The history behind the Friendship Hill National Historic Site in Fayette County
POINT MARION, Pa. (KDKA) — If you are in Fayette County and want an interesting place to check out, you may want to pull off the road at Friendship Hill, the former estate of Albert Gallatin, who some say is America's forgotten founding father.
"Albert Gallatin is a Swiss immigrant who comes to America at the close of the revolution," said James Tomasek, a park ranger at Friendship Hill. "But he is best known as secretary of the treasury under presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. He serves under those two administrations, and he is quite often overlooked or overshadowed by both Jefferson and Madison."
Gallatin was also an assemblyman, a U.S. senator for a short time and a U.S. representative. He also was a negotiator for the United States who signed the Treaty of Ghent that ended the War of 1812, not to mention he served as both a minister to the United Kingdom and France.
One of the big things he is known for is helping bring about the Louisiana Purchase in the Jefferson administration and subsequently helping fund the Lewis and Clark expedition to explore the newly acquired land.
In fact, Lewis and Clark were so grateful to Gallatin that they named the Gallatin River in Montana and Wyoming after him.
In 1786, Gallatin purchased a 370-acre farm in Fayette County along the banks of the Monongahela River. He built a house and named the estate Friendship Hill. Today, the now 661-acre park is a National Historic Site run by the National Park Service.
"It is a peaceful place," Tomasek said. "It is a place also where many people can commune with nature but also learn a bit about history."
The park has over 10 miles of trails and sees around 20,000 visitors each year. Grounds are open daily to at Friendship Hill from sunrise to sunset. Admission is free.
The next time you are looking to commune with nature and learn about a forgotten founding father, take some time to see this unique place.
