Pennsylvania authorized the “Thirteen Original Colonies Bicentennial Covered Wagon Train” as an official Bicentennial project, one of five such trains that crossed the country to reach Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, for the July 4, 1976, Independence Day celebration. After scouting overnight stops, the wagon train left Stone Mountain, Georgia, on April 1, 1976, under the direction of Pensacola, Florida, native Harry Lee. At the South Carolina border, it was joined by State Wagon Master Dr. Larry Hudson, wagon teamsters Hennison Hartley and Woody Drury, and other South Carolinians. During its two-week journey through South Carolina, the caravan made several stops in Chester County, where local horse enthusiasts joined on horseback and in wagons. In Lewisville, Mayor John B. McCrorey welcomed the group on May 6 as they camped overnight at the high school football field. The next day in Lowrys, Mayor Marion E. Johnson and other townspeople greeted them at the town park, while members of the North Chester Saddle Club dressed in period costumes, others held a quilting bee, demonstrated lye soap making, displayed antiques and patriotic quilts, and served homemade vegetable soup from an old iron pot as part of the bicentennial celebration. The Lowrys Thursday Afternoon Book Club held an open house and dedicated the newly restored Circulating Free Library, and an exhibition from the Robert J. Shannon Collection displayed arrow points, artifacts, implements, and relics. Seven Penn State University students traveling with the wagon train presented a 45-minute musical despite a downpour. Local residents who rode with the wagon train at various points on the way to Valley Forge included William and Betty Stephenson and their daughters Bonnie and Sherry, Neely Dove, and Frank and Frances Stephenson. William and his family completed the six-week journey from Clarksville, Virginia, to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, and Neely’s wife Laverne helped look after their farm while they were away. On July 4, 1976, President Gerald Ford reviewed the state wagons and documents of signatures reaffirming the principles upon which America was founded. Members of the “Thirteen Original Colonies Bicentennial Covered Wagon Train” continue to hold a reunion, with a different state hosting the event each year.