Oliver Miller and his family were among the first settlers to cross the Allegheny Mountains and claim land on the western side. They cleared the land, built a log house, and planted crops. When Miller died in 1782 his youngest son James inherited the house and a share of the land. His brothers William, John, and Thomas also received a share of the land. All of them grew corn which could be distilled into whiskey to sell for cash.
In 1791 the young government of the United States, in a move to pay off debts from the Revolutionary War, passed a tax on whiskey. This was strongly opposed by the farmers. Tensions rose and when the Inspector of the Revenue, John Neville, came to collect the tax from the Millers, he was driven off by an angry mob. The next day a group of men marched to the home of Neville. Neville fired into the crowd and killed a grandson of Oliver Miller. In retaliation the men returned the next day and burnt Neville’s house and barn to the ground.
The Whiskey Rebellion was quickly quelled when George Washington personally led an army of 13,000 militiamen to Pennsylvania. The farmers had largely returned home and did not confront the army. About twenty men were arrested but later acquitted or pardoned. The whiskey tax was repealed in 1802 and reinstated after the Civil War.The log house is long gone but five generations of the Miller family lived on this land and built the stone house adding rooms over a thirty year period in the early 1800s. The house is furnished to reflect this time period. A log house, a blacksmith shop, a crafts building, and a large barn with a giftshop and displays have been built to represent a working farm of the 1830s. A group of volunteers, dressed in period clothing, are on site every Sunday May to December. The grounds are closed on all other days and can only be viewed from the parking lot. We visited during a special event – Preserving the Harvest.
The parking lot is large enough for any vehicle. Homestead 40.31928, -80.00608
I know your posts lag behind your actual location, but that's more a jump than usual, from Michigan to Pennsylvania. :)
ReplyDeleteWe had to drive a little faster to make it to Pittsburgh for appointments. I hate going that fast and missing things along the way.
DeleteI'll so far behind on my posts. We stayed in Pittsburgh for an entire month and now we're on our way back west so we'll be making some really big jumps in the next few days.
I find it interesting how all of us nomads have different traveling styles. I think our dawdling would drive a lot of people crazy. :-D
I'm curious as to what the woman is doing hanging the green beans. Do you know? That big house is very handsome.
ReplyDeleteShe said that the settlers would string the beans and hang them to dry. Never heard of that before!
DeleteThey are called leather britches in the South. Strung up and dried to be cooked later with fatback
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