This weekend, members of the Murrysville Historical Preservation Society will offer free tours on property with a history that stretches 250 years.

Free public tours of the Hoey/Staymates log house will take place from 1 to 4 p.m. May 11 to open its 2019 season featuring living history demonstrations and re-enactors in period-appropriate dress.

“Each little community has its own history,” society member Carol Intrieri said. “History, no matter where you go, it’s the indelible fingerprint of a community in time.”

The history of the Hoey/Staymates property dates to 1768, when it was owned by John Bryn. The property was sold to Charles Foreman at a 1773 sheriff’s sale, and in October 1788, Samuel Hoey paid 35 pounds and 5 shillings (the equivalent of about $2,700 in today’s dollars) for the cabin, then located on 284 acres, according to the society. Sixty-four years later, it was sold as a 97-acre property to William Staymates, whose descendants owned it until 1972, when educator and philanthropist Bessie Staymates willed it to the Westmoreland County Girl Scouts organization. In 1977, the log house, a barn and the remaining seven acres of property were purchased by Murrysville, becoming part of the municipal park system.

“It’s wonderful when a community, from the top down, has a really good grasp on its history,” Intrieri said. “My favorite part of these tours is meeting people who have that interest in local history: the who, what, when, where and why people came to a particular location? Why did they stay? How did they survive? All of that is very interesting to me.”

Intrieri will be downstairs in the cabin’s kitchen on May 11, serving tea and sweets (including gluten-free) to visitors.

The cabin is at 4515 Round Top Road, and parking is available off of Staymates Court.

For more, see MurrysvilleHistory.org.

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