Every September 17, Americans across the country observe Constitution Day, an opportunity to remember and celebrate the monumental task our founding fathers took on in 1787 to create a new form of government. During the Constitutional Convention in the summer of 1787, Pennsylvania sent eight delegates to Philadelphia who would attempt to craft the most important document in American history using their expertise and experience in a variety of fields.
While the battle for an effective governmental structure raged in the East, a very different conflict continued to cause strife in the wild wilderness of central Pennsylvania: the struggle between Native Americans and westward expansion.
Native Americans have existed in central Pennsylvania for thousands of years, with sites near modern-day Houserville dating back several thousand years. Centuries before European colonization along the East Coast, Native groups like the Lenape and Susquehannock thrived in the wilderness that was rich with with fish, game, and tillable soil. With the arrival of Europeans throughout the seventeenth century, changes had been forced on Native peoples. Tribes that were traditionally east of central Pennsylvania were forced from their homes by the increasing population of European immigrants. Clashes were common, but the results were the same. Eventually the frontline of those battles would make its way to the heart of the Appalachian Mountains.
By the mid-eighteenth century, conflict between Native Americans and Europeans, both French and British, were well documented. Many pushed for Great Britain or France to deal with the Native groups using direct force, but the European kingdoms responded by strategically constructing forts, likely defending themselves against each other as much as against Native attacks. At the onset of the French and Indian War, Native Americans all across America would be caught in the middle, forced to choose sides or face extinction.
Locally, the…