Hannastown is an unincorporated community

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 and important historical and archaeological site located in Hempfield Township

Hempfield Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania

Hempfield Township is a township in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 43,241 at the 2010 census, making it the largest suburb in the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area by population.- Geography :...

, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania

Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 369,993 people, 149,813 households, and 104,569 families residing in the county. The population density was 361 people per square mile . There were 161,058 housing units at an average density of 157 per square mile...

. Although the village is not tracked by the Census Bureau, it has been assigned the ZIP code

ZIP Code

ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...

 15635.

The village was founded in 1773 as the seat of the newly created Westmoreland County, and was known at the time as "Hanna's Town". It was located along Forbes Road

Forbes Road

The Forbes Road was a historic military roadway in what was then British America, that was constructed in 1758 from Carlisle, Pennsylvania, to the French Fort Duquesne at the junction of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers in what is now downtown Pittsburgh...

, the main route into the Ohio Country

Ohio Country

The Ohio Country was the name used in the 18th century for the regions of North America west of the Appalachian Mountains and in the region of the upper Ohio River south of Lake Erie...

 from eastern Pennsylvania, and named for Robert Hanna, an early settler whose tavern also served as Westmoreland County's first courthouse. Hannastown was settled primarily by Irish and Scotch-Irish, though the surrounding area was mostly Pennsylvania Dutch

Pennsylvania Dutch

Pennsylvania Dutch refers to immigrants and their descendants from southwestern Germany and Switzerland who settled in Pennsylvania in the 17th and 18th centuries...

.

On July 13, 1782, in one of the final actions of the American Revolutionary War

American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

, the settlement was completely destroyed by a force of The King's 8th Regiment out of Fort Niagara "The King's, or 8th Regiment - Detroit Garrison" and British-allied American Indians

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

 led by Guyasuta

Guyasuta

Guyasuta was an important leader of the Seneca people in the second half of the eighteenth century, playing a central role in the diplomacy and warfare of that era...

. The county government was moved to Newtown, which later became known as Greensburg

Greensburg, Pennsylvania

Greensburg is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States, and a part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The city is named after Nathanael Greene, a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War...

. The village was rebuilt, but after Forbes Road was rerouted through Greensburg, the settlement grew little, and eventually most of it became farmland.

Historic Hanna's Town

In recent decades, Hanna's Town has been excavated and extensively restored and rebuilt. Currently, the Historic Hanna's Town site includes the reconstructed Hanna Tavern/Courthouse, three vintage late 18th century log houses, a reconstruction of the Revolutionary-era fort and blockhouse, and a wagon shed housing an authentic late 18th century Conestoga wagon

Conestoga wagon

The Conestoga wagon is a heavy, broad-wheeled covered wagon that was used extensively during the late 18th century and the 19th century in the United States and sometimes in Canada as well. It was large enough to transport loads up to 8 tons , and was drawn by horses, mules or oxen...

. The site is maintained and opened to the public by the Westmoreland County Historical Society and the Westmoreland County Parks and Recreation Department.

In June, 2007, the Westmoreland County Historical Society announced plans to build a $5 million education center at Historic Hanna's Town, to include artifacts, classrooms, offices and exhibits from other Westmoreland County historical groups. Construction is planned to start in the spring of 2008.

External links

• Historic Hanna's Town Westmoreland County Historical Society
• Historic Hanna's Town Westmoreland County Parks and Recreation
• $5 million Hanna's Town education center planned from Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 7, 2007
• History of Westmoreland County