![NativeTowns Pittsburgh](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/NativeTowns_Pittsburgh.png)
Shannopin's Town, or Shannopintown, was an 18th-century
Lenape
The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...
(Delaware) town located within the site of modern-day
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
, along the
Allegheny River
The Allegheny River ( ) is a long headwater stream of the Ohio River in western Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York. The Allegheny River runs from its headwaters just below the middle of Pennsylvania's northern border northwesterly into ...
, approximately two miles east from its junction with the
Monongahela River
The Monongahela River ( , )—often referred to locally as the Mon ()—is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 15, 2011 river on the Allegheny Plateau in North Cen ...
. In the early 1700s, British colonial settlers began spreading into western Pennsylvania, forcing Lenape and other American Indian tribes to move further west, settling in the
Ohio Country. Shannopin's Town was one of several communities established in western Pennsylvania in the 1720s. The town was largely abandoned during the construction of
Fort Duquesne
Fort Duquesne (, ; originally called ''Fort Du Quesne'') was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. It was later taken over by the British, and later the Americans, and developed a ...
in 1754, although a small community still existed when
General John Forbes
John Forbes (5 September 1707 – 11 March 1759) was a Scottish professional soldier who served in the British Army from 1729 until his death in 1759.
During the 1754 to 1763 French and Indian War, he commanded the 1758 Forbes Expedition t ...
' troops arrived in September 1758. The community was gone by the time construction on
Fort Pitt was started in 1759.
Location
Modern attempts to pinpoint the exact location of Shannopin's Town are based on settler's journals, early maps, and a burial site which was uncovered during building excavations in 1862.
[Shaun Slifer, "The Land that Held the Lenape Settlement of Shannopintown," at ''Compass Roses: Maps by Artists''](_blank)
/ref> The village is believed to have been roughly from where Penn Avenue
Penn Avenue is a major arterial street in Pittsburgh and Wilkinsburg, in Pennsylvania. Its western terminus lies at Gateway Center in downtown Pittsburgh. For its westernmost ten blocks it serves as the core of the Cultural District with such ...
is today, below the mouth of Two Mile Run, from 30th Street to 39th Street. At this place the Raystown Trail leading from Harris' Ferry (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...
) crossed the Allegheny. According to George Croghan
George Croghan (c. 1718 – August 31, 1782) was an Irish-born fur trader in the Ohio Country of North America (current United States) who became a key early figure in the region. In 1746 he was appointed to the Onondaga Council, the governin ...
, the town was situated on the south bank of the Allegheny, nearly opposite what is now known as Herr's Island, in what is now the Lawrenceville neighborhood in the city of Pittsburgh.[Charles Augustus Hanna, ''The Wilderness Trail: Or, The Ventures and Adventures of the Pennsylvania Traders on the Allegheny Path,'' Volume 1, Putnam's sons, 1911](_blank)
/ref>
The town was near the western end-point of the Kittanning Path
The Kittanning Path was a major east-west Native American trail that crossed the Allegheny Mountains barrier ridge connecting the Susquehanna River valleys in the center of Pennsylvania to the highlands of the Appalachian Plateau and thence to ...
and at the southern terminus of the Venango Path.
On November 15, 1753, Lewis Montour informed the Governor and the Speaker of the Assembly that "Shanoppin Town" was situated about three miles above the Forks of the Monongahela. John Hogan, who was taken prisoner at the destruction of Fort Granville
Fort Granville was a militia stockade located in the colonial Province of Pennsylvania. Its site was about a mile from Lewistown, in what is now Granville Township, Mifflin County. Active from 1755 until 1756, the stockade briefly sheltered pi ...
, and carried to Fort Duquesne
Fort Duquesne (, ; originally called ''Fort Du Quesne'') was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. It was later taken over by the British, and later the Americans, and developed a ...
in August, 1756, stated in a deposition in June 1757 that, "at about two miles' distance from Fort Duquesne, there was an Indian Town, containing fifty or sixty natives, of whom twenty were able to bear arms."
