Wyoming Commemorative Association
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Wyoming Commemorative Association was founded in 1878 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the famed Battle and Massacre of Wyoming (also known as the Wyoming Valley Massacre) This Revolutionary War battle was fought on July 3, 1778, near Wilkes-Barre in present day Exeter, PA.
The Association was informally organized in 1877 to prepare for the centennial anniversary of the Battle. Organizers of the events gathered on January 1, 1878 on the recently excavated foundation of the original fort at Forty Fort, the site from where the American defenders had departed on the day of the fateful battle in 1778. In 1928, the sesquicentennial of the Battle was elaborately celebrated both at the Monument as well as throughout the community.
The Association's first observance was held on July 3, 1878, drawing a crowd of more than 50,000 people to hear the main speaker for the event, U. S. President Rutherford B. Hayes. During the three day visit, President Hayes was accompanied by the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury - John Sherman as well as the U. S. Attorney General Charles Devens. Over a quarter of a century later, President Theodore Roosevelt visited the Wyoming Monument during a tour of Wyoming Valley in 1905.
Each year since 1878, the Commemorative Association has hosted a major observance on the grounds of the Wyoming Monument to pay tribute to the famed battle. Hereditary and military organizations place floral tributes at the foot of the monument and the 24th Connecticut Militia (Revolutionary War reenactors) present a volley tribute. Many members of the Association represent some of the leading families of the greater Wilkes-Barre area as well as descendants of those who fought in the Battle. Frank E.P. Conyngham has served as president of the association since 1990.
A number of prominent speakers have addressed the annual program including Dr. William Elliot Griffis in 1903; Hon. Simeon Eben Baldwin in 1907; Hon. John E. Potter in 1916; Arthur C. Parker in 1931; Pulitzer Prize winning author Roy Franklin Nichols in 1937; Lawrence Henry Gipson in 1941; former Pennsylvania governor Arthur James in 1947; Julian Boyd, editor of the Papers of Thomas Jefferson in 1958; Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Benjamin R. Jones in 1959; Congressman Francis Walter in 1960; Hon. William Scranton in 1961; US Senator Hugh Scott in 1969; Congressman Daniel J. Flood in 1973; and TR great grandson Tweed Roosevelt, who spoke at the Association's 2005 observance, which celebrated TR's visit to the Monument in 1905. Anthony T.P. Brooks spoke at the most recent observance in 2006 on the topic, "Wilkes-Barre in 1806: Who's who" in honor of Wilkes-Barre's Bicentennial.
The Association publishes an annual "Proceedings," which is widely distributed both to its membership as well as historic research libraries.
For additional information on the Wyoming Commemorative Association, please email:
wyomingcommemorative@gmail.com
Oscar Jewel Harvey, The History of Wilkes-Barre and Wyoming Valley
