Friendship Hill Wildflower Walk

On May 7, 2005 Robert Coxe, WPC Ecologist, will be leading a wildflower hike to explore the many plants growing at Friendship Hill National Historic Site, Fayette County. The walk will leave from the breezeway at the Gallatin House in the park.

Friendship Hill is the former home of Albert Gallatin, who was the Secretary of the Treasury under President Thomas Jefferson. The house sits on a bluff overlooking the Monongahela River and includes about 400 acres of National Park Service land.

The property is a rare gem in southwestern Pennsylvania in terms of wildflowers. Visitors to the park can see spring-beauty (Claytonia virginiana), trout-lily (Erythronium americanum), wood anemone(Anemone quinquefolia ), eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis), wild geranium (Geranium maculatum) and Virginia waterleaf (Hydrophyllum virginianum). In the early spring, one rare species, harbinger-of-spring (Erigenia bulbosa) can be seen.

Today's photos are of Gallatin House at Friendship Hill, (insets l-r) spring beauty, wood anemone and wild geranium by Robert Coxe.

Directions to Friendship Hill
There are two basic ways to get to Friendship Hill from Pittsburgh:
1. Take PA 51 South from Pittsburgh to US 119 in Uniontown. From Uniontown follow US 119 south to Point Marion, Pa and turn right unto PA 166. Follow PA 166 north about 1.5 miles. The entrance to the park will be on the left.

2. Take I-79 south from Pittsburgh to Exit 14 (PA 21). Take PA 21 east to Masontown, Pa and turn right unto PA 166. Follow PA 166 south through New Geneva. The entrance to the park will be on the right about 1 mile past New Geneva.

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