HistoricSiteMarkers
Early Republic

Neville House

Collier Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania

Marker Inscription

Known as Woodville. Built 1785 by Gen. John Neville; later occupied by his son, Col. Presley Neville. Refuge of Gen. Neville's family when some Whiskey Rebels burned his home at Bower Hill, July 17, 1794.

Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission

The Story

This stone house called Woodville was built in 1785 by General John Neville, a Revolutionary War officer who later took the unpopular job of federal excise inspector for western Pennsylvania. When enraged whiskey rebels burned his nearby Bower Hill mansion in July 1794, his family fled here for refuge, one violent flashpoint in the tax revolt that soon drew a presidential army. Woodville still stands as one of the region's oldest homes.

Why it matters

The attacks on John Neville's homes lit the fuse of the Whiskey Rebellion, the first major challenge to federal authority under the new Constitution.

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Related people

  • ยท John Neville
  • ยท Presley Neville

Related events

  • ยท Whiskey Rebellion
  • ยท Battle of Bower Hill

Themes & tags

Nearby & related markers

Bower Hill

Scott Township, PA ยท est. 1996

In the summer of 1794, the hills southwest of Pittsburgh became a flashpoint in the young republic's first great test of federal authority. Angry over Alexander Hamilton's excise tax on distilled spirits โ€” a hardship for cash-poor frontier farmers who turned grain into whiskey โ€” armed settlers besieged the home of tax inspector General John Neville. Over two days of fighting, Neville's mansion was put to the torch and men fell on both sides, forcing President Washington to eventually lead troops west to restore order.

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