When the Revolution Reached Our Doorstep
As we celebrate our nation's 250th anniversary, it's easy to think of the American Revolution as a series of battles fought in distant cities like Philadelphia or Yorktown. But for our forefathers in 1778, the war wasn't a distant political disagreement; it was an immediate, existential threat that hit the forests of the Poconos.
If you walk down Main Street today, you're standing near where Fort Penn once stood. It was not a grand military installation, but a private, fortified stockade built by Colonel Jacob Stroud around his own home in 1776. It was, for a few harrowing years, one of the primary places of refuge for the families living north of the Blue Mountains.
The Threat from the North. The primary instability in our region during the Revolution didn't just come from the British Army; it was driven by a complex web of "Tory" activity. Tories, or Loyalists, were American colonists who maintained their allegiance to the British Crown. By the late 1770s, many had fled the colonies for the safety of British-controlled New York. From there, they actively incited and organized raids against the American frontier, often allied with Native American forces to destabilize the region.
This culminated in the tragic Wyoming Massacre on July 3, 1778. The conflict took place in the Wyoming Valley, near present-day Wilkes-Barre and Scranton, about 50 miles from our doorstep. A force of British-aligned Tories, led by Colonel John Butler and accompanied by Seneca warriors, descended upon the valley, which had been left largely defenseless after its able-bodied men left to serve in the Continental Army.
Refuge at Fort Penn. The aftermath of that massacre turned the Poconos into a corridor of terror. Survivors fled through the dense, swampy forests of what is now Coolbaugh Township, a treacherous route that earned the grim name "The Shades of Death" (you won’t find that on many real estate listings today!). Many did not survive the journey.
Those who did make it found a sanctuary in Stroudsburg. Jacob Stroud, acting with a level of local authority that frequently put him at odds with the provincial government in Philadelphia, opened the gates of Fort Penn. It became a makeshift refugee center, a supply depot, and a training ground.
Defying the Rules to Protect the People. The colonial authorities were rarely happy with Stroud. He frequently clashed with military authorities, once for bypassing the chain of command, and later for prioritizing his local neighbors over the rigid directives of the Northampton County military leadership.
Stroud was a man who understood that municipal survival often requires defying distant bureaucrats (perhaps our current politicians should take note). When he faced a court-martial in 1781, the case ultimately never reached a final resolution as wartime events overtook the process.
As we reflect on these days of celebration, remember that the "frontier" wasn't just a place on a map; it was a community of families who survived only because a local leader decided that the safety of his neighbors mattered more than the rules of the day.
Source: Monroe County Historical Association.
