Fort Pitt: Keystone of the Frontier, featuring the new permanent exhibits of the Fort Pitt Museum opened on April 17, 2004, 250 years after the French seized the Forks of the Ohio and began construction of Fort DuQuesne. The new exhibits include video presentations, computer generated simulations of Fort Pitt, historical artwork from many talented artists, and of course many artifacts.

Below are some of the highlights from the new exhibits.

The exhibits begin with the environment of western Pennsylvania in the 1700’s and the background of the three forces that claimed the Forks of the Ohio.
	A short video along with historical recreations of the French, Native Americans, and British give visitors a sense of who the peoples were.
	Following the video, the exhibits continue the story of the French and Indian War from the opening shots to the expansion of a global war. The exhibits proceed to tell the story of the tensions that grew between the British and the Native Americans that resulted in Pontiac’s War.
The computer kiosks not only present a computer generated view of Fort Pitt but also explore the five frontier forts of Pittsburgh.
Prior to the American Revolution, Pennsylvania and Virginia clashed over control of the region of Pittsburgh. Before the civil strife grew any worse, the American Revolution erupted and both sides joined together in defense of American Liberty. Fort Pitt’s role during the American Revolution is explored through maps, images, artifacts, and a video.
Following the American Revolution, the United States led a series of campaigns into the Ohio Country. By 1795, the Native American of the region were forced westward and Pittsburgh changed from a military outpost on the frontier to a growing American town.
	Settlers heading west stopped in Pittsburgh for supplies before heading down the Ohio River. One traveler through the area was Meriwether Lewis. Lewis gathered supplies and men as part of his Corps of Discovery before leaving Pittsburgh in August 1803. When Lewis left Pittsburgh that year, he had signaled a new period in Pittsburgh’s development.
Pittsburgh was no longer the wilderness that it had been fifty years earlier. It had been a strategic spot, desired by European empires. It was the home of many military fortifications as part of a defense of those empires. It was the key to a defense of the American States as they grew into a nation. Now it was part of mainstream America.