Lecture Before Westmoreland: Indigenous Life Along the Potomac

The Colonial Beach Historical Society and the Westmoreland County Museum invite the community to a collaborative lecture exploring the deep Indigenous history of the Potomac shoreline. Long before Westmoreland became a county or Colonial Beach developed as a waterfront town, this region was home to thriving Native societies whose political systems, trade networks, agricultural practices, and cultural traditions shaped the landscape for thousands of years.

This program will examine archaeological evidence of more than 10,000 years of habitation, Native communities documented on John Smith’s 1608 map and their connection to present day geography, systems of reciprocity and justice, agricultural innovation including seed selection and agroforestry, and the lasting impact of colonization on local tribes. The lecture offers a broader understanding of Westmoreland’s earliest history and the enduring presence of descendant Indigenous communities connected to this region today.