Establishment
The town or village is believed to have been settled in the mid 1720’s. It was located at a convenient river crossing, within 16 miles of Logstown
"extensive flats"
, settlement_type = Historic Native American village
, image_skyline = Image:Logstown1.jpg
, imagesize = 220px
, image_alt =
, image_map1 = Pennsylvania in United States ...
, about 20 miles from Chartier's Town, and a day's ride from Kittanning, all prominent communities with trading posts. Lewis Evans describes a ford near the town: "At Shannopin's there is a fording place in very dry times and the lowest down the river."
Shannopin (Shawanoppan)
Little is known about Chief Shannopin, probably the founder of Shannopin's Town, who is also sometimes referred to as "Shawanoppan," "Shawanosson," and other variations of this name.
On 30 April, 1730, Shannopin and five other Lenape leaders, "the chiefs of ye Delewares at Allegaeniny, on the main road," sent a letter, taken down by Edmund Cartledge and interpreted by James Le Tort
James Le Tort (often spelled James Letort, c. 1675 – c. 1742) was a Pennsylvania fur trader and a ''coureur des bois'' active in the early 18th century. He established trading posts at several remote Native American communities in Pennsylvania ...
, to Deputy Governor Patrick Gordon, protesting against the sale of rum in Lenape communities and asking the Governor to "prevent any further misfortunes for the future, we would request that the Governor would please regulate the Traders, and suppress such numbers
of them from coming into the woods; and especially from bringing such large quantities of rum." The letter was to explain the death of two traders named John Hart and John Fisher, who were accidentally shot during a hunting expedition with a group of Lenapes in the fall of 1729. Another trader, David Robeson, was shot and beaten during an altercation. These incidents were blamed on intoxication by rum of those involved. Shannopin and the other signatories wanted to limit the free trade of rum and the numbers of people traveling from the European settlements in the east. The traders also complained that the rum trade had caused Indians in Shannopin's town to go into debt to the traders. Among the names signed to the message is that of "Shawanoppan his X mark."[Chester Hale Sipe, "The Principal Indian Towns of Western Pennsylvania," ''Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine,'' v. 13, no. 2; April 1, 1930; pp. 104-122](_blank)
/ref>[Samuel Hazard, ''Pennsylvania Archives,'' Vol. I, Philadelphia: Joseph Severns, 1851](_blank)
/ref>
On 8 August 1732 Shannopin's name appears signed to a message sent by the Delawares on the Allegheny to Deputy Governor Gordon, promising to come to Philadelphia the following spring.[Pugh, Edwin V., Mulkearn, Lois. ''A Traveler's Guide to Historic Western Pennsylvania.'' University of Pittsburgh Press, 1954.](_blank)
/ref> At Logstown on September 15, 1748 he made a speech to Conrad Weiser
Conrad Weiser (November 2, 1696 – July 13, 1760), born Johann Conrad Weiser, Jr., was a Pennsylvania Dutch (German) pioneer who served as an interpreter and diplomat between the Pennsylvania Colony and Native American nations. Primarily a f ...
about the recent death of Chief Allumapees
Sassoonan or Allumapees (c. 1675 - 15 October, 1747) was a Lenni Lenape chief who lived in Pennsylvania in the late 17th and early 18th century. He was known for his negotiations with the Provincial government of Pennsylvania in several land purc ...
(Weiser refers to him as "Shawanasson").
Shannopin died between 1748 and 1751. The exact date is unknown, but a letter from Governor James Hamilton to George Croghan
George Croghan (c. 1718 – August 31, 1782) was an Irish-born fur trader in the Ohio Country of North America (current United States) who became a key early figure in the region. In 1746 he was appointed to the Onondaga Council, the governin ...
