Pennsylvania Rifle
Lancaster Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Misnamed Kentucky Rifle, this famous weapon of the frontier was developed in the 1700's at Lancaster, which was the center for its manufacture.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
The long, slender flintlock famous as the "Kentucky Rifle" was in truth a Pennsylvania creation, refined by German-American gunsmiths around Lancaster during the 1700s. Accurate at ranges that stunned European soldiers, it became the tool of the frontier hunter and, later, a weapon of legend in the Revolution — a piece of American craftsmanship carried far beyond the state that perfected it.
Why it matters
This rifle links Pennsylvania's immigrant artisans to the westward push of the frontier and to the mythology of American marksmanship that took root in the founding era.
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Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
John A. Sutter
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Mathias Roeser
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From 1740 to 1771 the gunsmith Mathias Roeser worked here in Lancaster, at the heart of colonial Pennsylvania's craft economy. His shop was central to the development of the Pennsylvania rifle, the long, accurate frontier firearm that became famous in American hands. Family members and his apprentice William Henry, Sr., went on to lead the trade and supply arms to the patriot cause during the Revolution.
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