On November 13th, visit Fort Loudoun and time travel to 1765 to witness the clash between civilians and soldiers, that happened here, 10 years before the American Revolution. Immerse yourself in history by choosing sides!
Do you side with Justice William Smith and his loyal volunteers? Or, do you support Sgt. McGlashan and his brave Highlanders? Live the history of the Allegheny Uprising. Take an in-depth look at the events of 1765 that made up the Allegheny Uprising aka. Black Boys Rebellion, featuring an interactive and immersive experience, including:.
Pack Train & Skirmish at Widow Barrs: See the action unfold before your eyes.
You’re the Jury: Listen to the testimonies of both sides; the British Garrison and Justice Smith’s rebels.
YOU DECIDE: Side with who you believe is correct.
Historic displays: inside and outside.
Museum and gift shop will be open.
Admission is free. Join the historic Fort Loudoun family and friends at the fort site, 1720 North Brooklyn Road, Fort Loudon, PA on Saturday, November 13, Noon to 5 PM. To be part of the history, please be on time!
Keystone Outdoors is a familiar fixture in Fort Loudon, PA known as the place to go for all things outdoor! The business owned by Hunter Webster has been open since 1971 and continues to sell a variety of guns and outdoor equipment sure to suit any enthusiast from the young hunters to the most experienced fisherman and everything in between! No matter what sort of activities you prefer you are sure to find the right equipment to suit your favorite hobby or a new adventure you’re just starting to take on. Their inventory ranges from guns, bows, fishing gear, camping gear, boats, kayaks, boots and so much more!
Keystone Outdoors has been able to remain open during the COVID-19 and continues to be open to the public! Keystone Outdoors wants the community to remember that they are “everything outdoors, where personal service doesn’t just end with the ring of the cash register.”
Follow Keystone Outdoors on Facebook and Instagram or visit their website to stay up-to-date on the variety of products, events and contests that they host and you can look forward to their 4th Annual Customer Appreciation Days and Fall Kickoff Sale on August 15th and 16th ! There will be free food, great sales, vendors, demos and activities for the children!
Visit them on the web at keystoneoutdoors.net or at the store located at 186 Path Valley Rd., Fort Loudon PA, 17224 or call 717-369-2970
Save the date: August 14-16. Fort Loudoun is rescheduling the inaugural Fort Loudoun Market Fair. This juried event will feature 18th Century artisans, a chance to shoot at marks, and a glimpse of frontier life during the 18th Century. See blacksmiths, tinsmiths, carpenters, potters, coopers, and bakers demonstrate their trades in and amongst the historic Fort Loudoun that existed between 1756 to 1765. Takes in the sights and smells of an 18th Century encampment. Sponsored by Muzzleloader Magazine.
Registered Artisans. Include:
Americana Floorcloths At the Sign of the Black Bear At the Sign of the Grey Horse Chadds Ford Floor Cloths Claus Jackware Craftsman to the Past (Silversmith) Dan Eisenhour – Horner Dan Hrinko Boxmaker Dancing Weasle Silver Dave Morris Cabinet Maker Donna Selfridge Spangler Fraktur Art Early American Tin Fashions Revisited FEW Cooperage Fort Vause Outfitters Gen Is He Yow Trading Company Gilson & Sons (Glassblowing) Half Crown Bakery Historic Reproduction Lightshop J&S Gier Artificers (Horner) Jason A Cherry LLC Kauffman Fine Furniture Lady Aimee’s Fine Sewing Sutlery Metzger Blacksmith/Bladesmith Muzzleloader Magazine Scott Baylor Tinware SJ Pottery Steinhagen Pottery Stonehouse History (Weaving/Spoons) The Joiner Shoppe Tim Sanner Powder Horns Tim William’s Flintlocks Tin Man Roy (Tinware) Valerie Skinner – Painter Village Restorations Warrior’s Path Knives (Joe Scott) White Historic Art WKD Longrifles
Camping available! If you want to camp 18th Century style, download a camper registration form from: www.fortloudounpa.com
Franklin County was the site of private forts like Chambers Fort and Fort McCord as well as provincial forts like Fort Loudoun. The settlements sprang up on the Franklin County frontier from 1730 to 1755 on land that was traditionally used by Native tribes for hunting and foraging. Conflict arose between the Native tribes and the settlers, so the colonial settlers build fortifications around their homes and settlements to deter attacks.
Fort McCord was a private fort, near Edenville. On April 1, 1756, members of the Delaware tribe burned the fort, killing and taking captive 27 pioneers. Among the captives was Jean McCord Lowry. Her story of capture, captivity and ultimate release can be read here on the University of Oxford text archive.
Fort Loudoun was built in 1756 by the Pennsylvania Regiment. First is was used as a supply base for the Forbes Campaign. Popular history marks the Battle of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775. In fact, ten years earlier, the Black Boys Rebellion at Fort Loudoun was an earlier time of colonial rebellion. As Neil Swanson author of “The First Rebel” believes the seeds of colonial America’s discontent were sown at Fort Loudoun.
“The date that would be carved on the monument and printed in the histories and textbooks was April 19, 1775. On that day Americans would march out to face the British regulars across the village green in Lexington, Massachusetts. But, they would not be the first Americans to march out for that purpose. They would not be the first by ten years, one month and eleven days. The day on which James Smith’s three hundred men marched down the muddy road to Fort Loudoun was March 9, 1765.”
Visit Pennsylvania’s Fort–Fort Loudoun–on Saturday, June 15th and step back in time to 1756 and witness the artisans, laborers and soldiers build features of Fort Loudoun, located at 1720 North Brooklyn Road, Fort Loudon, PA 17224. See the new fort, new museum, and gift shop. See demonstrations of blacksmithing, construction, carpentry, weaving, music and hearth cooking. Participate in 18th Century games, lectures and axe throwing competitions. Open to the public 10-4. Entry fee is $5 per car. The first 100 visitors receive a free small ice cream from Antietam Dairy. Kids scavenger hunt, games and musket drill. (A detailed schedule at fortloudounpa.com)
This year’s theme is “1756”, the year that John Armstrong and his Pennsylvanians built Fort Loudoun. See 18th Century fort construction. The Pennsylvania Regiment will be busy building a magazine, well house, a drain, a butcher pavilion, as well as putting the finishing touches on the Guard House, the newest addition to the fort. The historical significance of the Guard House, first mentioned in a June 1758 letter to Colonel Henry Bouquet, is that it was where 6 members of James Smith’s Black Boys were held during the Black Boys Rebellion in 1765. This structure is the same size (12’x16’) as Fort Morris’s Guard House from Shippensburg. The reconstructed Fort Loudoun sits exactly on the spot as it was discovered by Pennsylvania Archaeology in 1978-1982.
Food Vendors: Zach’s Snacks and Hazardous Goods (BBQ) and Antietam Dairy (Ice Cream)
The Fort Loudoun Historical Society is an all-volunteer non-profit organization whose mission it is to interpret and manage the site of Fort Loudoun built in 1756. Fort Loudoun was a provincial fort built by the Colony of Pennsylvania during the French and Indian war and served as an important supply depot in the line of forts along the Forbes Road. It was the site of the Cherokee Council with Colonel Henry Bouquet in 1758 and of James Smith’s Black Boys
