Relics to be returned to Waterford museum

June 20--WATERFORD -- The Fort LeBoeuf Historical Society is only inches away from buying the Fort LeBoeuf Museum, Judson House and Washington Monument Park and sparking new interest in local history.

A bill that would authorize the sale of the properties to the Historical Society for $1 each was unanimously approved by the state Senate on Wednesday.

Also, artifacts excavated at the sites of French and British forts once located along LeBoeuf Creek will be sent home to Waterford by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission for display.

Musket balls, gun parts, a bayonet fragment and musket tools are among the relics being shipped.

"They are fairly common items that one would find at a frontier fort," PHMC spokesman Howard Pollman said.

Most of the items were excavated at the Waterford sites by the Works Progress Administration in 1937, Pollman said.

"It was difficult to distinguish which objects were from the French fort and which were from the English because there was little differentiation of weapons at the time, though our archaeologist was able to identify some," Pollman said.

Waterford in the mid-18th century was the site of the French Fort LeBoeuf, a British blockhouse and an American fort, all built to defend successive claims on the French Creek and Ohio River frontier and its flourishing fur trade.

In 1753, George Washington, then a major with the Colonial Virginia militia, carried a message to the French at Fort LeBoeuf -- that they were trespassing in British territory. The French and Indian War settled the claim in favor of the British. The American Revolution ousted the British in turn.

Other items coming home to Waterford include beaded Indian moccasins, English and French flints, a lead bale seal that identified and regulated French fabric or other goods, and "trade" axes and knives -- European-made tools often traded to the Indians for furs.

"It's exciting," Fort LeBoeuf Historical Society President Judy Nelson said of the new developments.

Historians hope to operate the historic sites as a complex with the Eagle Hotel, which the Historical Society already owns. The complex not only would attract visitors interested in learning about the region's colonial history, it would also stoke Waterford's 21st-century economy, Nelson said.

"These are visitors who will go shopping in Waterford, eat in Waterford and take advantage of other services while they're here," she said.

Although the artifacts are expected to arrive from Harrisburg in early July, it's not certain yet when they might be displayed. There are appraisal, insurance, security and other issues to work out before they go on exhibit.

"It could be a drawn-out process," Nelson said.

The House bill approved by the state Senate on Wednesday authorizes the sale of properties across Pennsylvania. The Waterford museum, historic home and park -- all located where the colonial forts once stood -- are included in an amendment to the bill.

The amended bill has been sent to the House rules committee and could be back on the House floor for final approval as early as next week.

VALERIE MYERS can be reached at 878-1913 or by e-mail. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNmyers.

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