Hempfield's Historic Hanna's Town hosts Frontier Court Days

Dave Crispen found himself re-enacting a bloody mess Saturday in one of the newest structures at Historic Hanna’s Town in Hempfield.

Inside the Lefevre House, Crispen portrayed a Revolutionary War-era surgeon awaiting casualties coming in from the battlefield. He had the tools of the trade lined up — a tourniquet, knives, retractors and saw for amputations — and a lifelike lower leg from which he retrieved a bullet using a pair of forceps.

“I’m not washing my hands, I’m not cleaning off my instruments,” he said. “I’m just going to the next patient.”

Life during the 1700s in Westmoreland County was on show Saturday during Frontier Court Days presented by the Westmoreland Historical Society. The event will continue Sunday at Historic Hanna’s Town, where the first English courts west of the Allegheny Mountains were held in the 18th century.

The event features historical re-enactments, military encampments and drills, traditional craft demonstrations, entertainment and children’s activities. Court spectators watched the resolution of cases that were decided in the village founded by Robert Hanna centuries ago.

“They’re based on the cases that we actually have in the historical record,” said Pam Curtin, education and interpretation manager.

The restored village of the county’s first seat of government established in 1773, is the new home for the Lefevre House, which spent the first 200 years of its life on a Hempfield property off of Route 130, near Jeannette. The log house was dismantled in May 2020 and rebuilt 7 miles away.

On Saturday, living history demonstrators used the house to talk about midwifery and using herbs or plants, such as jewel weed, to treat ailments. Villagers could have used herbs in their gardens as well as plants native to Pennsylvania.

Curtin said this weekend’s Frontier Court Days was one of the society’s first big events since the coronavirus pandemic hampered such gatherings. She was happy to see the return of portrayals of life at the site.

“It’s very exciting,” she said. “This is kind of our signature event.”

Gates open Sunday at 9 a.m. Court re-enactments will be held at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children 6 and older. Anyone 5 and younger gets in for free. For a list of events, visit westmorelandhistory.org/events-and-programs.