"The Homecoming"
On March 30, 1734, Benjamin Chambers, a Scots-Irish immigrant and millwright was granted a Blunston License by the Penn family to develop a 400-acre plantation and gristmill for the first Franklin County settlement, named the Falling Spring Settlement.
In the early days of the settlement, Benjamin Chambers maintained good relations with the Native Americans. But, as time progressed, relations were strained as more settlers migrated to the frontier. In 1755, at the outset of twenty years of Indian Wars, Chambers constructed a highly defensible, private fort in the vicinity of this location to protect the families of the settlement. Chambers safely guided his community through the French and Indian War and Pontiac's Rebellion.
As the winds of the American Revolution stirred men to serve, Chamber's age prevented him from going on campaign, and it fell to the second and third generations of the Chamber's family to defend the cause of American freedom. Companies of defenders had to be raised to protect two fronts—the western front from attack by Indians and the eastern by the opposing British army and its mercenaries.
In June 1775, after skirmishes at Lexington and Concord, the Continental Congress authorized the formation of the first American army. Franklin County volunteers, under the leadership of Captain James Chambers, son of the founder, formed Company A of Thompson's Rifle Battalion and joined with other Pennsylvania companies for the 450-mile march to Boston. Accompanying Captain James Chambers was his eleven-year-old son, Benjamin, who fought along side the men of Company A at the Battle of Bunker Hill and throughout the eastern campaigns of the American Revolution.
Dedicated October 20, 2007, this statue depicts "The Homecoming" of 1781. Town founder Benjamin Chambers welcomes his son James, a Colonel, and grandson Benjamin, a young man of seventeen, safely home to Chambers Town after six years of distinguished military service.
The Sculptor
Wayne Hyde was born and raised near Bedford, Pennsylvania, on a farm near the Allegheny Mountains where he developed his innate talent to masterfully translate what he sees into three dimensional art. In "The Homecoming," Hyde captures the patriarch's deep feeling of thankfulness to the Almighty for the safe return of son and grandson as their countenances and gestures convey the sense of pride for all that the Chambers family has accomplished.
Left Inset
"Chambers Fort" by M. H. Gemmill, 1975
Center Inset
Pennsylvania Militia First Regiment Latin Motto: I Refuse to be Dominated.
Right Inset
Photo of Wayne Hyde, Sculptor.
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