Semiquincentennial Summer

Last week I attended a meeting of local historical organizations at the Neville House, representing the Bridgeville Area Historical Society. Improving cooperation between neighboring organizations is a significant agenda item for me, so I was happy to have the opportunity. The other organizations represented at the meeting were the Collier Historical Society, Neville House Associates, the Carnegie Historical Society, the Historical Society of Mt. Lebanon, and the McKees Rocks Historical Society. The meeting was called by and moderated by Anita Kulik, State Legislator for the 45th Legislative District, which includes most of these organizations.

The formal meeting began with each representative giving a capsule description of his/her organization. When my turn came, I emphasized two of our strengths – the History Center with its “Collection of Unique Collections” and our impressive lecture series, which I reported is “second to none in the South Hills”. The Collier folks discussed their effort to rejuvenate their organization and requested advice from more successful societies. The two ladies from McKees Rocks lamented the fact that they had no support and that their historical artifacts are currently in storage in a garage. Once again, we realize how fortunate Bridgeville is.

Following that exchange, Representative Kulik discussed her commitment to maximizing the involvement of Southwestern Pennsylvania in “America250PA”, the celebration of the state’s (and country’s) 250th birthday in 2026, and requested support from each of the organizations present. America250PA was established by the Pennsylvania Legislature to “plan, encourage, develop, and coordinate” this celebration, while highlighting “Pennsylvania’s integral role in that event and the impact of its people on the nation’s past, present, and future”. Ms. Kulik sincerely wants to ensure that Southwestern Pennsylvania plays a major role in the celebration, befitting its historical heritage. She also requested ideas for specific things we could do in our local region to enhance the celebration. So far, I have been able to come up with a few, and I encourage readers to add to that list.

For a long time I have been an admirer of the National Pike Days Festival, held in various communities along Route 40 in Somerset, Fayette, and Washington Counties the third weekend in May each year. Why not sponsor a Black Horse Trail Festival Weekend, with individual events in Canonsburg (commemorating the Black Horse Tavern), Bridgeville, the Neville House, Old St. Luke’s Church, Greentree, and the West End (the Stone Tavern)? In 1776 the Black Horse Trail (a minor upgrade of an Indian Trail called the Catfish Path) was the major artery linking Washington, Pa;, and Pittsburgh. I would envision a small group of vendors, musical entertainment, appropriate re-enactors, and food booths at each site. Imagine the pleasure of an afternoon trek along that route on a sunny May afternoon!

Another favorite of mine is the monthly lecture series that the Bridgeville Area Historical Society sponsors each year. Why not focus specifically on local history in 2026 and provide an integrated series taking advantage of the impressive group of presenters in our area?  Folks like Brady Crytzer (Whiskey Rebellion), Warren Merritt (coal mining), Rob Windhorst (enslaved folks at Woodville Plantation), and Todd Depastino (the Home Front in World War II) have already demonstrated their ability to bring life to our local history. Other topics might include the Monongahela People at the Drew Site; local Civil War companies at Gettysburg; Honus Wagner, etc. With a little careful planning, it’s easy to imagine a twelve-lecture series that comprehensively summarizes the history of our local region. To make it truly regional, you could rotate the lecture site each month to venues in different communities, further encouraging cooperation between the organizations.

The use of facsimile passports in the National parks has proven to be an effective mechanism to promote visits; by interesting the children, the whole family becomes involved. How about a “Passport to History”? Each child is given an imitation passport, with pages for each of the historical sites in the region. Each time a child (and family) visits a site, his/her passport is stamped by a stamp unique to the site. For example, the Bridgeville History Center stamp would be an outline of our caboose. As an incentive to encourage folks to visit all the sites, why not give a year’s membership to the passbook holder in his/her favorite historic organization as a reward for filling in all the pages of the passbook?

Finally, my favorite suggestion is a tourist train ride up Chartiers Valley from McKees Rocks to Arden on the Pittsburgh and Ohio Central Railroad. There was one about fifteen years ago that I somehow missed. I am sure it would be extremely popular for rail-fans everywhere, as well as for us locals; I suspect one trip wouldn’t be sufficient. What a treat it would be to pull out of Bridgeville, cross Chartiers Creek, and head up the valley to Mayview (now known as Hastings)!

In a different vein, it might be constructive for the organizers to publish a map showing all the available historic sites, including a brief description of each site and the times when they are open. Such a map would be useful even in non-celebration years; perhaps we should consider it right now. To be completely in step with the times, an interactive version of it on the Internet, accessible from each organization’s website, would be very useful. Anything we do to pull together information on other organizations is worthwhile.  

Coincidentally, 2026 is also Bridgeville’s 125th birthday, and plans for its celebration are also underway. It certainly provides all of us with an outstanding opportunity to participate in a very special occurrence. Each of the previous Bridgeville celebrations (1951, 1976, and 2001) has been memorable; it is constructive for us to do serious planning well ahead of time. With three levels of celebration (National, State-wide, and local) coinciding, it is particularly important that we pay attention to coordination.

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