Venango Path (South)
N 40° 41.136 W 080° 04.507
17T E 578153 N 4504267
State Historical Marker placed on the corner of PA 228 and Franklin Road in Cranberry Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania, commemorating the Indian path that George Washington traveled in 1753.
Waymark Code: WMNJ2
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 08/27/2006
Views: 99
MARKER TEXT: A major Indian path between the Forks of the Ohio (now Pittsburgh) and the Seneca town of Venango (now Franklin) passed through here. On Dec. 27, 1753, George Washington came this way with frontier scout Christopher Gist as they returned from Fort LeBoeuf on a mission for Virginia's Gov. Robert Dinwiddie. The Franklin Road, the first wagon road northward from Pittsburgh, was opened over this route in 1796.
This is the southern of two identically named markers with similar but not exact text. This marker is located in Cranberry Township of Butler County (not far from the intersection of the Pennsylvania Turnpike and I-79). The northern marker is located near Wesley Pennsylvania (about 15 miles south of Franklin). To avoid confusion be aware that Venango County also has a Cranberry Township but it is not near the northern sign.
After visiting this marker, we recommend visiting the site of George Washington’s near demise when an apparently near sighted Indian took a shot at him and missed from 15 paces away. The site is supposed to be marked by another PHMC marker named George Washington but the sign is missing. However the Daughters of the American Revolution marked the site with a plaque in a stone monument that has proven to be more durable (see the photos). To go to the Major George Washington monument, go north on Franklin Road about 6 miles to Evans City. Go northeast on PA 68. The monument is located about 2 miles from Evans City on the right side of the road. The coordinates are N40º 47.295’ W80º 01.953. Incidentally we could not find rods in the units of measure on our GPSr. A rod is 16.5 feet. One hundred rods would be about three tenths of a mile.
Had the Indian been a better shot, would we be speaking with a British accent today?
George Washington’s personal journal of this trip appears in the Website below. It is a fascinating read. His account of the shooting is in the seventh paragraph from the end of the document. Residents of the Pittsburgh area will also take interest in his account of trying to cross the river which occurred at the site of the Washington’s Crossing Bridge.
Links:
Map Of Washington’s Trip: The Fort Edwards Webpage, “Washington's Trip to the Ohio, 1753”.
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visit link)
Cranberry Historical Society, 1989: “Cranberry Township: A History of Our Community.”
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visit link)
Wikipedia: “George Washington”:
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visit link)