History flows through PA’S Whiskey Rebellion Festival
Frontier distillers fought Hamilton’s federal tax
WASHINGTON, PA — Americans have always been a rebellious lot.
Just ask King George III — or George Washington.
The Father of Our Country faced his own rebellion when his right-hand man Alexander Hamilton attempted to place a burdensome tax on the whiskey being made on the frontier; a rebellion led by the distillers of western Pennsylvania.
That rebellion is still remembered and celebrated at the annual Whiskey Rebellion Festival (www.whiskeyrebellionfestival.com) in Washington, Pennsylvania, the center of the rebellion and about a 21⁄2-hour drive from Columbus.
The festival, scheduled July 8-9, is sponsored by the Bradford House Historical Association, which also operates in Washington the Whiskey Rebellion Education and Visitors Center (www.whiskeyrebellioncenter.org) and the Bradford House Museum, a National Historic Landmark built in 1788 by David Bradford, a leader of the rebellion.
The brouhaha arose in 1791, when
then-secretary of the Treasury Hamilton proposed the first federal tax, an excise on distilled products, to help pay the debt from the Revolution.
The frontier distillers of western Pennsylvania, where most of the country’s whiskey was being produced, did not cotton to Hamilton’s tax. Many had fought against “taxation without representation” in the Revolutionary War and were ready to fight again.
Several local tax collectors were harassed,
or even tarred and feathered.
Events came to a head in 1794, when a mob of hundreds of men attacked and destroyed the mansion of a local tax collector. President Washington sent a militia to confront the rebels. Eventually, about 20 men were arrested, but all were later acquitted or pardoned. The tax was repealed during the Jefferson administration.
Although that fascinating unpleasantness is now whiskey under the bridge, the history of the rebellion takes center stage — quite literally — at the festival.
Seven different historical reenactments and performances, focusing on various aspects of the rebellion — including a tar-and-feathering! — will be staged on Main Street.
More history will be on tap at the visitors center, the Bradford House Museum and the Lemoyne House, another historic house museum in Washington, which will also portray a frontier church service at 10 a.m. on July 10.
The festival is “100% history based,” said Tracie Liberatore, the executive director of the Bradford House Historical Association.
“You have to represent some aspect of history, or whiskey, to be a part of it,” she said.
Regional historic sites and history groups will operate display tables at the festival, Liberatore said.
Many vendors at the festival specialize in arts and crafts and other products with an 18th-century or historic look or theme, and a children’s area will let kids experience 18th-century chores, games and traditions, she said.
The festival also includes a wide variety of food trucks, a parade and live music on two stages.
Adult beverages will be available at the festival’s own “Blue Eagle Tavern,” including spirits produced by regional craft whiskey makers such as Wigle Whiskey Distilling (www.wiglewhiskey.com), whose Pittsburgh distillery is worth a side-trip for visiting whiskey lovers.
Wigle is named for Philip Wigle, sentenced to death for treason for his part in the Whiskey Rebellion and pardoned by President Washington. The distillery tour is a quick, fun and tasty look at the rich history of distilling in western Pennsylvania, which once produced enough whiskey to provide a half-barrel a year to every person in the country — kids included!
Wigle also has a lovely tasting room, restaurant and bar featuring classic and seasonal craft cocktails.
Visitors will also find several other Whiskey Rebellion historical sites throughout western Pennsylvania. For a complete list, visit www.whiskeyrebellioncenter.org/whiskey-rebellionsites/.
Steve Stephens is a freelance travel writer and photographer. Email him at sjstephensjr@gmail.com.