Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Historic Village — Attraction in Jefferson Township

We spent over 3 hours touring the grounds, including enjoying a picnic lunch on one of the shaded tables under some trees.

I was unsure if my kids, both under 10, would enjoy Meadowcroft or be bored, but they really were interested in the Native American village, 1800's town, trading post, and museum.

They did not want to sit for the entire presentation at the actual rockshelter itself, but I found it truly interesting. There were a good number of staff available to answer questions at each activity, and we were unencumbered of any crowds, though there was a steady stream of visitors through our visit.

Everyone got to throw the arrows and the hatchet and ask questions about life during the various time periods. The staff were dressed in period clothing in the 1800s town, but not at the trading post or the Native American village. The staff were dressed in period clothing at the gift shop (2018 styles!).

Be prepared to actively participate. The staff will go along with you, and they can answer a lot of questions, so bring them! This is not a passive entertainment-type place. The blacksmith demonstrated how he could make metal hooks, so we could learn about his various methods. The school teacher showed us how kids used to get disciplined in the old days. The host at the Miller cabin indulged my children's questions about how people used the bathroom in the olden days (spoiler: chamber pots!).

This was a really fun experience. It helped me appreciate the relevance of Western PA in the migration of humans through North and South America It also taught me a little about the importance of geological features to early humans, and how archeology can open up the pages of our heritage to help our...

Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Historical Village is a great place to take the kiddos and learn about history. Loved it as a kid and now I got to share that experience with my own kiddos.

The main area at the top of the hill is broken up in to 4 focus areas representing different time periods or cultures. The building are circa the time period and have been carefully transported to the location.

Due to COVID they are short on staff, but the staff they do have are friendly and knowledgeable. The guy at the 19th century village gave a tour of a house and one-room school as well as explained what it was like to live in the time period. There was a blacksmith for was creating different items.

In other areas, a lady let us throw tomahawks and finally in the Native American area the ladies explained how they lived and let use an atlatl to throw a spear.

There is a museum near the admission building. On the top level is many exhibits some how farming was done. On the bottom are exhibits of tools and vehicles.

Finally is the rockshelter which actually requires driving to the bottom of the hill. It is the oldest known site of its kind, dating back thousands of years. There is a 20-ish minute video explaining more about the site, how it was found and how archaelogists and other scientists are learning from the site. Two gripes about the video: 1. It skipped and froze like a scratched DVD even though it was digital and 2. Take the one TV out of store demo mode....

All in all, this is...

This place is such a gem, I can't believe it isn't better-known in the Pittsburgh area. It's a really important site to the archaeology of the New World, and a really fun afternoon destination.

It was the discovery of pre-Clovis artifacts right here at Meadowcroft in the 1970s that shot down the theory most of us learned in school, that Native Americans first came to the New World around 13,000. Since then, older sites have been found, but Meadowcroft is still the site with the longest history of continuous use in the whole New World -- at least 16,000 years.

When you visit, you get a tour of the archaeological site (which is no longer being excavated). The museum also has recreated villages from different eras of local history -- a 17th century Monongahela culture village, an 18th century frontier trading post, and a 19th century village with a schoolhouse and a working blacksmith's shop. Each of these only has a few structures in it -- the scale of this is obviously not comparable to something like Williamsburg or Plimoth Plantation -- but it's still really interesting. It's a lot of fun for children of all ages as well as adults.

The only downside worth noting is that they do NOT usually have any food on-site, so don't expect to eat lunch there unless you bring your own. Also, while the recreated villages are wheelchair-accessible, the archaeological site is up 66 steps from the...