Touring The Oldest Building In America, West of The Allegheny Mountains - Fort Pitt Block House

Stepping back in time today, I had the privilege of experiencing a piece of history before the "school tours" began at the Fort Pitt Block House. The tale of this historical gem sure is amazing! In 1792, while Fort Pitt was torn down, the Block House was spared because it had already been converted into a dwelling.
In 1894, Mary Schenley took this timeless relic one monumental step further. She handed over the deed to the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), with a passionate request to safeguard it for the delight of our future kin.
She said, "You are to preserve and keep this relic of a bygone past, and to gather and preserve all obtainable history and tradition in regard to it, and you are to beautify and adorn it and to make it the receptacle of relics bearing on the Colonial and Revolutionary periods of its existence....I will therefore...leave the ladies of your Society, who have the history of western Pennsylvania at their finger ends, to tell the story of the chivalrous Frenchmen, cruel, crafty Indians, courageous British, and intrepid Colonists. It is fitting that this old landmark, rich in historic associations of more than a century ago, should fall into the hands of those who by birth, tradition, and sentiment are particularly fitted to receive and preserve it and perpetuate the memories of the days when it was occupied by the French and their Indian allies, and afterwards by the British and Colonial troops."
Industrialist Henry Clay Frick purchased all of the land surrounding the Block House in 1902, shortly before Schenley's death. He offered the DAR $25k to move the Fort Pitt Block House to Schenley Park, but his offer to buy and move the historic Block House was denied by DAR. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court supported DAR's decision, ensuring the building's preservation, and here we are today touring it.
#PennsylvaniaHistory #HistoricalLandmark #PittsburghHistory #pittsburgh #pittsburghhistory #pgh

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I love the smell of those old buildings. Fort Mackinac in Michigan is still relatively intact. I think it was built in the early 19th century.