, dated 25 April 1751, refers to a promise Shannopin and other Lenape leaders made, to meet with colonial authorities following the death of Chief Allumapees in October, 1747. The letter states:
:The Delawares...promised to visit their Brethren in Philadelphia to Consult with them about a new Chief, but those men who made such Promise, viz., Shawanapon and Others, are since dead..."[''Colonial Records of Pennsylvania,'' T. Fenn & Company, 1851](_blank)
/ref>
Senangel's Town
On 29 October 1731, James Le Tort and his colleague Jonas Davenport were called to testify before Governor Patrick Gordon.[Charles Augustus Hanna, ''The Wilderness Trail: Or, The Ventures and Adventures of the Pennsylvania Traders on the Allegheny Path,'' Volume 2, Putnam's sons, 1911](_blank)
/ref> Le Tort and Davenport had by then traveled to Native American communities across western Pennsylvania and knew them well. At the time of their examination, Davenport and Le Tort provided an estimate of the populations of the Allegheny settlements, and the names of their chiefs, including "Senangelstown," which has been assumed to be Shannopin's Town, with 16 families, 50 men, and a Delaware Chief named Senangel. Not all sources agree that this is Shannopin's Town, however. William Albert Hunter (1952) proposes that "Senangel's Town" was a separate community and that "Senangel" refers to Chief Sayningoe, mentioned in other colonial documents.
Visit by Peter Chartier, 1743-45
In 1743 Peter Chartier
Peter Chartier (16901759) (Anglicized version of Pierre Chartier, sometimes written Chartiere, Chartiers, Shartee or Shortive) was a fur trader of mixed Shawnee and French parentage. Multilingual, he later became a leader and a band chief among ...
, a half-Shawnee Indian trader whose father was French-Canadian, moved to Shannopin's Town. He established a trading post
A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded.
Typically the location of the trading post would allow people from one geographic area to tr ...
on the Allegheny River about twenty miles upstream from the forks of the Ohio near the mouth of Chartiers Run, at what became Tarentum Tarentum may refer to:
* Taranto, Apulia, Italy, on the site of the ancient Roman city of Tarentum (formerly the Greek colony of Taras)
**See also History of Taranto
* Tarentum (Campus Martius), also Terentum, an area in or on the edge of the Camp ...
, known as Chartier's Town at the time, and Chartier's Old Town after it was abandoned in 1745. Chartier was in conflict with the Pennsylvania authorities because he opposed the sale of alcohol in Native American communities. In 1745 he declared his allegiance with the French and migrated to Kentucky, along with about 400 Pekowi Pekowi was the name of one of the five divisions (or bands) of the Shawnee, a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people, during the 18th century. The other four divisions were the Chalahgawtha, Mekoche, Kispoko, and Hathawekela. ...
Shawnees.[C. Hale Sipe, ''The Indian Wars of Pennsylvania : an account of the Indian events, in Pennsylvania, of the French and Indian war, Pontiac's war, Lord Dunmore's war, the revolutionary war, and the Indian uprising from 1789 to 1795; tragedies of the Pennsylvania frontier based primarily on the Penna. archives and colonial records,'' Harrisburg, PA: The Telegraph Press, 1929.](_blank)
/ref>
Visit by Conrad Weiser, 1748
Conrad Weiser
Conrad Weiser (November 2, 1696 – July 13, 1760), born Johann Conrad Weiser, Jr., was a Pennsylvania Dutch (German) pioneer who served as an interpreter and diplomat between the Pennsylvania Colony and Native American nations. Primarily a f ...
spent the night of August 26, 1748 at Shannopin's Town on his way to Logstown for a meeting with chiefs of the Delaware, Shawnee, Iroquois and Wyandot nations. Among those accompanying Weiser was Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...
's illegitimate son, William Franklin
William Franklin (22 February 1730 – 17 November 1813) was an American-born attorney, soldier, politician, and colonial administrator. He was the acknowledged illegitimate son of Benjamin Franklin. William Franklin was the last colonial G ...
