Know What History Happened Around Here?

 Have you ever taken the time to read the blue historical markers along roads in the greater northern Washington County area?

If the answer is "no," then maybe it's time for a Sunday drive that can double as a history lesson.

Since 1946, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission has placed historical markers to capture the memory of people, places and events that have affected Pennsylvanians.

Across the state, according to the commission's website, "more than 2,000 cast aluminum markers tell the stories of Native Americans and settlers, government and politics, athletes, entertainers, artists, struggles for freedom and equality, factories and businesses, and a multitude of other topics." While some structures no longer exist and people have long left the earth, they live on in the markers that remember their significance to the western Pennsylvania area.

Some of the many local historical markers and plaques, their locations and significance are below (Click here to see even more details about the listings or find others of interest in Washington County):

• Col. George Morgan— Morganza Road and West McMurray Road. The noted Indian trader and agent was visited at his home here by U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr, whose conspiracy to create a separate nation in central North America was first made known to President Thomas Jefferson by Morgan. 

• John McMillan—US Route 19 near Route 519, south of Canonsburg. First Presbyterian missioner in this area and founder of Western Theological Seminary and Jefferson College. 

• Delvin Miller— Entrance to the Meadows Racetrack & Casino, 210 Racetrack Rd. Miller won 2,442 races in 8 decades, including the Hambletonian and the Little Brown Jug. He founded The Meadows in 1963 to bring the sport to his southwestern Pennsylvania home.