Maj. George Washington, right, portrayed by Eric Forster of Butler, and guide Christopher Gist, portrayed by Bob Shaner of Leechburg, react to a musket shot fired by a “French Indian” in during a re-enactment hike along the Connoquenessing Creek in Harmony last year. The group that hosts the hikes recently received a grant from the National Park Service.

A historic group based in Butler County is getting a boost from the National Park Service.

Washington's Trail 1753, commemorating Gen. George Washington's travels through the region, recently received a grant from the National Park Service.

The organization applied for assistance through the Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program, said Martin O'Brien, chairman of Washington's Trail 1753.

The grant award started Oct. 1 and runs through Sept. 30 during which Peggy Pings, a park service employee based in Morgantown, W.Va., will help the organization develop and work to expand the trail and the programs it offers, O'Brien said.

“We've taken some preliminary steps to establish goals we hope to complete within a year,” he said.

Currently, the established route is mostly in Butler County, starting in Cranberry Township and going north through Slippery Rock and Harrisville. One goal would be to keep expanding the trail by placing highway markers in Allegheny, Beaver, Venango and Crawford counties near what is thought to have been Washington's actual route.

Pings said she plans to help the group by identifying stakeholders and potential partnerships in neighboring counties to help the organization extend the trail. Putting up new highway markers would also require permission from the municipalities or state agencies who control the roads.

“It would be nice to be able to extend the driving tour throughout Western Pennsylvania,” she said.

The group also is going to investigate the possibility of pursuing a National Historic Trail designation from the National Park Service.

The designation would allow the group to hire a superintendent to oversee the route and would create increased notoriety as a part of the national park system, Pings said.

O'Brien said he would like the trail to one day become like the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route on the East Coast. It is another historic route, going from Rhode Island to Yorktown, Va., in commemoration of Washington's march to the final battle of the American Revolution.Washington's Trail 1753 could potentially be expanded to cover the entire route that Washington covered while delivering a message to French soldiers before the beginning of the French and Indian War.Accompanied by guide Christopher Gist, Washington traveled from Virginia to the Erie area and back.The group applied for the grant with help from Congressman Mike Kelly, R-3rd.One of the most famous stories from Washington's trip was when a guide led his group astray during his return to Virginia. Somewhere near what is now Evans City, the guide took a shot at Washington. He missed and was captured, though his shot could have been a turning point in American history, O'Brien said.“The whole history of democracy and the world would be quite different if the Indian had killed Washington that day,” he said.