, only nineteen at the time, probably sent by his father as a part of his education. William's journey subsequently inspired his father's keen interest in the frontier.[Volwiler, Albert T. ''George Croghan and the Westward Movement, 1741–1782.'' Cleveland: The Arthur H. Clark Company, 1926](_blank)
/ref>
Visit by Céloron de Blainville, 1749
In 1749, the Comte de La Galissonière wanted to strengthen French control over the Ohio Country, and in August he ordered the military commander at Detroit, Pierre Joseph Céloron de Blainville Pierre-Joseph Céloron de Blainville (29 December 1693, Montreal—14 April 1759, Montreal) — also known as Celeron de Bienville (or Céleron, or Céloron, etc.) — was a French Canadian Officer of Marine. In 1739 and '40 he led a detachment to ...
to travel down the Ohio River to demonstrate French dominance. Leading a force of eight officers, six cadets, an armorer, 20 soldiers, 180 Canadians, 30 Iroquois and 25 Abenaki
The Abenaki (Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was predom ...
s,[O. H. Marshall, "De Celoron's Expedition to the Ohio in 1749, ''Magazine of American History,'' March, 1878, p. 146.](_blank)
/ref> Céloron moved down the river on a flotilla of 23 large boats and birch-bark canoes, on his "lead plate expedition," burying lead plates at six locations where major tributaries entered the Ohio and nailing copper plates bearing royal arms to trees to claim the territory for New France
New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spai ...
.
Céloron reached Kittanning on 6 August 1749 and arrived at Shannopin's Town the next day. He writes:
The 7th I passed by a Loup (Mohegan
The Mohegan are an Algonquian Native American tribe historically based in present-day Connecticut. Today the majority of the people are associated with the Mohegan Indian Tribe, a federally recognized tribe living on a reservation in the east ...
) village in which there were only three men. They had placed a white flag over their cabins, the rest of their people had gone to Chiningue, not hazarding to remain at home. I invited these three men to come along with me to Chiningue in order to hear what I had to say to them.
Visit by Christopher Gist, 1750
Christopher Gist first visited the town in November, 1750.[William M. Darlington, ed. ''Christopher Gist's Journals, with Historical, Geographical and Ethnological Notes and Biographies of His Contemporaries,'' First Journal, October, 31, 1750 to May 19, 1751. Pittsburgh, J. R. Weldin & Co., 1893](_blank)
/ref>
/ref> Shannopin's Town was small, containing about twenty wigwam
A wigwam, wickiup, wetu (Wampanoag), or wiigiwaam (Ojibwe, in syllabics: ) is a semi-permanent domed dwelling formerly used by certain Native American tribes and First Nations people and still used for ceremonial events. The term ''wickiup'' ...
s, fifty or sixty natives and twenty warriors. For a time, it was the residence of Scarouady Scarouady (also spelled Scarowady, Scarrouady, Scaroyady, Scarujade, Scaiohady, Skaronyade, Scaronage, Scruniyatha, Seruniyattha, or Skaruntia) was an Oneida tribe, Oneida leader at Logstown. He was sometimes referred to as Monacatuatha (also rend ...
, Shingas Shingas ( fl. 17401763), was a Lenape chief and warrior who participated in military activities in Ohio Country during the French and Indian War. Allied with the French, Shingas led numerous raids on Anglo-American settlements during the war, for ...
and Tanacharison
Tanacharison (; c. 1700 – 4 October 1754), also called Tanaghrisson (), was a Native American leader who played a pivotal role in the beginning of the French and Indian War. He was known to European-Americans as the Half-King, a title also ...
. It was much visited by traders.
Gist writes:
:Monday 19.—Set out early in the Morning...travelled very hard about 20 M to a small Indian Town of the Delawares called Shannopin on the SE Side of the River Ohio, where We rested and got Corn for our Horses.
