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Monday, June 16, 2014

A Suggested Outline For A 250th Anniversary History Of Bedford County, Pennsylvania


MOTHER CUMBERLAND and the FORMATION OF BEDFORD COUNTY

        {A capsule summary of the region that was formed as Bedford Township within
                    Cumberland county through its changes to become the single county of Bedford at
                    the present time.}

        Brief History of Cumberland formed from York County {formed from Lancaster County}
        The Act erecting Bedford County out of Cumberland
        Geographical boundaries of the new county {including map}
        Eventual separation of additional counties out of Bedford:
                    Huntingdon (1787), Somerset (1795) and Cambria (1804), Blair (1846), and
                                Fulton (1850).

THE AMERINDIAN SOJOURN IN THIS REGION

        The Tribe/ Clan
        The Kinship System
        The Historic Period Inhabitants According To Prior Historians
        The Tribes Which Sojourned In This Region
        Evidence Of Indian Occupation In This Region – Sites, Cultural Influences, etc.

THE EURO~AMERICAN SETTLERS OF BEDFORD COUNTY

                                    CUMBERLAND COUNTY 1750-1771
            1754    Ayr Township formed
            1767    Barree, Bedford, Colerain, Cumberland (Valley) & Dublin Townhips formed
            1768    Brothers Valley Township formed

                                BEDFORD COUNTY  1771-1783
        1771    Armstrong, Fairfield, Hempfield, Mount Pleasant, Pitt, Ross Straver,  Spring Hill,
                                Tullileague, and Tyrone Townships formed / removed 1773
        1773    Bethel, Hopewell & Turkeyfoot Townships formed
        1775    Frankstown & Quemahoning Townships formed
        1779    Huntingdon & Sherley Townships formed
        1780    Milford & Providence Townships formed

        The Pioneer Settlers Of Bedford County
                    Traders
                    Homesteaders’ Daily Lives
                    Amerindian Incursions / Settler Massacres

BEDFORD COUNTY IN THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR

        Braddock’s Expedition
        The Forbes Expedition
        Erection of Forts at Juniata Crossing and Raystown and string of supply redoubts
        Colonel John Armstrong’s Expedition
        Boquet’s Expedition

BEDFORD COUNTY IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR

The Revolutionary Spirit ~ including the Black Boys incident at Fort Bedford
The Bedford Resolves
The Raising Of The Militia
The Rangers On The Frontier 
The Bedford County Militia
The Battalions
The Homefront
The Birth Of The Continental Line
The Pennsylvania Continental Line
The Tories And Loyalists
The Massacre Of Philips’ Rangers (now Huntingdon County)
The 3rd Of June, 1781   (The Engagement Of Frankstown ~ now Blair County)
Fortifications utilized during the American Revolutionary War
The Patriots Of Bedford County
The Patriots Of Blair County
The Patriots Of Fulton County
The Patriots Of Huntingdon County
The Patriots Of Cambria and Somerset Counties
The Patriots' Final Resting Place

BEDFORD COUNTY AND THE WHISKEY REBELLION

BEDFORD COUNTY'S CONTRIBUTION TO THE OTHER WARS

The War Of 1812
The Mexican War Of 1846
The Civil War  or  War Of The Rebellion
Bedford County's Contribution To The Union Armies Of The Civil War
The Fortification/Defence of Loys Gap
Fort Wagner To Appomattox
The Spanish American War
The Philippine Insurrection
The Boxer Rebellion
The Mexican Revolution
World War I
World War II
The Korean Conflict
The War In Vietnam
Hotspots In The Middle East – Kuwait / Desert Storm
The Iraqi War
The War in Afghanistan

THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY OF BEDFORD COUNTY

UPMC Bedford
                        Hyndman Area Health Center - Hyndman
                        Hyndman Area Health Center - Bedford

