My Initial Foray to Valley Forge

As a relatively new Pennsylvanian, there are many PA historic sites, formal and informal, that I have never seen.  On Labor Day I ventured to the National Historic Park at Valley Forge.  A deliberate "blue highway" route was chose for the trip down.  Another time I would like to stop and take photos of some of the wonderful early American architecture along that path, especially Route 100 south of Allentown.


I have to confess.  I didn't do my homework.  Valley Forge is a much larger parcel of land than I expected. (I was imagining closer to the scale of Fort Stanwix, not Gettysburg.)  The couple of hours I had allocated were no where near enough time to view the entire park, even quickly.   So, after leaving the Visitor's Center and vowing to come back another day with a picnic lunch and bicycles, I climbed back into the car and drove the 8-10 mile loop, noting the different areas from my window.  Two stops were made.  One at the National Memorial Arch and another at the Muhlenberg Brigade.

At the National Memorial Arch, my attention was caught by a plaque discussing the restoration of the arch stating that, "During 1996-1997 The Freemasons of Pennsylvania contributed more than one million five thousand dollars necessary to preserve the Arch to its original grandeur."  The question that sprang immediately to mind is, "Who pays for history?" I muttered it loud enough that a friend heard me and retorted with his own question, "Is this history?"  Further ruminations, and work this evening on my blog, have highlighted that I need to do some solid thinking, and likely historiographical research, into the semantic difference (and opinions) on the difference between "history" and "historical." Is Valley Forge history or historical? Is the National Memorial Arch historical? What about memorials in general? Are they historical when they are built or only when they reach some magic age themselves?

At the Muhlenberg Brigade we had time to look into some of the reproductions of the 12x12 cabins Washington had ordered built to house the troops.  We then headed over to hear a member of the park service speak on the construction of the encampment and the daily routine of the soldiers.  [more pictures]  All in all, a good first taste of the park.  I look forward to going back.