:Tuesday 20 Wednesday 21 Thursday 22 and Friday 23.—I was unwell and stayed in this Town to recover myself; While I was here I took an Opportunity to set my Compass privately, & took the Distance across the River, for I understood it was dangerous to let a Compass be seen among these Indians: The River Ohio is 76 Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Ce ...
wide at Shannopin Town: There are about twenty Families in this Town: The Land in general from Potomack to this Place is mean stony and broken, here and there good Spots upon the Creeks and Branches but no Body of it.
:Saturday 24.—Set out from Shannopin's Town, and swam our Horses across the River Ohio, & went down the River...all the Land from Shannopin's Town is good along the River, but the Bottoms not broad; At a Distance from the River good Land for Farming, covered with small white and red Oaks and tolerable level; fine Runs for Mills &c .
Meeting of the Virginia Commissioners, 1752
![Gwash map01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/Gwash_map01.jpg)
En route to the Logstown Treaty Conference, the Virginia Commissioners paused at Shannopin's Town (which they refer to as "Shonassim's Town") on May 28–30, to meet with the Lenape chiefs Shingas Shingas ( fl. 17401763), was a Lenape chief and warrior who participated in military activities in Ohio Country during the French and Indian War. Allied with the French, Shingas led numerous raids on Anglo-American settlements during the war, for ...
and Tamaqua. Shingas, who was about to be named chief of the western Lenape, may have been living at Shannopin's Town at that time, although he did not attend the conference in Logstown.
The commissioners were Colonel Joshua Fry
Colonel Joshua Fry (1699–1754) was an English-born American adventurer who became a professor, then real estate investor and local official in the colony of Virginia. Although he served several terms in the House of Burgesses, he may be best kn ...
, James Patton, and Lunsford Lomax, accompanied by Christopher Gist
Christopher Gist (1706–1759) was an explorer, surveyor, and frontiersman active in Colonial America. He was one of the first white explorers of the Ohio Country (the present-day states of Ohio, eastern Indiana, western Pennsylvania, and nort ...
and Andrew Montour
Andrew Montour ( – 1772), also known as Sattelihu, Eghnisara,Hagedorn, 57 and Henry,Montour was also called Henry, possibly due to the similarity of sound with the French ''"Andre".'' was an important mixed Language interpretation, interpr ...
, who served as interpreter. The commissioners were greeted by two or three volleys of gunfire, after which they then proceeded to the river bank above the town, where they pitched camp. They spent the following day in conference with the chiefs, and noted that the Lenape had no king, but were represented by Shingas and his brother Tamaqua, both of whom, supplied with coats and hats by the commissioners, "were dressed after the English fashion." Both wore "silver Breast Plates and ada great deal of Wampum
Wampum is a traditional shell bead of the Eastern Woodlands tribes of Native Americans. It includes white shell beads hand-fashioned from the North Atlantic channeled whelk shell and white and purple beads made from the quahog or Western Nor ...
about them." They made favorable impressions with the commissioners, who informed the Lenape that they were to meet the Six Nations at Logstown to improve relationships between the King’s representatives and the Ohio Indians.["The Treaty of Logg's Town, 1752." ''Virginia Magazine of History and Biography,'' vol. 13, 1906; Pp 154–174.](_blank)
/ref>
On 30 May the commissioners headed a short distance down river to meet with Queen Alliquippa
Queen Alliquippa or Queen Aliquippa (died December 23, 1754) was a leader of the Seneca tribe of American Indians during the early part of the 18th century.
Biography
Little is known about Queen Aliquippa's early life. Her date of birth has been ...
. They reached Logstown on 31 May.
Visit by George Washington, 1753
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
and Christopher Gist met with Shingas at Shannopin's Town (which Washington refers to as "Shanapins") on 23 November 1753, on their way to Logstown, during Washington's journey to speak with the French commander at Fort Le Boeuf
Fort Le Bœuf (often referred to as Fort de la Rivière au Bœuf) was a fort established by the French during 1753 on a fork of French Creek (in the drainage area of the River Ohio), in present-day Waterford, in northwest Pennsylvania. The fort ...
