The Southwestern corner of Pennsylvania was perhaps the most isolated in the state. It was also a region claimed by both Virginia and Pennsylvania. Far removed from assistance from the eastern centers of population, they had to rely on their own resolve for defense.

These settlers experienced unrelenting violence during the Revolution. Ironically, the fighting here escalated as the main war was winding down to the east. The years of 1780, 81, and 82 saw many Indian raids on the area. In taking the war to these settlers, the Indian groups were trying to stop encroachment on their lands in what become, to them, a never ending fight. A series of historic markers note the sites of forts and raids in the region.