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Exhibits
The renowned exhibit design firm, Christopher Chadbourne Associates, Inc. (perhaps best known regionally for the striking exhibit, "Glass: Shattering Notions" at the Senator John Heinz Regional History Center and all the exhibits at The Railroaders' Museum in Altoona) has been commissioned to design the exhibit telling the stories of Fort Necessity and the National Road. The stories they have been charged to tell are powerful ones:
- the clash of several cultures struggling for control of the North American continent;
- how this struggle ultimately led to the birth of the United States as an independent nation;
- how and why the National Road helped forge the economic, political and social character of the young United States.
Despite its unfolding in a glen and meadow of Fayette County, the French and Indian War or Seven Years' War is little understood by those raised and educated in Southwestern Pennsylvania, let alone by the majority of Americans. While most Americans consider the War a "hazy backdrop to the Revolution," from a worldview "the Seven Year's War was far more significant than the War of American Independence." Indeed, scholarship makes the case, that without the Seven Years' War, American independence would have been forestalled, probably would not have required a war of liberation, or may not have occurred at all.
An ambitious goal of the new Visitor and Education Center is, therefore, to elevate visitors' understanding and appreciation of this critical epoch in national history. Just as importantly, the exhibit demonstrates how something as seemingly mundane to modern sensibilities as the development of the National Road was in reality a struggle amongst federal, state, local and individual interests that had staggering impact on the character of the emerging nation.
The exhibit will engage visitors of all ages, interests and backgrounds by immersing them in environments that orient them to the diverse cultures, customs, and physical realities of mid-eighteenth century Pennsylvania. History is a subjective interpretation of circumstances and actions forged as much by the uncelebrated as by a handful of powerful people. The diverse viewpoints of the unheralded as well as those of famous participants will be conveyed.
Outline of the exhibit:
- Welcome:
- A panel will deliver a welcoming message from the National Park Service and from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. In addition, there will be a life size statue of Tanacharisson, an adopted Seneca, made the Half King by the Onondaga Council and sent down to the Ohio River Valley in 1747. He was a pivotal player in the events of the French and Indian War. An audio will deliver the "Edge of the Woods Ceremony" speech to visitors, welcoming them in the Native custom.
- Footsteps into History:
- takes visitors on a reverse timeline from 20th century Route 40 back to Nemacolin's Trail (1752). Cast figures are juxtaposed with artifacts, props and opinions to colorfully communicate a sense of time, place and outlooks.
- The Volley:
- the shocking skirmish in the densely wooded Jumonville Glen explores one of the most controversial events in George Washington's career. Here Washington, a young and inexperienced but courageous leader, ambushed a group of Frenchmen led by Ensign Jumonville. The circumstances of Jumonville's death flame the controversy.
- Colliding Cultures:
- examines the extraordinarily delicate balance of power between British, French and Native American cultures and their competing interests in the Ohio River Valley. A six-foot artist's interpretation of a Wampum belt (the medium for conveying contracts and agreements in Native American cultures) immerses visitors in the difficulty of communicating across languages and cultures.
- The Council:
- On June 19th, 1754 a Council meeting was held about 10 miles away from Fort Necessity, and was attended by representatives of 10 Indian nations, including representatives of the Iroquois Six Nations, the Loups, the Mingoes, the Shawnee, and the Delaware. Young George Washington tried in vain to convince the Indians to "take up the hatchet against the French." For four reasons they declined: Washington's forces were outnumbered by more than 2 to 1; they knew Washington had little military experience; at a previous Onondaga Council they were instructed to remain neutral; and their first priority was the safety of the women and children. They advised Washington to leave as well, but he chose to remain behind. There would be no Indians fighting on the side of the British at the battle of Fort Necessity, which would take place two weeks hence. The decision of Washington to stay, set in motion a series of events that would eventually lead to the first battle of the French and Indian War.
- The Battle of Fort Necessity, July 3, 1754:
- blasts of gunfire, the roar of torrential rain, the cries of injured men and animals, bursts of light create the ambiance of confusion and terror. Murals on opposite walls (created by the famous French and Indian War artist Robert Griffin) and viewed through a transparent (rain curtain) will give visitors both the British and French and Indian perspectives of the battle.
