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US-30 Lincoln Highway Long-Cut (Chambersburg, PA to East Liverpool, OH)
Item 6 of 19
The Espy House, named after its former owner, David Epsy is a historic building in downtown Bedford, Pennsylvania constructed in 1770. Today it is candy and gift shop. The building is significant in that President George Washington stayed here one night in October, 1794. He led a militia of 12,000 men to quell what was a serious threat to the federal government's authority: the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794. The government passed excise tax laws that favored bigger farmers over smaller ones, who, not having access to currency, boiled wheat grains down to whiskey and used the liquor as a form of money. The law meant that they would have to pay the tax with their whiskey. Washington stayed at the house because it was the nicest one in Bedford. He was the only president to lead a military force into an armed conflict. The decision to quell the rebellion gave the federal government legitimacy in that it could enforce, by military means if necessary, laws it passed. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1983.

The Espy House, now a candy shop

The Espy House, now a candy shop
http://www.visitbedfordcounty.com/espyhouse/index.html. Retrieved 10-22-15. Charles W. Snell. "Epsy House," National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places. 11-19-74.