important as the
future tourism benefits, we should develop Hannastown to better tell the
story of the early citizens of our county, who were the inhabitants of
the first county seat west of the Allegheny Mountains. The actual date
of the first settlement of Hannastown is not absolutely certain. But
sometime after General John Forbes cut the Forbes Road through our
region in 1758, Robert Hanna was given land at the direction of the
William Penn family to settle here. The region west of the Alleghenies
was an area of dispute between Pennsylvania and Virginia, with each
state claiming the land as its own. After a series of arrests and
turmoil the "Penn"sylvanians, with Robert Hanna at the forefront, formed
Westmoreland County in 1773 and had the strength to rebuff the
Virginians and essentially end their claims to our turf.
At that time, revolution
from the tyranny of King George was brewing throughout the colonies and
even reached the frontier. The good citizens of Hannastown proclaimed
their rights in a document known as the Hannastown Resolves in 1775.
Many of those very principles were soon after articulated in 1776 in a
document that shook the very foundation of the world's geopolitics, the
Declaration of Independence. Historians now are beginning to give the
Hannastown Resolves respect as a document that predated the Declaration
of Independence, yet proclaimed the very same principles of liberty and
freedom.
Hannastown's male
residents, like their fellow citizens throughout the colonies, joined in
the battle for independence and spent years away from home. Hannastown
eventually paid a price for its service, as Native Americans sympathetic
to the British burned it to the ground in 1782. That event has been
designated as the final battle of the American Revolution. After that,
the county seat was moved to Newtown (present-day Greensburg), and
Hannastown eventually became farmland. The few buildings on the site,
while historic in nature, are not equipped to tell the complete story of
Hannastown.
As time passes, if
nothing is done we run the risk of having this critical part of our
county's (and the region's) history be forgotten. The artifacts found to
this point have been evaluated and designated as a top Revolutionary Era
collection. Without a facility to maintain and display them, many of
these artifacts are presently being stored in boxes at the Community
College. Archeological exploration continues, and even more artifacts
are being discovered. But telling the story of Hannastown must be more
than just displaying artifacts. A historical destination must be a
dynamic, entertaining place that will entice visitors, young and old, to
come back. The rich history of Hannastown merits such a facility.
Hannastown is testimony to the pioneer spirit that was required to
survive and settle this region, and its residents articulated and fought
for the freedoms that were gained by our nation's founders. We owe it to
those revolutionaries who sacrificed so much so that we could have an
independent nation.
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