This site, nestled in a bend of the Braddock Road below a high knoll now marked by the “Jumonville Cross,” marked the farthest point reached by Gen. Braddock’s supply train during the campaign of 1755. While camped here, Col. Thomas Dunbar and his command received the survivors of Braddock’s Defeat, including the mortally wounded general himself.
Dunbar decided to destroy hundreds of tons of ordnance and supplies and retreat eastward, back to Fort Cumberland. This decision created one of the richest archaeological sites in colonial American history. For 200 years passers-by plucked souvenirs of musket balls and wagon parts from the site.
In recent times, the site of Dunbar’s Camp has been preserved by an agreement with the Archaeological Conservancy Association until it can be explored by an archaeological dig.