One of the area’s most brutal attacks
occurred in April of 1783 when a band of
Indians attacked Walthour’s settlement and
captured his 16-year-old granddaughter.
Men working the field reached for their
guns, fighting back as they made their way
to the blockhouse. Two settlers, including
the girl’s father, were killed in the attack. The
Indians made off with the girl, with several
frontiersmen in pursuit; sadly, she did not
survive the attack, and her body was found
two months later in the woods near the
Allegheny River.
Despite its historical significance, the
location of this fort was not formally
designated until more than 160 years later,
when a marker was placed at the southerly
side of what was once the Michael Clohessy
farm, which decades later became a G.C.
Murphy Co. “Murphy’s Mart” and then
Kohl’s.
Students from Norwin High School, as well
as grade school students from Irwin Borough
and North Huntingdon, raised the money for
the sign through a penny collection, according
to an article in the May 30, 1936, issue of The
Westmoreland Patriot, which was published
by the Sons of the American Revolution.
The marker was dedicated on May 25,
1936