.[George Washington, "Journey to the French Commandant: Narrative," Founders Online, National Archives. Original source: ''The Diaries of George Washington,'' vol. 1, 11 March 1748 – 13 November 1765, ed. Donald Jackson. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1976, pp. 130–161.](_blank)
/ref>
It was near Shannopin's Town, as he was returning from his mission to the French, December 29, 1753, that Washington almost drowned in the icy waters of the Allegheny. Washington and Gist were following " The Piney Creek", which meets the Allegheny River at current day Etna, Pennsylvania
Etna is a Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
Hist ...
. The river had not completely frozen, so Gist and Washington had to make a raft to cross the river. As they were crossing, the raft was struck by an ice jam and Washington was thrown into the water, but managed to grab onto the raft with Gist pulling him aboard. Gist writes:
Saturday 29.— We set out early, got to Alleghany, made a raft, and with much difficulty got over to an island, a little above Shannopin's town. The Major having fallen in from off the raft, and my fingers frostbitten, and the sun down, and very cold, we contented ourselves to encamp upon that island. It was deep water between us and the shore; but the cold did us some service, for in the morning it was frozen hard enough for us to pass over on the ice.[William M. Darlington, ed. ''Christopher Gist's Journals, with Historical, Geographical and Ethnological Notes and Biographies of His Contemporaries,'' Pittsburgh, J. R. Weldin & Co., 1893; Second Journal - November 4, 1751 to March 29, 1752, Third Journal - November 15, 1753 to January 4, 1754.](_blank)
/ref>
They spent the night on the former Wainwright's Island (now known as Washington's Landing
Herrs Island, also known as Washington's Landing, is an island in the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is officially considered part of the Troy Hill neighborhood.
Rehabilitation
As a result of the industrial ...
) and then went to the trading house of John Fraser John Fraser may refer to:
Politics
*John Simon Frederick Fraser (1765–1803), commanded the Fraser Fencibles in Ireland and was (M.P.) for Inverness-shire
*John James Fraser (1829–1896), 5th Premier of the Canadian province of New Brunswick, 18 ...
at the mouth of Turtle Creek, staying overnight and continuing on the next day to Shannopin's Town.
Abandonment
In January, 1754 British soldiers under the command of William Trent
William Trent (February 13, 1715–1787) was an American fur trader and merchant based in colonial Pennsylvania. He was commissioned as a captain of the Virginia Regiment in the early stages of the French and Indian War, when he served on the wes ...
began construction of Fort Prince George
Fort Prince George was an uncompleted fort on what is now the site of Pittsburgh, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The site was originally a trading post established by Ohio Company t ...
at the confluence of the Ohio and the Monongahela rivers, about two miles west of Shannopin's Town. On 4 March 1754, a French detachment under Michel Maray de La Chauvignerie
Michel Maray de La Chauvignerie (January 24, 1704August 10, 1778), also known as Michel Maray, sieur de la La Chauvignerie, was a French military officer in the Troupes de la Marine and interpreter of Iroquoian languages.
Biography
Michel Maray ...
discovered the fort, still under construction.[Cherry, Jason A. ''Pittsburgh's Lost Outpost: Captain Trent's Fort.'' Charleston, SC: HISTORY Press, 2019.](_blank)
/ref>[''PAPIERS CONTRECOEUR Le Conflit Angelo - Francias Sur L' Ohio De 1745 a 1756.'' English translation of documents in the Quebec Seminary by Donald Kent, 1952](_blank)
/ref> In April, a force of more than 500 men under the command of Captain Claude-Pierre Pécaudy de Contrecœur sailed down the Allegheny River from Venango, landing at Shannopin's Town. On 18 April 1754, the French Commander sent a captain, a drummer and an interpreter to present Ensign Edward Ward, the acting commander, with a summons stating that the French Army intended to lay siege to the fort, and that the British had one hour to leave. The British garrison of about forty men withdrew, and the French seized the fort and razed it to build Fort Duquesne
Fort Duquesne (, ; originally called ''Fort Du Quesne'') was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. It was later taken over by the British, and later the Americans, and developed a ...
