As America celebrates its 250th birthday, Armstrong County also has a momentous anniversary to remember. On September 8th 1756, the Raid on Kittanning, a clash between Colonel John Armstrong and the Lenni-Lenape, occurred in present day Kittanning. This event, part of the French and Indian War and its clashes between Native Americans and the colonists, marked a change in the course of history for our area, and the future of Kittanning would be forever altered.

 

In 1926, 170 years after this raid, the Pennsylvania Historical Commission and the Armstrong County Historical Society erected a commemorative stone monument to the original Lenape village and the raid near the Kittanning Bridge over the Allegheny River.

 

On September 8, 2026, exactly 270 years since the historic raid, the ACHS plans to re-dedicate the Kittanning Stone Monument in Kittanning Riverfront Park at 5:30 PM, as a public event, followed by an RSVP reception at The Meredith Inn featuring a speaker's panel of prominent historians for a panel discussion on the Raid on Kittanning.

 

We would like to invite you to both of these historic events! By commemorating our early history, we hope to inspire and inform our community about this unique story of Armstrong County.

 

In addition, two raffle baskets will be available at the reception to purchase chances to win: Artist Larry Smail’s print Home to Kit-Han-Ne and his book The Attack on Kit-Han-Ne and a Summer Cook-Out and Grill basket including an Igloo cooler, insulated tumblers, a gift certificate from Trademark HVAC, and more.

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Reservations are $30 per person, payable by check to the Armstrong County Historical Society and mailed to ACHS P.O. Box 735 Kittanning, PA 16201.

 

Thank you, and we hope to see you at this commemorative event!