WATERFORD — Federal legislation reintroduced in Congress would begin the process of determining whether a historic route that ends in Waterford should receive designation as a National Historic Trail.
The Washington’s Trail — 1753 National Historic Trail Feasibility Study Act would direct the U.S. Department of the Interior to study the feasibility of designating Washington’s Trail as part of the National Trails System.
The route traces the path taken by a 21-year-old George Washington during a diplomatic mission in 1753. Washington traveled from Virginia to Fort LeBoeuf, located in present-day Waterford, carrying a message from the British governor of Virginia demanding that French forces leave the Ohio Valley.
The journey is widely viewed as a significant event leading up to the French and Indian War, which later helped shape the course of North American history.
Today, Washington’s Trail stretches approximately 1,000 miles through Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia and western Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania portion includes a series of blue and white trail markers that guide travelers through historic sites and communities before ending at Fort LeBoeuf.
The proposed legislation does not create the trail designation itself. Instead, it would authorize a federal study to determine whether the route meets the requirements for inclusion in the National Trails System.
The route includes numerous historic destinations throughout western Pennsylvania, including the Fort LeBoeuf Museum in Waterford, where visitors can learn about the frontier fort that marked the end of Washington’s mission.
The bill has been introduced in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives and has bipartisan support from lawmakers representing Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Virginia.
If approved, the study would evaluate the trail’s historical significance, integrity and suitability for national historic trail designation.
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