Friendly Filly

Before the first settlers arrived in the vicinity of what was later called the Big Spring, this area was part of the hunting grounds of the Lenape and Shawnee. On July 6, 1754 a treaty was signed at Albany, New York between the Iroquois and the William Penn heirs, opening up portions of the west for settlement. However, British policy forbidding western expansion was in effect until after the American Revolution. The massacre of Captain William Phillips' Rangers took place near Williamsburg in July 1780. Ten men were murdered after surrendering to a party of Indians.