A HISTORY OF THE BEDFORD COUNTY LIBRARY SYSTEM

THE BLAIR BEDFORD CENTRAL LABOR COUNCIL AFL CIO

BEDFORD COUNTY'S IRON INDUSTRY

THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM OF BEDFORD COUNTY       

A CULTURAL HISTORY OF BEDFORD COUNTY        

From The Early Opera Houses To Theatres
Literature And The Oratorical Arts
The Musical Heritage Of Blair County
The Appreciation And Practice Of The Visual Arts In Blair County
Historical Societies In Blair County
Sports and Recreation
                    Shawnee Park
Taking the Waters at the Hot Springs
        Chalebeate
        Bedford Springs

THE RAILROADS, THE HIGHWAYS/TURNPIKE AND THE AIRPORT

THE TOWNSHIPS AND BOROUGHS OF BEDFORD COUNTY

WEST PROVIDENCE TOWNSHIP (Chapter divided into sections as follows)

Section 1
                    The Court action (Commissioners’ Report, etc) stating the formation of the new
                                Township [This should be a verbatim transcript (spelling, punctuation and
                                grammar exactly as in original), including additional text highlighted and in
                                parentheses (in place, or in a paragraph following), describing the present-
                                day location of the various points.
                         For example:  “…thence along a line south seventy-two degrees east
                                                  five miles to a white oak near George Lingenfelter’s
                                                  house (at a point to the south side of State Route 56
                                                  where that road crosses the present-day boundary of
                                                  the township)…”]
Section 2
                    A paragraph describing the Origin of the Township’s Name
                    A paragraph listing the Townhip’s Neighboring Townships and Any Boroughs and
                                Towns Within the Township’s boundaries
                    A paragraph listing all Rivers, Streams, Runs & Springs Within the Township

Section 3
The Early Settlement Of West ProvidenceTownship
                                [It is important to include information from past histories ~ BUT care must
                                            be taken to check the information as much as possible to determine if
                                            it is accurate. The 1884 History by Waterman, Watkins & Co (like so
                                            many County and State histories) was produced by the publishing
                                            company sending a group of individuals/researchers into the region.
                                            Some went to the Court House and copied the county’s vital statistics,
                                            while others went into the villages and towns and collect verbal
                                            sources - they asked the shopkeepers, postmasters and other business
                                            owners to tell them who were the earliest settlers and how the towns
                                            were formed and grew. When the historical information in those
                                            history books is compared to primary sources, such as tax 
                                            assessments and court records, it is sometimes found that the verbal 
                                            sources often skewed the information to their own families. The 
                                            previously published history books can be used as guides, but original 
                                            research is advised. ~ And if the research finds that the story line 
                                            needs to be changed, then change it to reflect the primary sources. If 
                                           all that is intended is to repeat certain flawed information that might be 
                                            found in the 1884 History, then do just that – reprint that volume. I am
                                            not advocating that everything in the 1884 History be challenged – 
                                            most of it is probably accurate – what I am advocating is taking 
                                            advantage of this opportunity to ‘set the record straight’ if necessary.]

Section 4
Everett Borough
                                [This can be treated as a ‘travelogue’ or ‘walking tour’ describing each
                                            business or public building encountered along the way as one moves
                                            from one end of a road or street to the other. As each new business or
                                            public building is added to the tour, its history can be included (type
                                            of business, date started, original owners/subsequent owners,
                                            interesting details).]

Section 5
West Providence Township's Recent Years

Section 6
Churches And Cemeteries Of West Providence Township and Everett Borough

Section 7
Schools Of West Providence Township and Everett Borough

Section 8
Service Organizations Of West Providence Township and Everett Borough

Section 10
                    Photos of West Providence Township and Everett Borough
                                [It is absolutely important that photos be taken throughout the township or
                                            borough – of road or street views, farms, landmark structures or
                                            natural features. The book should not contain only the usual group of
                                            ‘historic’ properties which were already included in past books. The
                                            image of a house built two years ago by a non-famous family will be
                                            just as important as a document of this time period, many years from
                                            now, as the Espy House or one of the churches in use one hundred
                                            years ago currently is. Also, with photos including their community,
                                    many more people might be motivated to use and/or purchase the
                                    book, feeling a sense of belonging by seeing their homes and
                                    hometowns in the photos.]



[The rest of the townships/borough would be set up same as foregoing West Providence]