Skip to main content

Weekend in Philadelphia - Valley Forge National Historic Park

While the rest of the SEPA Road Meet went on a tour of various construction projects in the area, Maggie and I did a quick tour of Valley Forge National Historic Park. We didn't catch the entire auto drive tour - we had to head out to Reading in time for a ballgame - but what we did see we thoroughly enjoyed.

For the entire photo set, head over to flickr.

June 19th was the 232nd anniversary of the decampment of Continental Army troops from Valley Forge.  As a result, numerous Revolutionary War re-enactors were on the park grounds for the day.  Because the lunch part of the meet took longer than expected, we didn't get to see many of the re-enactors; however, the one that we did run into at the encampment stop was kind enough to put on a demonstration and talk to us for a good 15 minutes or so.

IMG_6810

The next stop, and one of the most impressive sites at Valley Forge, is the National Memorial Arch.

IMG_6813

The towering triumphant arch that honors George Washington and the Army he led, was dedicated in 1917.  At the top of the arch, an inscription quotes Washington describing the sage of his men during the winter of 1777-78.  It reads:
Naked and Starving as they are
We cannot enough admire
the Incomparable Patience and Fidelity
of the Soldiery.
From there, the next stop is of a memorial statue of General "Mad" Anthony Wayne.  Wayne was born and raised not far from Valley Forge.  He was known for his hot temper and is well known for his surprise attack and victory at Stony Point, New York in 1779.

IMG_6820

Our final stop, before we had to head west to Reading, was Washington Headquarters.  Washington's Heaaquarters is in the process of being renovated and will be one of the key focal points of the park.  The Valley Forge Train Station, built in 1913 and once a main entrance to the park, is being refurbished and will be home to a visitor's and information center focusing on the Issac Potts House - which is the home Washington used as his headquarters - and on the village of Valley Forge.  Guided tours and exhibits will also take place from the restored train station.

The Issac Potts House is where Washington located his headquarters during the six months at Valley Forge.

IMG_6831

Inside the home are a number of restored rooms that show how the living quarters would have looked in 1778.

IMG_6833

IMG_6839

Unfortunately because of time rest, we were unable to see the redoubts, artillery park, Varnum's Quarters or the gorgeous Washington Memorial Chapel.  That'll have to wait for next time.

The amazing thing about roadtrips like these and visiting parks like Valley Forge and Independence is you begin to realize how fortunate we are to live in a country with a variety landscapes that we are free to explore and discover.  It is really a testament to the freedoms we do have as Americans.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Chowchilla Mountain Road to Yosemite National Park

Chowchilla Mountain Road of Mariposa County is one of the oldest roadways servicing Yosemite National Park.  As presently configured this fourteen-mile highway begins at California State Route 49 near Elliot Corner and terminates at the Wawona Road in Yosemite National Park.  Chowchilla Mountain Road was constructed as a franchise toll road over Battalion Pass circa 1869-1870.  The highway was built at behest of Galen Clark to connect the town of Mariposa to his property near the South Fork Merced River at what is now Wawona.   In late 1874 the highway along with Clark’s Station would be purchased by the Washburn Brothers.  The Washburn Brothers would continue to toll Chowchilla Mountain Road as part of their Yosemite Stage Route lines.  The highway would ultimately become a Mariposa County public highway in 1917.  Mariposa would later be more directly linked with Yosemite Valley in 1926 following the completion of the Yosemite All-Year Highwa...

Interstate 40's Tumultuous Ride Through the Pigeon River Gorge

In the nearly 60 years Interstate 40 has been open to traffic through the Pigeon River Gorge in the mountains of Western North Carolina, it has been troubled by frequent rockslides and damaging flooding, which has seen the over 30-mile stretch through North Carolina and Tennessee closed for months at a time. Most recently, excessive rainfall from Hurricane Helene in September 2024 saw sections of Interstate 40 wash away into a raging Pigeon River. While the physical troubles of Interstate 40 are well known, how I-40 came to be through the area is a tale of its own. Interstate 40 West through Haywood County near mile marker 10. I-40's route through the Pigeon River Gorge dates to local political squabbles in the 1940s and a state highway law written in 1921. A small note appeared in the July 28, 1945, Asheville Times. It read that the North Carolina State Highway Commission had authorized a feasibility study of a "...water-level road down [the] Pigeon River to the Tennessee l...

Angus L. Macdonald Bridge

At 1.3 kilometers (or about 0.84 miles) in length, the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge is one of two bridges crossing over the Halifax Harbour between Halifax, Nova Scotia and Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, with the other bridge being the A. Murray Mackay Bridge . Opened in 1955 and named after former Nova Scotia Premier and Canadian Minister of Defense for Naval Services Angus L. Macdonald, the Macdonald Bridge was the first bridge that crossed Halifax Harbour that was opened to traffic. The Macdonald Bridge was also the subject of the Big Lift, which was only the second time in history that the span of a suspension bridge were replaced while the bridge was open to traffic. Planning began in 2010 for the Big Lift, while construction took place between 2015 and 2017. Similar work occurred on the Lion's Gate Bridge in Vancouver, British Columbia before the project took place on the Macdonald Bridge. At this time, much of the bridge infrastructure is new, leaving only the towers, main cables and...