Editing Shirleysburg, Pennsylvania (section)

==History==
Shirleysburg was originally the site of, and takes its name from [[Fort Shirley]], a [[French and Indian War]] fort. In 1754 the [[Oneida people|Oneida]] chief Monacatoocha ([[Scarouady]]) led about 200 pro-British Native Americans (Iroquois, [[Lenape]], and Shawnee) from their village of [[Logstown]] on the western frontier, to take refuge at [[George Croghan]]'s trading post.<ref>Jonathan A. Burns, "Report from the Fort: A Brief Summary of the 2012 Penn State University Archaeology Field School at Fort Shirley (36HU94)," ''This Week In Pennsylvania Archaeology,'' Friday, July 6, 2012</ref> In 1754, Croghan built a stockaded [[blockhouse]] known as "Croghan's Fort." Following General [[Edward Braddock]]'s defeat in July 1755, Governor [[Robert Hunter Morris]] ordered it renamed Fort Shirley and had several other forts built in a defensive line, to protect settlers from Native American attacks.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/wildernesstrailo01hann|last=Hanna |first= Charles Augustus|title= The Wilderness Trail: Or, The Ventures and Adventures of the Pennsylvania Traders on the Allegheny Path| volume=1|publisher= Putnam's Sons| date=1911}}</ref> The fort was abandoned in late 1756 because it was considered too difficult to defend.<ref name = "Waddell">[https://books.google.com/books/about/The_French_and_Indian_War_in_Pennsylvani.html?id=AMXHNwAACAAJ Waddel, Louis M. and Bomberger, Bruce D. 1996. ''The French and Indian War In Pennsylvania, 1753–1763.'' Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg PA, 1996.]{{ISBN|0-89271-057-8}}</ref>

On April 3, 1837, Shirleysburg was incorporated as a borough. In 1840 the population was 247.<ref>[https://digital.libraries.psu.edu/digital/collection/digitalbks4/id/1263/ J. W. Jordan, ''A History of the Juniata River Valley in Three Volumes,'' vol. III. National Historical Association, Harrisburg, PA, 1936]</ref>{{rp|310}} The narrow gauge [[East Broad Top Railroad and Coal Company|East Broad Top Railroad]] (EBT) was constructed through Shirleysburg in 1873. It continued to serve the town for 83 years, until it ceased operations in 1956. Since 1960 EBT tourist trains have operated from [[Rockhill, Pennsylvania|Rockhill]] to Colgate Grove, just south of town, where a [[wye (rail)|wye]] was constructed to turn trains. The inactive tracks pass through the community on their way to [[Mount Union, Pennsylvania|Mount Union]].

The [[Benjamin B. Leas House]] was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1984.<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>
[[File:Shirleysburg PA United Methodist.jpg|thumb|center|Shirleysburg United Methodist Church]]