Fort Pitt Museum to host programs and exhibits that interpret 18th-century history
This summer at Point State Park, the Fort Pitt Museum will host exhibitions and events that bring the history of Pittsburgh to life right where the city began.
Visitors to the museum will discover the Point’s role during pivotal moments in American history, including the French & Indian War, the American Revolution, and as the birthplace of Pittsburgh.
This upcoming Saturday and Sunday, June 3-4 includes a Living History Weekend from noon to 4 p.m. each day, during which interpreters and staff will focus on how American Indians and early settlers lived in 18th-century Pittsburgh. Shideezhi Emarthla, a citizen of the Seneca-Cayuga Nation, will discuss interactions between the historic tribes based in the area, and lead a cooking demonstration. The museum will ceremoniously fire its replica 18th-century British six-pounder cannon at select times each day, weather pending.
On Tuesday, July 4 from noon to 4 p.m., visitors can celebrate Fourth at the Fort.
At 1 p.m., museum staff, scouts, and local veterans will help kick off the Fourth of July holiday by raising a 36-foot American flag. Afterward, visitors can enjoy a family-friendly afternoon of living history demonstrations, cannon-firings, and 18th-century military music.
Additionally, the museum’s featured exhibition, “Guyasuta: The Life and Legend of a Seneca Chief,” has been extended through Sept. 4. The exhibit follows the Seneca leader’s defense of his people from the French and Indian War through the American Revolution and details his leadership through many pivotal moments in the region’s history. It includes a bronze maquette of local sculptor Jim West’s iconic Mount Washington sculpture, Point of View; an 18th-century American Indian war club and pipe tomahawk; 18th-century peace medals issued to American Indians; and more.
The Fort Pitt Museum is apart of the Smithsonian-affiliated Senator John Heinz History Center’s family of museums.