The 13th Annual
Ohio Country Conference

The Bushy Run Battlefield Heritage Society, Westmoreland County Community College, and the Westmoreland County Historical Society proudly present the 13th Annual Ohio Country Conference. The Conference will be held on March 27th to 29th, 2009 at Westmoreland County Community College in Youngwood, Pennsylvania in the Founders Hall Amphitheater.
(Click here for directions to WCCC, and click here for a map of WCCC's Youngwood campus showing the location of Founders Hall and campus parking areas -- park in Student Lots B and C and follow signs to the conference) Area hotels and other attendance details are below.

The year 1759 is the theme, with several lectures dedicated to the war in the north and the Ohio Country. An international field of scholars has been chosen to continue the conference as one of the premier French and Indian War symposiums.

Click here for a conference registration form.

Schedule of events:

Attention Pennsylvania School Teachers!

Bushy Run Battlefield is an Act 48 Approved Provider. The Ohio Country Conference is an opportunity for educators to earn credits towards fulfilling their continuing education requirements. For more information, please contact Bushy Run Battlefield Museum. Email: davmiller@state.pa.us, or Phone: (724) 527-5584, ext. 101.

About the Presenters:

Dr. Daniel Barr is associate professor of history at Robert Morris University where he specializes in Native American history, Colonial and Revolutionary America, Pennsylvania history, and early Pittsburgh history. He is the author of two books, "The Boundaries Between Us: Natives and Newcomers...," and "Unconquered: The Iroquois League at War in Colonial America." His new book, "A Colony Sprung from Hell: War and Revolution on the Pittsburgh Frontier, 1744-1794," will be released by Kent State University Press in March 2010.

Robert Emerson has been involved in the museum field for over 30 years. He has been the Executive Director of Old Fort Niagara since 1997 and is the commissioner for the New York State French and Indian War 250th Anniversary Commemoration. Having published an assortment of articles dealing with the French and Indian War and other subjects, his most notable themes are Fort Niagara and Fort Roberdeau. He has lectured on various historical subjects, including as a guest speaker at Fort Ticonderoga's Annual War College.

Michael Galban is currently the historian at Ganondagan State Historic Site, a late 17th century Seneca town site noted for its Iroquoian historic and cultural preservation. Michael has expert knowledge of Native American material culture specializing in eastern woodland cultures and has been actively working with the different Haudenosaunee communities to revive the old arts. Michael has worked as a consultant in film and in site development for many years--most recently working with Colonial Williamsburg, among others. His work can be found in many noteworthy museums.

John Grenier is a prize-winning historian and author of early American history. His "The First Way of War: American War Making on the Frontier, 1607-1814" won the Distinguished Book Award from the SMH in 2007. "The Far Reaches of Empire: War in Nova Scotia, 1710-1714" won the Wilson Award for the Outstanding Contribution to National Defense in the Field of Arts and Letters, 2008. He currently is an Associate Professor with Norwich University's Online Masters in Military History and his current book is a biography of Robert Rogers, due for publication in 2011.

Fintan O'Toole is one of Ireland's leading cultural and political commentators. Assistant editor of the Irish Times in Dublin, he has been drama critic of a number of newspapers, including the New York Daily News, and has been Literary Adviser to the Abbey Theatre. His work has appeared in many international newspapers and magazines, including The New Yorker, the New York Review of Books, the New York Times, and the Washington Post. His many books on culture, politics and history include, "White Savage: William Johnson and the Invention of America."

Dr. Walter Powell is the Executive Director of the Conococheague Institute for the Study of Cultural Heritage, and has also been the Director of Planning and Historic Preservation for the Borough of Gettysburg. He has been an adjunct instructor at Shepherd University and at York College, PA. He is the President of the Braddock Road Preservation Association. A specialist in early American History, he has numerous publications and given lectures regarding the French and Indian War, the Revolutionary War, and the Civil War.

Dr. Matthew Ward has a genuinely transatlantic background. He was born and studied in England, did his graduate work at Ohio State University and the College of William and Mary, and is now a Senior Lecturer in History at the University of Dundee in Scotland. He has published a number of books and articles on both sides of the Atlantic, including most recently "The Battle for Quebec 1759: Britain's Conquest for Canada." He is currently working on a major research project examining violence in the early trans-Appalachian West.

Nicholas Westbrook has been the Director and CEO of Fort Ticonderoga since 1989. He is the Vice Chair of the new York State Commission on the 250th Anniversary of the French and Indian War, an da member of the National Education Advisory Committee, French & Indian War, Inc. Editor of "The Bulletin of Fort Ticonderoga Museum," since 1991, his own abundant publications include: "Breakfasting on Chocolate: Chocolate in Military Life on the Northern Frontier, 1750-1780" and "Fort Ticonderoga through Indian Eyes," to name a few.

Area Hotels:

Comfort Inn
106 Blair Blvd.
New Stanton, PA
724-755-2400

Courtyard by Marriott (mention "Ohio Country Conference" for a discount)
700 Power Line Drive
Greensburg, PA
724-834-3555

Days Inn
127 W. Byers Ave.
New Stanton, PA
724-925-3591

Fairfield Inn & Suites
107 Blair Blvd.
New Stanton, PA
724-755-0800

Howard Johnson
112 W. Byers Ave.
New Stanton, PA
724-925-3511

Quality Inn
103 Blair Blvd.
New Stanton, PA
724-925-8915

Meals:

Meals will not be served at the conference; however, there are several restaurants in the New Stanton-Youngwood area. Denunzio Italian Grille is across Armbrust Road from WCCC at the Cherry Creek Golf Course, Kings Family Restaurant and others are on 119 N. toward Greensburg, and Cracker Barrel, Subway and others are on I-70 S in New Stanton.

Refund Policy:

Refunds of the conference fee will be made, minus a 20% administrative fee, for anyone requesting a refund no later than one week before the conference. Requests less than one week will not be honored and no refund made.