.
Shannopin's Town was largely abandoned during the construction of Fort Duquesne, but a small community still existed when John Hogan, a British prisoner, observed it in August, 1756. In 1758, General Forbes' troops passed through it and observed the decapitated bodies of Scottish highlanders of the 77th Regiment of Foot (Montgomerie's Highlanders)
The 77th Regiment of Foot (Montgomerie's Highlanders) was a Highland Scots Regiment raised in 1757. The 77th Regiment was one of the first three Highland Regiments to fight in North America. During the Seven Years' War, the regiment lost 110 s ...
who had been killed on 14 September at the Battle of Fort Duquesne
The Battle of Fort Duquesne was British assault on the eponymous French fort (later the site of Pittsburgh) that was repulsed with heavy losses on 14 September 1758, during the French and Indian War.
The attack on Fort Duquesne was part of a la ...
when Major James Grant was defeated. The town had vanished by the time construction of Fort Pitt was begun in 1759.[Donehoo, George P. ''A History of the Indian Villages and Place Names in Pennsylvania with Numerous Historical Notes and References.'' Papamoa Press, 2019.](_blank)
/ref>
Archaeological investigations
Archaeological work in the Pittsburgh area sponsored by the Carnegie Museum of Natural History
The Carnegie Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as CMNH) is a natural history museum in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Pittsburgh-based industrialist Andrew Carnegie in 1896.
Housing some 22 million ...
has uncovered relatively little from the 18th century, due to disturbance of sites by construction and industry. A Native American burial site was uncovered during construction on 31st Street in 1862, but no other information was recorded. Some work in the Fort Pitt area has uncovered features including circular house-hearths or fire pits, midden
A midden (also kitchen midden or shell heap) is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofact ...
areas, postmolds, cellars, fence lines, remains of fortifications, stone foundations, trash pits, privies, and parts of walls. Artifacts include prehistoric and historic ceramics, debitage
In archaeology, debitage is all the material produced during the process of lithic reduction – the production of stone tools and weapons by knapping stone. This assemblage may include the different kinds of lithic flakes and lithic blades, b ...
, glass, glass trade beads, gunflints, metal, redware
Redware as a single word is a term for at least two types of pottery of the last few centuries, in Europe and North America. Red ware as two words is a term used for pottery, mostly by archaeologists, found in a very wide range of places. Howeve ...
, and textiles.Kathryn M. Lombardi et al, "Archaeological Survey of the Lower Hill Redevelopment Project, City of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania," Report prepared for the Sports and Exhibition Authority of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County by Michael Baker Jr., Inc., June 2013
/ref>
See also
* History of Pennsylvania
* History of Pittsburgh
The history of Pittsburgh began with centuries of Native American civilization in the modern Pittsburgh region, known as "Dionde:gâ'" in the Seneca language. Eventually, European explorers encountered the strategic confluence where the Alleghe ...
* French and Indian War
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...
* Logstown
"extensive flats"
, settlement_type = Historic Native American village
, image_skyline = Image:Logstown1.jpg
, imagesize = 220px
, image_alt =
, image_map1 = Pennsylvania in United States ...
* Lenape
The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...
* Fort Pitt
External links
Shaun Slifer, "The Land that Held the Lenape Settlement of Shannopintown," at ''Compass Roses: Maps by Artists''
Shannopin's Town, ''Ohio History Central''
"Shannopin Town," ''Magical History Tour''
References
{{authority control
Lenape
French and Indian War
Native American populated places
1720s establishments in the Thirteen Colonies
History of Pittsburgh
Populated places established in 1720
Geography of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
History of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Native American history of Pennsylvania
George Washington
Former populated places in Pennsylvania
Former Native American populated places in the United States
1758 disestablishments