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Washington’s Trail annual summit returns

Author Jason Cherry is dressed in colonial garb during the Washington’s Trail 1753 Summit at Butler Country Club in Penn Township on Thursday, April 18, 2024. Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle

PENN TWP — Driving through Butler County, you may come across signs for “Washington’s Trail,” marking spots where George Washington set foot during his trip through the northern colonies in 1753.

Butler County — or rather, what eventually became Butler County — played an important part in the life of our country’s first president. This is why the Washington’s Trail group chooses the Butler Country Club as its meeting place for its annual summit, which took place this year on Thursday, April 18.

“(Butler is) kind of a central meeting place for people,” said Martin O’Brien, who founded Washington’s Trail. “We have people coming down from Erie, from Meadville, from Pittsburgh, from Cumberland, Maryland — so this is a central location.”

The Washington’s Trail 1753 foundation was formed in 2000 to commemorate the story of Washington’s travels through Western Pennsylvania, including Butler County, from 1753 to 1754. According to O’Brien, Washington was passing through on his way to Erie, on a diplomatic mission from the governor of colonial Virginia.

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