Perhaps the biggest event will be the first-ever Huntingdon County History Day, Smith said. The event takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 13, at Riverside Park, along Pennsylvania Avenue next to the Fourth Street bridge in Smithfield Township.

“We’ve invited all the museums and the historical societies in the county, some local history authors and some reenactors to set up at Riverside Park,” Smith said, noting they still need to nail down additional details about the possibility of bringing in food vendors and other activities for people to enjoy.

According to an event poster, visitors will discover fascinating exhibits, experience living history demonstrations and connect with the stories that shaped the community.

“That’s going to be our big celebration in a sense,” Smith said.

Huntingdon County Historical Society executive director Margaret Skrivseth holds one of the “postcards to the future” received that will be buried with the county’s time capsule, to be reopened in 2076. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

Huntingdon County Historical Society Director Margaret Skrivseth said Huntingdon County History Day is the deadline for the county’s “postcards to the future” that will be buried with the county’s bicentennial time capsule later this year, to be reopened in 2076 for the U.S. tricentennial.

“The time capsule itself is really big and from what we understand, it’s only about halfway filled with items,” she said. “We’re going to put a platform above those items and put new items on top of it and reseal it for it to be opened during the tricentennial.”

Local residents can write a message to the future on the postcards, which can be obtained at the historical society or the Huntingdon County Library, Skrivseth said.

Officials are still working out some of the final logistics of when they’ll open the time capsule, Skrivseth said, adding although the deadline for postcards is June 13, people will likely be able to still turn them in until September.

In August, Skrivseth said officials are planning a big parade in Orbisonia Borough to commemorate the country’s 250-year anniversary.

Huntingdon County Historical Society executive director Margaret Skrivseth spreads out some of the 200 “postcards to the future” received that will be buried with the county’s bicentennial time capsule and opened on the nation’s tricentennial. The deadline to submit a postcard is Saturday, June 13, at the county’s History Day celebration. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

“What the historical society is doing is we’re having an exhibit here, probably also in August, which will highlight different things that have happened over the last 250 years,” Skrivseth said.

Smith praised the communities of Mapleton, Warriors Mark and Mount Union for hosting their own America250PA events, which are listed on the Huntingdon County Visitors Bureau’s website, www.raystown.org/america250.

“The community of Mapleton, they took it upon themselves and they have something going on about every month this summer and spring,” Smith said, adding Mount Union hasn’t had a carnival in years but officials are bringing it back for the 250-year anniversary.

“Different communities have planned something special,” he said, noting some of the events are new ideas created specifically for the semiquincentennial while others are annual events with a patriotic twist.

Formed out of Bedford

Some of the 200 "postcards to the future" received that will be buried with the county's bicentennial time capsule and reopened for the nation's tricentennial. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

During the Revolutionary War, Huntingdon County was part of Bedford County, and there wasn’t a whole lot of activity in the area, Skrivseth said.

There was a detachment of militia from Shirleys­­burg, which is part of Huntingdon County now, that guarded Fort Roberdeau, which was also part of Bedford County at the time, Skrivseth said.

The area that’s modern day Huntingdon County was pretty much split 50/50 between patriots and loyalists, she said.

“We really didn’t see any military engagements, but there were a lot of Indian deprivations,” Skrivseth said. “There were several stories of Native American tribes from outside the area coming in and harassing, or massacring, settlers.”

Huntingdon County was established out of Bedford County in 1787, with parts of Blair County forming out of Huntingdon in 1846, according to Smith.

Agriculture was the top industry in the area, and coal mining quickly grew as a popular industry because of the county’s many deposits of gannister rock, coal, fire clay and limestone, Smith said, noting the Juniata Iron Works was a huge operation that shipped worldwide.

“That was one of the largest industries besides agriculture in this area,” Smith said.

“Then we started to get transportation, and most transportation paths followed the Native American paths, and a lot of them followed the rivers and streams,” Smith said. “Eventually, we got the canal and the railroad followed.”

The county seat, Huntingdon Borough, was named by William Smith, who came over to America for religious freedom and acquired the town, he added.

“Every church in town could have a piece of property, and he made sure there was a school property before our courthouse was built later on,” Smith said. “They made it a tavern in the old part of town near where the original Standing Stone may have stood that the Native Americans used as a landmark.”

Smith said there are more than 100 Revolutionary War soldiers who were from what is now Huntingdon County. A lot of them are still buried in the county, he said.

Smith said he’s excited to have events celebrating the semiquincentennial all the way to Christmastime. In addition to the bureau’s website, the county posts its events on Facebook and Instagram accounts under the handle America250PA-Huntingdon County.

Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.