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Peters Township near Cove Gap in Franklin County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
 

Stony Batter

Birthplace of a President

 
 
Stony Batter       Birthplace of a President Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, August 22, 2012
1. Stony Batter       Birthplace of a President Marker
Inscription.
Imagine stepping back in time to April 23, 1791. Packhorses and wagons were pulling into a bustling trading post owned by Scotch-Irish immigrant James Buchanan. There was probably a spring chill to the air. Perhaps the sun shone brightly overhead, for here in Cove Gap this would be a special day. Amidst all the commotion, James’ wife, Elizabeth was giving birth to young James Buchanan, who would become the 15th President of the United States in 1857.

James senior called this place, Stony Batter after his ancestral homeland in Northern Ireland. It wasn’t by accident that Stony Batter was alive with activity, bustling with teamsters, waggoners, frontiersmen and immigrants trading goods or looking for a better life on the western frontier. Buchanan’s trading post was located on the main route through Pennsylvania from Baltimore to the west. From here trade goods were transferred from wagon to packhorse and carried over Cove Mountain on an old American Indian trail. Improved in 1768 into a bridle path, to McConnellsburg and northward to the Pennsylvania Road, formally the Forbes Trail.

If you look closely along the hillside above here you can still see what are believed to be traces of the old pack trail. Pa. Route 16 follows portions of this old trade route from Waynesboro to McConnellsburg.
 
Topics and series.
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This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Notable PlacesSettlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the Former U.S. Presidents: #15 James Buchanan series list. A significant historical month for this entry is April 1809.
 
Location. 39° 52.27′ N, 77° 57.216′ W. Marker is near Cove Gap, Pennsylvania, in Franklin County. It is in Peters Township. Marker is on Stoney Batter Road. Marker is located in Buchanan’s Birthplace State Park. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Mercersburg PA 17236, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. James Buchanan (here, next to this marker); Birthplace of James Buchanan (a few steps from this marker); A Quest for Honor (a few steps from this marker); President James Buchanan (a few steps from this marker); a different marker also named Stony Batter (approx. half a mile away); a different marker also named James Buchanan (approx. 0.6 miles away); Black Boys Rebellion (approx. 3.4 miles away); Big Spring Graveyard (approx. 3.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Cove Gap.
 
More about this marker. A picture at the upper left of the marker has a caption of “Local
Birthplace of a President Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, August 22, 2012
2. Birthplace of a President Marker
artist, Charles Stoner’s rendition of what Stony Batter may have looked like when James Buchanan was born. It included a trading post, inn, cabins, barns, stables and storehouses.”
Below this is a 1790 map of Maryland and Pennsylvania showing the Georgetown Road to Baltimore and the Pennsylvania Road/Old Forbes Trail from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh and indicating the settlements along each trail.
 
Also see . . .  Biography of James Buchanan. White House website. (Submitted on August 22, 2012, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey.) 
 
Birthplace of a President Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, August 22, 2012
3. Birthplace of a President Marker
Marker in Buchanan’s Birthplace State Park image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, August 22, 2012
4. Marker in Buchanan’s Birthplace State Park
Buchanan Monument image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, August 22, 2012
5. Buchanan Monument
This pyramid, located near the marker, indicates the location where James Buchanan was born in 1791.
Old Pack Trail Trace image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, August 22, 2012
6. Old Pack Trail Trace
As stated on the marker, traces of the old pack trail from Stony Batter are still visible in the woods near the marker.
Buchanan’s Birthplace State Park image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, August 22, 2012
7. Buchanan’s Birthplace State Park
The Stony Batter marker is located in Buchanan’s Birthplace State Park.
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on August 22, 2012, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. This page has been viewed 790 times since then and 34 times this year. Last updated on February 13, 2021, by Carl Gordon Moore Jr. of North East, Maryland. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. submitted on August 22, 2012, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 19, 2024