Parks historian to talk about Washington’s long march

By Edward Colimore

Inquirer Staff Writer

The Historical Society of Frankford tonight will host a free public program by National Park Service historian Robert Selig focusing on his extensive research on the 685-mile march by George Washington and the comte de Rochambeau from Newport, R.I. to the decisive victory at Yorktown, Va. during the American Revolution.

The program - beginning at 7:30 p.m. - will include members of the Sons of the American Revolution, who will be dressed in period Continental uniforms. The historical society is located in the 1500 block of Orthodox Street in the city's Frankford section.

Patricia Coyne, secretary of the historical society and member of the board of the Washington Rochambeau Revolutionary Route, also will talk about marking the newly-designated National Parks Service National Historic Trail route, recently approved by Congress and the president.

"We need to educate people in Northeast Philadelphia," said Coyne. "If we can bring in tourists, we can build some unity and business along the Frankford Avenue corridor." For more information, call the historical society at 215-906-7612 or check the website www.frankfordhistoricalsociety.org.