- Washington Surrenders: and, through a Dutch interpreter, confesses to the "assassination" of French Ensign Jumonville. The challenge of negotiating in the aftermath of battle through language and cultural barriers is enormous.
- Braddock's Road and the Battle of the Monagahela:
- a devastating and ignominious defeat for the resolutely professional Major General Edward Braddock, who lost his life in this engagement. The difficulty of transporting troops, weapons, supplies, livestock and camp followers over mountainous terrain foreshadows the importance of the National Road to come.
Consequences of the French and Indian War and the Birth of a Nation:
Even though the exhibits in general will focus on the pivotal events that unfolded in the immediate environs of Fort Necessity, Jumonville Glen, and the Braddock's Road, they will also present the consequences of these events on the North American continent, in the world at large, and on the birth of the United States as a nation.
The stage is accordingly set for the exhibit to turn to the early part of the nineteenth century and the need for, the debate over and the development of the National Road. The National Road story captures the essence of the myriad challenges confronting the new nation. The exhibit makes a logical segue into its next areas of concentration:
- Building a Nation:
- settlement and economic development were determined by the arduous transporting of goods such as books, salt, nails, iron and gun powder heading west to be traded for hides, bear grease, snakeroot and rye sent eastward in return.
- Whiskey Rebellion, 1794:
- Western Pennsylvania farmers rose in revolt against the government's excise tax on distilled spirits. The authority of the federal government was established by the quick quashing of the rebellion; at the same time attention was focused on the dire circumstances of citizens of the west cut off by primitive transportation from the well-developed east.
- The National Road Debate:
- key players Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and Secretary of the Treasury (and Fayette County native) Albert Gallatin debate familiar issues of constitutionality, tax battles, states vs. federal rights, lobbying of special interests.
- Building the Road:
- hand made by Irish laborers with chisels and hammers, earning $6.00 per week to crush stone to exacting specifications.
- The Heyday-1820-1850:
- Walking through a dramatic Conestoga wagon embedded in a mural, visitors enter a teeming, bustling scene. A moving tableau or "cyclorama" convey the multitude of travelers, livestock and goods constantly traversing the road, and the consequent commerce springing up along the way. This hall will be "furnished" with artifacts or recreated objects, complemented by the stories they tell.
- The Tavern:
- Visitors encounter the "far flung individuals" brought together by the National Road as they enter a tavern typical of the mid-nineteenth century. Overheard conversations might include: "The goodnes (sic) of God must have been in Congress unknownst to them; when they fell about to & Erected a land for the Making of the great Turnpike road which is the Salvation of those Mountains or Western Countrys (sic) & more benefit to the human family than Congress have any knowledge…."
- Decline, Resurgence, Decline:
- The first locomotive reaches the Ohio River in 1853 beginning a spiral of decline that transforms National Road to a local road. However, the mass availability of the automobile in the first half of the twentieth century stimulates the creation of a concrete ribbon known as US Route 40 and complete with motels, restaurants, stores and filling stations. In the 1950s, Congress passed the Interstate Highway Act (a later iteration of Gallatin's thwarted vision) and spent $250 billion building interstate highways that once again relegated the National Road to use primarily for local transportation.
Rememberance and Commemoration:
At its conclusion, the exhibit will examine history as a subjective, changing, evolving phenomenon. Interpretations of history are dependent on the evidence available and the quality and bias of the analysis thereof. Fort Necessity eloquently demonstrates this point. Almost as noteworthy as the battle itself, is the fact that Fort Necessity experienced one of the most significant reinterpretations ever made of historic events in light of archaeological evidence. The large rectangular reconstruction of the Fort built in 1932 was erroneously based on the surrounding trenches George Washington had ordered built around the fort. This larger scale was perhaps more in keeping with people's conceptions at the time of a military fortification. However, excavations made in 1953 and substantiated by another look at historic documentation revealed the small circular fort that today's reconstruction commemorates. Just as clearly, the National Road story unfolded overtime - and continues to do so. This section of the exhibit will also address the significance of what society chooses to commemorate and how, whom it chooses to listen to and why. The door always remains ajar for future interpretations.
Last updated: Thursday, 25-Aug-2005 16:07:04 Eastern Daylight Time
