Rep. Mike Fleck’s (R-Huntingdon/Blair/Mifflin) legislation, House Bill 458, designating the bridge at Shirleysburg as the Queen Aliquippa Bridge was signed into law this week.

“Few people know the story of Queen Aliquippa and her role in American-Indian affairs at the onset of the French and Indian War,” Fleck said.  “I am hopeful that when people cross the bridge and see her name, they'll realize the importance our area played in early American history.”

Queen Aliquippa was a leader of the Seneca tribe of American Indians in the early 1700s.  She was a key ally of the British when most of the American Indians sided with the French during the war.  She and her warriors assisted George Washington in the Battle of the Great Meadows, which took place July 3-4, 1754.  After Washington’s defeat and the evacuation of Fort Necessity, she fled to Aughwick where George Croghan had built a fort.  Queen Aliquippa passed away at Aughwick, now known as Shirleysburg, just a few months later on Dec. 23, 1754.

“We plan on having an official ceremony later in the spring and I hope to have a Native American representative as well as a British official from the Embassy in Washington take part,” added Fleck.

The bridge named in her honor carries U.S. Route 522 over the Aughwick Creek in Shirley Township located in Huntingdon County.

The legislation was signed into law as Act 2 of 2010 on Feb. 1.

Rep. Mike Fleck

81st District

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

(814) 644-2996

(717) 787-3335

Contact:  Tricia Graham

tgraham@pahousegop.com

(717) 260-6296

Member Site:  RepFleck.com

Caucus Site:  PAHouseGOP.com