One of the unique features of the Kane Woods is its historical significance. Most of the land was once owned by General John Neville, who was a Revolutionary War veteran. General Neville served at General Washington's side during the Revolutionary War and they were close personal friends, both having grown up in Fairfax County, Virginia. He served at Valley Forge, and fought alongside his close personal friend General George Washington at the Battle of Yorktown.  Before the war, he served as the commander at Fort Pitt, and his son, Presley Neville, was aide-de-camp to the Marquis de Lafayette, the French political and military leader, who supported the cause of American independence. 

After the war, General Neville's role in our nation's history continued. Saddled with enormous debts from the Revolutionary War, our new nation under the leadership of President George Washington instituted an excise tax on whiskey to raise money to pay off the war loans. 

President Washington appointed his trusted friend General Neville, Inspector of the Revenue for Western Pennsylvania, and charged him with collecting the tax.  Local farmers, however, violently opposed the new tax.  Whiskey distilled by the farmers and sold throughout the country and even as far away as New Orleans was their main source of income.  With barely enough cash to make ends meet, the farmers believed the tax would ruin them.  They organized protests against the tax, some of which turned violent. 

The hostilities culminated in fighting that broke out on July 16 and 17, 1794, between local farmers, federal troops, and supporters of General Neville at his estate on Bower Hill.  His Bower Hill Mansion and other buildings on the estate were burned to the ground by local farmers during the fighting.  They became known as the Whiskey Boys. 

An angry President Washington responded by dispatching 13,000 troops, a force larger than any he commanded during the Revolutionary War, to put down what became known as the Whiskey Rebellion

As the federal forces marched on Western Pennsylvania, the rebellion collapsed, yet the legacy of the rebellion left its mark on American history.  A keen student of American History, President Harry S. Truman, called it one of the ten most important events in American History, and President Abraham Lincoln citied Washington's action as a precedent in using force to oppose the secession of the Southern states in 1860. 

Conservancy Erects Marker on Historic Bower Hill Site

The Kane Woods, Old St. Luke's Church, the Neville House and the Neville mansion on Bower Hill all have historical significance dating back to Revolutionary times.  

In 1996, the Conservancy, with the support of the Scott Township Commissioners, received approval from the Pennsylvania State Historical and Museum Commission to erect a state historical Marker on Bower Hill, the site of General Neville's mansion, which was burned to the ground during the Whiskey Rebellion. 

Another state historical maker was erected two years later at Old St. Luke's Church, also in Scott Township, to honor the role it played in American History.   Old St. Luke's is the oldest church established west of the Allegheny Mountains. The church  is still preserved today as a house of worship.   Reverend Richard Davies led the effort to secure approval for the St. Luke's Historical Marker. 

General Neville worshipped at Old St. Luke's Church and the Church's cemetery is the resting place of many of our region's earliest settlers including a number of Revolutionary War veterans.  

One part of the Kane Woods Nature Area that has captured the interest of Conservancy President Don McGuirk is the age of an enormous red oak that he calls the "Mother Tree."  Recently, Don and officials from the state forestry department took a boring from the tree to determine its age by reading the tree rings, and the preliminary findings are that the tree is between 200 to 250 years old.  To put that into perspective, the tree sprouted around 1760.  The English, along with their colonial allies, were still fighting the French and Indian War.   James Watt was working on the prototype for the steam engine, and most people traveled by foot or on horseback. The United States didn't even exist.  

The tree was still in its youth three decades later during the time of the Whiskey Rebellion.  All of the Scott residents and our Scott Conservancy members who donated money and worked on the project to preserve the Kane Woods can share a sense of pride that they helped to preserve a part of nature in the Red Oak that is even older than our own country. 

On the morning of October 22nd, 2005, six boys working on Eagle Scout badges from Boy Scout Troop 365 and three boys who offered to assist them arrived at the field owned by the Scott Conservancy along Scrubgrass Road.  They came ready to dig with shovels and hammers in hand.  

A week later, Cub Scout Pack 861 from Holy Child Parish in Bridgeville arrived in the afternoon to complete the work.  With help from their parents, they planted 60 shrubs and 6 trees using holes dug by the Boy Scouts in the previous week.  

The boys worked hard and did a great job!  The conservancy  thanks both scout troops for their help and hope we will be able to work with them in the future.  

The Scott Conservancy is also the proud sponsor of Glendale's Cub Scout Pack 849.  The scouts, chartered in Scott Township, are involved in worthwhile community projects.  

Some of their projects have included trail and stream clean-ups, the building of steps on a popular trail, community clean-ups, and various service projects. Keep up the good work!