“A Colony Sprung from Hell: Pittsburgh during the American Revolution.”
March 5 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
SVHS invites you to join us on Thursday, March 5, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. for the 4th lecture of the 2025-2026 program season — “A Colony Sprung from Hell: Pittsburgh during the American Revolution.”
PRESENTATION:
The American Revolution in the Pittsburgh region was characterized by a messy collision of personal, provincial, national, and imperial interests. Nearly everyone, from Pennsylvanians and Virginians to the Continental Congress and the British government, attempted to manipulate the clouded political jurisdiction of the region for their own benefit, creating a revolutionary experience that was remarkably different from the more familiar struggle for independence. A Colony Sprung from Hell will highlight this complex struggle. The events and episodes that make up the story illuminate the difficulties of creating national authority around Pittsburgh, as land developers, business ventures, and new state governments all competed for power and jurisdiction in political and legal arenas, while migrants, settlers, and Indians opposed one another on the ground in a contest that was far more confrontational and violent.
ABOUT OUR SPEAKER:
Daniel Barr is the University Professor of American History at Robert Morris University in Moon Township, where he teaches courses in Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania History, as well as Colonial America and the American Revolution. He is the author of several books, including A Colony Sprung from Hell: Pittsburgh and the Struggle for Authority on the Western Pennsylvania Frontier, The Boundaries Between Us: Natives and Newcomers in the Old Northwest Territory, and Unconquered: The Iroquois League at War in Colonial America.
This lecture will be held at Old Sewickley Post Office, 200 Broad Street, Sewickley, PA 15143.
This lecture is FREE and open to the public. Advance registration requested HERE, or by contacting the SVHS office.