The Cabin Faced West

The Cabin Faced West

Author	Jean Fritz
Illustrator	Feodor Rojankovsky
Language	English
Publisher	G.P. Putnam's Sons
Publication date	1958
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (paperback)
Pages	124 pp
OCLC	300893

The Cabin Faced West is an historical children's novel by the American writer Jean Fritz.

Plot

Set in 1784 on Hamilton Hill, Washington County, Pennsylvania, near the Monongahela River some 20 miles south of Pittsburgh, this historical novel for children features ten-year-old Ann Hamilton. The Hamilton family has settled in "The Western Country" from the other side of the Allegheny Mountains from Gettysburg, and Ann is homesick for her friends and the comforts of civilization. Ann's only friend on Hamilton Hill is Andy McPhale, the son of squatter, and she takes on the project of teaching Andy to read and write. The story concludes with a visit by George Washington himself, who is inspecting his properties in the region and looking for a place to sup.

A True Story

In a postscript to her readers author Jean Fritz says that the story of Ann Hamilton is a true family story, Fritz being her great-great-granddaughter. She reprints George Washington's diary entry of September 18, 1784 recording the visit. Hamilton Hill is known as Ginger Hill today and is near the borough of New Eagle.