Ryerson Station State Park

Ryerson Station State Park is in Greene County in the southwestern corner of Pennsylvania, near the West Virginia border. The 1,164-acre park features the 62-acre Ronald J. Duke Lake that is named in memory of a former manager of Ryerson Station State Park. The lake is currently drawn down for dam safety issues. Kingdoms, nations and states have fought for the lands in and around Ryerson Station State Park. The earliest known landholders were the Monongahela People. These American Indians disappeared right after European Colonists arrived in North America, leaving a huge territory that many fought to fill. France and Great Britain fought for the Ohio River Valley in the French and Indian War, from 1689 to 1763. Unsatisfied with the peace treaty made with the victorious British, American Indian tribes fought Pontiac’s Rebellion, which lasted three years. To settle a land dispute between Pennsylvania and Maryland, Mason and Dixon surveyed the border between the states. In 1767, the surveyors were halted in Southwestern Pennsylvania by the Mingo Tribe who rightly feared that the white men were trying to steal their land. Because European Settlers were invading Indian lands, angering the Indians, the British bought what became Southwestern Pennsylvania from the Iroquois League of Nations in 1768. The Iroquois claimed the lands, but never lived there. The Mingo, Shawnee and Lenni Lenape tribes that inhabited the land were not at the parley and did not give up their claims. The American Indians fought for their lands, killing settlers. The colonies of Virginia and Pennsylvania claimed the land. In 1774, Virginia built a fort at the confluence of the North and South forks of Dunkard Fork of Wheeling Creek. A shelter from Indian raids, Ryerson’s Fort was used until at least 1784, maybe even 1793. It is unknown when Ryerson’s Fort came to be called Ryerson’s Station. The fort was one of many stations used by rangers who patrolled for raiding Indians. The U.S. courts settled the land dispute between the states in 1784, making the land part of Pennsylvania. The fighting between the settlers and Indians continued. In 1787, seven members of the Davis Family were killed at their home, which was near the current park office. The American Indians moved west, but the fighting in Southwestern Pennsylvania did not end. In 1794, U.S. citizens took up arms against the government and its new tax in the Whiskey Rebellion. President George Washington brought the army to quell the insurrection, finally bringing peace.