History Comes Alive: Fort Seybert and the Treasure Mountain Festival

Mrs. Susan Melendez, who teaches 6th grade at EMS, gave us a lesson today that I, personally, will never forget. She brought in tables full of artifacts to help us learn about the Indians in the French and Indian War. While she told the story, she would pick up an artifact here or there, and tell us how the Indians would use it in that situation, and show us how it was made.

Mrs Melendez dressed up in deerskin hides, moccasin boots, turtle shell bracelets and matching earrings. On the sides and back of her dress she wore long leather tassels. The waist and sleeves had a pattern sewn on. The neck hole had a red design around it, with purple beads and more tassels, with beads. The tassels that hung from her waist were a little longer and had silver beads on the end. Her powder horn was made of a goat horn, or something with a long horn that could be hollowed out, with leather straps to keep it around your shoulders and etchings on the side. She showed us several different powder horns, all different. Her tomahawk had a metal top with one and sharpened, and the other one rounded out. The wooden handle had roses painted on the sides. The breech cloth she made for her husband had blue beads and rattlesnake backbones hanging on tassels on it. There are lots of colorful beads on the hem tassels.

She has a deer antler knife, and metal knife that the Indians got from the Europeans, rock knives with bone handles, grizzly bear tooth handle knife, a beaver jaw knife, grizzly bear claw knife, and throwing knife (it's heavy). Mountaineers wore very heavy leather clothes- coats and thick pants. She claims that her wedding or ceremonial dress weighs 30 pounds. I don't really believe that, but I believe it's heavy. It's white with blue embroidered and beading. She also has a mink cap and a coonskin cap. Her snow shoes are made of sinew, woven together between a wooden frame. The straps wouldn't have been on the snowshoes until the Europeans came and gave the straps to the Indians. . 

She brought instruments - a wood and skin drum, a turtle shell rattle, a whistle, and a flute. She brought a turtle shell ladle, bags made of leather, beaver fur, and one that was made of elk bone. Her Huron war club was basically a stick with a ball on it and a very sharp spike pointing out of the ball. The choker she brought was a buffalo horn choker to protect the neck; it was Indian armor.  In the showcase she brought she had a prehistoric ax head, tomahawks  from Fort Seybert, made of metal and stone, a Fort Seybert stone head, a stone ax approximately 10,000 years old, musket parts (one of which might be from the first man the Indians killed), grinding stones and a stone axe head, found while picking up potatoes.

I was glad Mrs. Melendez gave us this  lesson, like I said it is a lesson I will never forget. Thank you Mrs Melendez.

 By Hannah, of the sixth grade at EMMS

Mrs Melendez brought history to life in her classroom through showing these artifacts and telling th estory of the capture Fort Seybert,WV
(Mrs. Melendez' hometown) and the annual Treasure Mountain Festival (a celebration of local history and heritage). 

The Treasure Mountain Festival is a week-long event which culminates with a re-enactment of the the capture of Fort Seybert.  Each year, Mrs. Melendez invites students to attend the festival and participate in the re-enactment.  Students and families have loved being part of this tradition of learning history from a first-person account! Read the flyer below to learn more. For questions about the event on Saturday, September 19th, please contact Mrs. Melendez at melendezs@emhs.net.

TREASURE MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL

             

The Treasure Mountain Festival is a celebration of the history and heritage of Pendleton County in West Virginia.

On April 28, 1758, Fort Seybert was captured and burned by a band of Shawnee and Delaware warriors led by the Delaware war chief, Killbuck.  Between 47 and 50 settlers were in the fort when it was capitulated. 

Shortly after agreeing to surrender, the settlers exited the fort and attempted to flee.  During the confusion that followed, between six and nine of the settlers escaped and sought refuge in forts within the Shenandoah Valley to the east.  The remainder of the settlers, 41 in number, were led a short distance from the fort and separated into two groups by the warriors.  One group (composed of 17 men and women) was seated on logs and executed.  Another group (composed of 24 women and children) was forced to return with the war party to their village in Ohio.

Come to the reenactment to learn the rest of the story!

Saturday, September 19, 2015 at 7:00pm

Visitors will have the opportunity to experience history.  There are lots of sights to see and things to

do! Some of the interesting attractions at Fort Seybert include muzzleloader shooting competitions, knife and tomahawk throwing competitions, tours of the fort site, tipis and other primitive shelters of the period, the burial site of the settlers that were in the fort, re-enactors in period dress, the reenactment of the attack on Fort Seybert, and much more!  The festival starts on Thursday and ends Sunday afternoon.  Part of the Treasure Mountain celebration takes place in Franklin, WV (where you can enjoy many crafts, delicious foods, various entertainments, and more). The reenactment is ONLY on Saturday night in Fort Seybert.

DIRECTIONS:

Follow 33 West across the Shenandoah Mountain.  In Brandywine, WV make a right at the intersection.  After passing through Brandywine, continue approximately 3 miles to Oak Flat where you will turn right onto Sweedlin Valley Road (toward Moorefield, WV). Follow approximately 2.8 miles.  Watch for the sign for the Kilbuck Rifleman Club and make a left onto the gravel drive.  (If you come to a long bridge, you have just missed your destination. J)

If you have questions or are interested in camping contact Jake Conrad (304) 249-5456 or Jed Conrad (304) 249-5931.