McKean County’s famed Bucktails and those who toiled away at the county’s Poor Farm will be remembered during ceremonies scheduled Sept. 15 along U.S. Route near Smethport.

At noon that day, officials will dedicate the county’s Good Growing Garden’s Program’s Bucktail Park –– a wildflower garden and trough fountain area –– to soldiers in the county who served during the Civil War, including those part of the Bucktail regiment.

On April 24, 1861, Col. Thomas L. Kane organized the Bucktails on the steps of the McKean County Courthouse in Smethport.

“They were renowned for their exceptional marksmanship,” said McKean County President Judge John Pavlock. “They fought in numerous significant battles, including Antietam, Fredericksburg and Gettysburg. A unit of the Bucktails was also assigned to protect President Abraham Lincoln. Many of our county’s citizens served valiantly in other regiments.”

The event will include Pavlock as the keynote speaker and the Bucktail American Legion Post 138, among other groups. Bucktail regiment reenactors will also be at the event.

“The goal of the ceremony is to convey how intertwined the Civil War is in McKean County’s history,” Pavlock said.

Also that day, starting at 1:15 p.m. along the hillside, the Poor Farm Cemetery plaque and seating area will be dedicated.  

McKean County Poor Farm started operating in 1883; homes still present along Route 6 housed staff and indigent residents.   

“Residents and staff worked in the county fields and barns to grow and preserve produce, poultry, swine and cattle to feed the residents,” Pavlock said. “The home ceased operations in the late 1950s. Many residents were buried in the Poor Farm Cemetery on the hill behind the Poor Farm. There are no grave markers for the hundreds buried there.”

The names of 117 men and women buried at the farm area are known, and many others were laid to rest there as well, said Mike Barnard, community service coordinator for the county.

“The goal of this program is to give the attendees an understanding of the lives and difficulties faced by these citizens, our citizens, who are buried in the Poor Farm Cemetery,” Pavlock said.

No reservation is required, though if a big group is attending, notice is encouraged.

“We could have 40 or 400 people attend the dedication events. There are going to be a lot of people here,” Barnard said.

A $5 hot dog lunch will be available. The rain date is set Sept. 20.

“It’ll be a nice dedication because he (Pavlock) puts his heart and soul into it,” Barnard said.