Murdering Town
Encyclopedia
Murdering Town, was a Lenni Lenape community that comprised several smaller villages along the Connoquenessing Creek
and Breakneck Creek
near present-day Harmony
, and Evans City
, Pennsylvania
, United States
. The village was located along the Venango Path
which ran through what was then the Ohio Country
during the French and Indian War
. Today, the area is part of Western Pennsylvania
.
passed through Murdering Town while on a mission to Fort Le Boeuf
about six months before the French and Indian War began. On December 27, Washington, and his guide Christopher Gist
, were shot at by a French
allied Native just a few miles from the village. A stone marker near Evans City, PA
, marks the spot where the shooting took place.
Connoquenessing Creek
Connoquenessing Creek is a tributary of the Beaver River, approximately 50 mi long, in Western Pennsylvania in the United States.-Course:...
and Breakneck Creek
Breakneck Creek
Breakneck Creek is a tributary of Connoquenessing Creek that flows in a northwardly direction in Western Pennsylvania. It forms in the village of Bakerstown in Allegheny County then flows northwest through the borough of Valencia in Butler County....
near present-day Harmony
Harmony, Pennsylvania
Harmony is a borough in Butler County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 937 at the 2000 census. It is located about 30 miles north of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.-Geography:...
, and Evans City
Evans City, Pennsylvania
Evans City is a borough in Butler County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,009 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Evans City is located at ....
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The village was located along the Venango Path
Venango Path
Venango Path was a Native American trail that ran from the Forks of the Ohio to Presque Isle, Pennsylvania, United States of America. The trail was named after the Native American village of Venango where French Creek empties into the Allegheny River...
which ran through what was then 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...
during the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
. Today, the area is part of Western Pennsylvania
Western Pennsylvania
Western Pennsylvania consists of the western third of the state of Pennsylvania in the United States. Pittsburgh is the largest city in the region, with a metropolitan area population of about 2.4 million people, and serves as its economic and cultural center. Erie, Altoona, and Johnstown are its...
.
History
In 1753, George WashingtonGeorge Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
passed through Murdering Town while on a mission to Fort Le Boeuf
Fort Le Boeuf
Fort Le Boeuf, , was a fort established by the French in 1753 on a fork of French Creek, in present-day Waterford, in northwest Pennsylvania...
about six months before the French and Indian War began. On December 27, Washington, and his guide Christopher Gist
Christopher Gist
Christopher Gist was an accomplished American explorer, surveyor and frontiersman. He was one of the first white explorers of the Ohio Country . He is credited with providing the first detailed description of the Ohio Country to Great Britain and her colonists...
, were shot at by a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
allied Native just a few miles from the village. A stone marker near Evans City, PA
Evans City, Pennsylvania
Evans City is a borough in Butler County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,009 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Evans City is located at ....
, marks the spot where the shooting took place.
Sources
- Novak, Michael, and Jana Novak, Washington's God, Basic Books, 2006, ISBN 0-465-05126-X.
- The Journals of George Washington and Christopher Gist: Mission to Fort Le Boeuf 1753-1754, Slippery Rock University, 2003.