The Harmony Museum

218 Mercer Street
Harmony PA 16037

Phone: 724-452-7341

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Description:
In 1753 Governor Dinwiddie of Virginia, in response to instructions from England on French incursion into the upper Ohio Valley, chose Major George Washington for a critical mission. Washington's orders were clear: Warn French troops against proceeding further with their military occupation of this region. Washington, Christopher Gist, his guide, and others traveled to the French Fort LeBoeuf (at present Waterford, Pa). The French commander's rebuff, with a demand the British stay out of New France, was quickly handed to Washington

As Washington returned to the Forks of the Ohio (now Pittsburgh), he and Gist were joined by a "French Indian" near the Delaware Indian village he called Murdering-Town (Harmony environs) and offered to show them a shortcut. After a few miles, the Indian suddenly turned and shot at Washington. Poor aim prevented the course of history from being changed. A half-century later, Native Americans were long gone from the area when German immigrants arrived to build the town they called Harmonie.