Contact Between Widely Different Cultures

Contact Between Widely Different Cultures. Perry County Bicentennial.

1682: William Penn established the colony. , 1740s: European-Americans settled illegally in Perry County. , 1754: Treaty of Albany legalized settlement.

, Artifacts and Pathways , By the mid-1700s, European-American settlers in Central Pennsylvania had deprived Native Americans of hunting grounds and introduced diseases which decimated their population., In the face of encroachment, indigenous peoples surrendered their lands, but left evidence of thousands of years of human habitation. Their presence still can be found across Perry County. Plowed fields and gardens along the Juniata and Susquehanna Rivers, Sherman's Creek, the Big and Little Buffalo Creeks, numerous streams and springs reveal a variety of artifacts. These stone implements remain a legacy of the First Americans., The Indians also left numerous paths linking communities and major resource areas. The paths promoted trade and cultural exchange within the native communities and later became the foundation for the roads of European settlers., The largest and most important path in Perry County, called the New Path, was actually a very old one. Used by traders after about 1749, it was a shortcut between Harrisburg and Shirleysburg, a frontier town serving as a gateway to western Pennsylvania. The path ran through the county from Sterrett's Gap on the south, passing Shermans Dale and heading west at Dromgold, past Landisburg, Loysville and into Juniata County through Bigham's Gap, where it joined the Tuscarora Path. As colonial settlers enlarged the area, the ancient trail evolved into bridle paths, wagon roads, and eventually motor highways., Transitional Times , The first European-Americans in Perry County were traders and squatters, many of Scots-Irish descent. The colonial government evicted the squatters, allowing them to return as settlers only after the 1754 Treaty of Albany legitimized settlement. George Croghan and Andrew Montour, both interpreters and traders, were crucial in negotiating with the Native Americans across Pennsylvania and adjoining colonies. The colonial government repaid them for their services with land grants; Croghan selected a tract south of Sterrett's Gap and Montour chose property in the fertile hunting and farming area around Landisburg.