A guided tour is slated Saturday in Harmony to take interested residents on the trail George Washington took in the county in 1753. In conjunction with the tours, there will be free refreshments offered at Stewart Hall in the borough.

HARMONY — A guided tour teaching the history of George Washington's visit to the area will again be held in the borough.

The event is planned Saturday and is organized by Historic Harmony, Slippery Rock University's Old Stone House and Washington's Trail 1753.

The guided hikes will depart from Stewart Hall on Mercer Street every half-hour starting at 10 a.m. and ending at 1 p.m.

The participants will board a shuttle to the trailhead and will then hike the Harmony Trail and loop back to Stewart Hall. The entire experience takes about an hour, said John Ruch, Historic Harmony president.

The event is designed to teach the history of the area, particularly Gen. George Washington's experiences.

Hikers will stop at a period-accurate campsite by the Connoquenessing Creek that will include temporary wickiup shelters similar to what the Delaware Indian tribe used in the 18th century.

Near the campsite, re-enactors will recreate the incident where a Native American took a shot at the young Washington.

The incident is believed to have occurred in December 1753 somewhere near what is now Evans City, said Martin O'Brien, chairman of Washington's Trail 1753.

There is a monument on Route 68 in Forward Township commemorating the attempted murder.

The trail includes highway markers starting in Cranberry Township and following roads north along a similar route to what Washington is thought to have traveled during his diplomatic trip that took him from Virginia to Fort LaBoeuf on behalf of the British.

This includes the Harmony and Zelienople area, O'Brien said.In conjunction with the tours, there will be free refreshments offered at Stewart Hall. The historic groups also have arranged for three guests.Signing books will be Brady Crytzer, an author and historian who has had works about the French and Indian War published, and Brad Pflugh, an author and historian who has had works focused on the Civil War published.Artist Fred Threfall also will have a display of firearms representative of the French and Indian War period, and there will be books for sale that annotate the journals of Washington and guide Christopher Gist from 1753.There is a limit to how many people can go on each hike, so hikers should call the Harmony Museum at 724-452-7341 to make reservations, Ruch said.Hike admission is $3 per person; children age 5 and younger will be admitted free.

About 100 people attended Saturday's commemoration at Moraine State Park of young Virginia Maj. George Washington's late 1753 mission to demand France withdraw its forces from Western Pennsylvania. Group hikes, during which guides provided historical commentary, included reenactments of a French-allied Indian's failed attempt to shoot Washington near Evans City. Answering questions after a shooting reenactment are, from left Greg Rearick, Clarion, as the “French Indian”; Robert Shaner, Leechburg, as frontiersman-guide Christopher Gist, and Eric Forster, Butler, as Washington. The annual Washington mission commemoration is sponsored by Harmony Museum, Old Stone House and Washington's Trail 1753. John Ruch