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“Christopher Gist: Explorer, Surveyor, Frontiersman, Scout and Friend of George Washington”

DESCRIPTION: Christopher Gist will give us some first-hand account of his time with Washington and their many trials that helped pave the way for Washington’s career and foundation of our country. The presentation will take a critical look at the making of the relationship with one of Washington’s most trusted friends.

SPEAKER: William Schneider is a living historian and educator. He draws from his 45-year experience in living history and years of research on the cultures that lived and interacted on the colonial frontier. He is a retired 35-year-veteran teacher who now puts his full focus on colonial studies. Bill is also an associate curator of the Ft LeBoeuf Museum in Waterford, PA. This presentation will be part first person interpretation and part academic presentation.  

“William Trent & George Washington: Dueling Figures and Frontier Aspersions”

DESCRIPTION: William Trent was an apprentice to a Philadelphia merchant, veteran officer of King George’s War and a factor for one of the most powerful land companies in the world. Before the world was set on fire in the backwoods of America by a young Virginian named George Washington, backcountry merchant William Trent dreamed of fame and fortune in the Ohio Country. Hear how their historic paths intertwine and help forge the future United States of America.

SPEAKER: Jason A. Cherry is a 2002 graduate of the University of Massachusetts. An independent historian, Jason has reenacted the French and Indian War for over thirty years portraying a member of the group of volunteers hired under William Trent Jr in 1754, a unit known as Captain William Trent’s Company. He has also been a Revolutionary War reenactor for over thirty years.  

In March, 2024 his new book and biography William Trent: Factor of Ambition was released and met with rave reviews. Jason lives in Butler, Pennsylvania with his wife, Emily, and their two daughters Penny and Charlotte.

“Washington and Lafayette”

DESCRIPTION: As students of Washington, most of us know him from his activities in Western Pennsylvania. This year marks the bicentennial of the visit of the Marquis de Lafayette, the man with whom Washington had a most personal and warm relationship and who helped build alliances between France and America. We can learn a lot about Washington from an examination of their relationship.

SPEAKER: Richard Arthur is a graduate of Knoch High School, Allegheny College, George Washington University and a veteran with 23 years of service in the Army. Throughout his military and business careers, he immersed himself in history through reading and traveling across America and Europe.  Currently he is the curator of the Eagle Hotel and Stagecoach Museum, both parts of the Fort Le Boeuf Historical Campus in Waterford, PA. He is also a member of the Washington Trail 1753 steering committee, The American Friends of Lafayette, and the Jefferson Society in Erie. He and his wife Mary Lou live in rural Erie County. 

“Guyasuta/Kayahsotha, George Washington’s Friend or Foe?”

DESCRIPTION: In some historians’ interpretations of Guyasuta/Kayahsotha, he is vilified as the man who tried to shoot George Washington on the now famous trip to the French Forts in the Ohio Country in 1753 (along the George Washington Trail). This interpretation is based on what could be a mistake arising from young Washington’s distrust of his native guide’s actions in an unfamiliar land on a dangerous, foreboding mission. The relationship between these two men is more complicated than most of us realize. This presentation will delve into Guyasuta’s influence on the colonial frontier during the 18th century, particularly through his interactions with George Washington. 

SPEAKER: Doug Wood retired after 33 years as a biologist/ecologist with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s Watershed Assessment Program. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Wildlife Management from W.V.U. and has been researching 18th century Eastern American cultures and their environments since 1987. His ancestry is a mixture of Cherokee, Scotch-Irish, English, and German, and he enjoys researching all his family lines.

“John Bartram: Nurseryman to George Washington”

DESCRIPTION: John Bartram (1699–1777) was an American-born botanist, horticulturist, naturalist, and explorer and is considered the “Father of American Botany.”  He was a pioneer in the importation and cultivation of non-native plants, and in 1728, established the first botanic garden in the United States in Philadelphia, and was named the botanist for the American colonies to King George III. It was Bartram who supplied plants to George Washington for his home landscape at Mount Vernon.

“In short I shall begrudge no reasonable expence that will contribute to the improvement and neatness of my farms” – George Washington

SPEAKER: Donald Pearce lives in Waterford, PA and is an historian and horticulturalist specializing in gardening practices of the past (Colonial America through WWII Victory Gardens). He is Director of the 18th Century Soldier’s Garden at the Fort LeBoeuf French & Indian War Museum and is a Penn State Master Gardener.

The exhibit was recently on display at the Museum of the American Revolution (Pennsylvania)

Also included…

With your registration is the unique opportunity to view the traveling exhibit: The Life and Legacy of The Marquis de Lafayette, sponsored by The American Friends of Lafayette (AFL). The six banners tell the important stories of Lafayette’s life and legacy including his American Revolution participation, his critical role in cementing the Franco-American Alliance, and his lifelong passion for human rights.