Don’t Know Much About History….

A personal note on my involvement in the “War for the Empire.”

Funny how things come full circle. As a child, my father told me about the “fort over by Stoystown” a small Somerset County community. He told me that back in the woods beyond this town was a fort from the French-Indian War. Of course he had no information beyond this remark to confirm or deny this. Being a child, I had no way of knowing or exploring it further. Even though Stoystown was about 20 miles from my home, it might as well been on the other side of the planet!

Of course, history taught me about the French and Indian War and nearby was Fort Bedford and other sites that were tourist attractions, but the thought of a tiny lost fort in the woods of Somerset County was intriguing. Without any further knowledge or information, this scant bit of information was placed in the dusty closet of my memory where it gathered cobwebs for years.

Fast forward to 2004. While visiting a local consignment ship along US Route 30, the owner started to talk about Fort Duart and the Forbes Military Road. I had heard about this as a child, but for the first time, someone other than my dad was talking about this tiny, lost fort in woods. This is exciting! The shop owner, Ms. Georgia Sheftic, is credited for reviving a long dormant interest in what seems to be the elusive “fort over by Stoystown.”

I caution the reader, I am not a historian. I know little or nothing about history save that which I learned in school. I will rely on others to help with information and technical details that will be used on this site. But, my interest and desire to learn has been re-kindled. I am an amateur web designer as well so please do not expect the professional results, just a fellow who wants to share the excitement of history with others on the World Wide Web media.

For the professional web site on the French and Indian War, I direct the reader to the “War for the Empire” site at www.warforempire.org which is well done and filled with information. In some small way, this site will, hopefully be a piece of that story.