Logstown

Logstown, a large, politically significant Indian community in Western Pennsylvania, existed on this spot from 1727 to 1758. Around this time, Shawnee Indians began to return to their homelands after dispersing during war with the Iroquois in the late 1600s. The population was culturally and linguistically diverse and, beside the Shawnee, included members of Delaware and Seneca Indian tribes. Those who lived in Logstown were drawn to the region for its abundant game populations and distance from colonial governments.

In the 1740s, British traders, like George Croghan, began competing with French traders from the Great Lakes region for rights to make trades and build alliances with the local Indian populations. The Ohio Indians had a trade history with the French, but were attracted by the cheaper goods they could get from residents of Pennsylvania, especially when the French began building forts on the Indians land against their wishes.

The French, on the other hand, were not happy with the Pennsylvania settlers branching out into the Ohio Country. They responded by expanding their military in 1749, and buried and posted lead plates along the Allegheny-Ohio watershed to claim the region for themselves.

In spring 1752, representatives from the Ohio Company, a land company formed by prominent Virginia residents (the British), met with the Logstown Indians to ask for permission to build a post at the Forks of the Ohio, present-day Point State Park, in an attempt . Those at Logstown were interested in expanding their trade with this specific group of British people. The Ohio Company's motives were to beat out the French and the Pennsylvanians to settle this economic-opportunity rich region. The Ohio Company promised the Logstown residents $1,000 worth of gifts, and were granted permission to build a storehouse for the fur trade at the Forks. However, the Indians were uncomfortable with the Ohio Company settling there permanently. These events set the stage for the French construction of Fort Duquesne and the start of the French and Indian War.

The French were not pleased with the Pennsylvanians' incursions into the Ohio Country, and they responded with a military expedition in 1749 led by Pierre-Joseph Cérolon de Blainville. Meant as a show of force to impress the Indians and evict the Pennsylvania traders, the Cérolon expedition also buried or posted lead plates along the Allegheny-Ohio watershed claiming the region for the French.

In spring 1752, agents for the Ohio Company, a land company formed by prominent Virginians, treated with the Indians at Logstown to gain permission to build a post at the Forks of the Ohio. The Indians were interested in expanding their trade with the British; the Virginians wanted a toehold for settlement in the region that would pre-empt occupation by either the French or Pennsylvanians. After greasing the wheels of negotiation with £1,000 worth of presents - no small sum in those days - the Virginians received permission to construct a storehouse for the fur trade at the Forks, but the Indians were clearly uncomfortable with the idea of the Ohio Company planting settlers there. These events set the stage for the French construction of Fort Duquesne and the outbreak of the French and Indian War.

The Logstown roadside marker was dedicated on Thursday, October 31, 1946. The missing Logstown plaque was dedicated on June 1, 1918.

The marker reads: "One of the large Indian towns on the upper Ohio was located nearby in 1727-18. Important conference were held between the British, French, and Indians in the struggle for the Ohio Country."

The plaque read: " A short distance southeast of this spot, along the banks of the river, was situated the village of Logstown, one of the largest Indian settlements on the upper Ohio. It was the scene of many important conferences between the French, the British, and the Indians."

For more information read "Native Americans Shaped Beaver County, from its land to its politics" by Jenny Wagner, published in The Beaver County Times, February 25, 2015.