Westmoreland Land Trust scenic drive traces part of 18th century Forbes Road

Motorists who take a drive along the Westmoreland Land Trust’s newest road ramble may get a sense of the hilly terrain Gen. John Forbes’ British soldiers had to cross on foot in the mid-18th century, when they seized the site of present-day Pittsburgh from their French foes.

They will also have the chance to enjoy the scenic fall foliage along portions of the original Forbes Road.

“It’s such a beautiful county, especially at this time of year,” said Betsy Aiken, executive director of the Land Trust. “It’s an opportunity to go out and enjoy a scenic drive.”

The trust staged its first road ramble in 2021 as a rally-type fundraising event. This year’s annual edition is the second ramble where no fee is involved and a driver and navigator can explore the route at the time and pace they choose.

Following modern roads, the route adheres as closely as possible to the 18th century Forbes Road while connecting two reconstructed sites from that era: Historic Hanna’s Town in Hempfield and Fort Ligonier.

The ramble adds to the year-long 250th anniversary activities marking the 1773 birth of both the county and Hempfield Township. Forbes Road actually was blazed by British forces 15 years earlier, during a successful 1758 campaign to oust the French from Fort Duquesne — the predecessor to Pittsburgh.

Aiken said the trust staff hopes to create additional driving routes in the coming years “to highlight some of the historic and ecologically valuable properties and sites in the county.”

A guidebook to this year’s ramble can be viewed and downloaded at the trust website, westmoreland-landtrust.org. Hard copies can be found at the headquarters of Westmoreland County Parks and Recreation and the Westmoreland Conservation District, both on Donohoe Road in Hempfield, as well as at area libraries, museums and historical societies.

Trust operations assistant Karen Rose Cercone laid out the driving course after researching details of Forbes Road and its history. Cercone, a Penn-Trafford graduate who taught geology for many years at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, drew upon a 1964 article by Harold A. Thomas as well as information compiled by the Pittsburgh Geological Society.

Stretching over 23 miles along a series of both main and secondary roads, the ramble reverses the direction of Forbes’ army. Starting at Hempfield Park, the route follows portions of Forbes Trail Road, routes 819 and 119, Bovard-Luxor Road, several roads in Unity, Arnold Palmer Drive, Youngstown Ridge Road and Route 30. The route ends at Fort Ligonier, where British troops began their march toward Fort Duquesne.

Landmarks along the way include Saint Vincent College, the Winnie Palmer Nature Reserve and the crest of Chestnut Ridge.

Cercone completed a test drive of the route with an AmeriCorps service member, finishing in less than an hour.

When the British headed out from Fort Ligonier, Cercone said, “You would think they would have followed the gorge where Route 30 is today, but it was choked with vegetation then.” Instead, “They came up over Chestnut Ridge and down into Youngstown on a road that is there today.”

Following that road, she said, “I understood how afraid they must have been about being ambushed, that they would take such an arduous route and cross the highest possible elevations.”

Other local points of interest motorists can explore by detouring from the ramble route include three sites along Route 30 — the Compass Inn Museum in Laughlintown and, in Unity, the Lincoln Highway Experience museum and the Land Trust’s new St. Xavier Nature Preserve.