Washington County
Washington, Washington County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Formed March 28, 1781 out of Westmoreland County and named for Gen. George Washington. A scene of activity in the Whiskey Rebellion, 1791-94. The county seat, Washington, was made a borough in 1810; a city in 1924. On the National Road, eventually U.S. 40.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Formed in 1781 from Westmoreland County and named for General George Washington, this southwestern county sat at the heart of frontier unrest. From 1791 to 1794 it became a hotbed of the Whiskey Rebellion, when backcountry farmers rose against a federal excise tax on their distilled grain. The county later straddled the National Road, the great highway that carried the nation west and became U.S. Route 40.
Why it matters
Washington County witnessed the first great test of federal authority in the new republic and lay astride the road that opened the American interior to settlement and commerce.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- ¡ George Washington
Related events
- ¡ Whiskey Rebellion
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Washington
South Strabane Township, PA ¡ est. 1947
Laid out in 1781 by brothers John and William Hoge, the town of Washington rose on ground long known as the Indian Catfish Camp, a Native gathering place in the Ohio Country borderlands. Chartered as a borough in 1810 and a city in 1923, it became a hub on the National Road â the young republic's great westward artery â and filled with the fine buildings of a thriving crossroads. Its name honored George Washington, whose reputation as a surveyor and soldier had already touched this frontier region.
Washington
East Washington, PA ¡ est. 1947
The Hoge brothers laid out Washington in 1781 on the site of the Indian Catfish Camp, and the settlement matured into a borough in 1810 and a city in 1923. Positioned on the National Road, it thrived as a stopping point for the wagons and travelers pouring west across the Alleghenies. The town took its name from George Washington and preserved a wealth of early buildings from its crossroads heyday.
Washington
North Franklin Township, PA ¡ est. 1947
Founded in 1781 by John and William Hoge on the site of the Native Catfish Camp, Washington grew from a frontier plat into a borough (1810) and later a city (1923). Its fortunes were tied to the National Road, the federally built highway that funneled settlers and commerce westward through southwestern Pennsylvania. Named for George Washington, the town became rich in historic buildings and associations as traffic streamed past its doors.
National Road
Buffalo Township, PA ¡ est. 1949
Championed by Treasury Secretary Albert Gallatin, the National Road was the young nation's first federally funded highway, begun at Cumberland, Maryland, in 1811 and reaching Wheeling on the Ohio River by 1818. It opened a reliable overland artery for settlers, freight, and mail streaming toward the western frontier, and was later maintained as a state-run toll road from 1835 to 1905. Rebuilt in the automobile age, its route survives as U.S. Route 40.