As part of its Third Saturday summer series, the Historic Preservation Trust of Berks County will present a program on the Pennsylvania long rifle on Saturday, Aug. 17, beginning at 11 a.m. at the White Horse Inn, 31 Old Philadelphia Pike, Douglassville.

Kevin O'Donnell will present the program, providing a history of the Pennsylvania long rifle and sharing artwork featuring the firearm. While the iconic rifle used in the settlement of the United States is often called the Kentucky rifle, its origin is mainly in Pennsylvania. The various places where the rifles were made developed their own specific styles. These styles, or schools, are distinctive to the areas where the rifles were made. The rifles featured artistic designs and figures that were carved into the wood or engraved into the metal decorations.

O'Donnell is a re-enactor with the First Pennsylvania Regiment, which portrays riflemen from the early part of the Revolutionary War, and he has been shooting flintlock rifles for 40 years. O'Donnell was trained as a gunsmith at the Jacobsburg Historical Society, where he took apprentice classes.

A suggested donation will be received at the door. All proceeds will benefit the Trust. For more details about the Trust or the program, call 610-385-4762. Information about the Trust is also available at http://www.historicpreservationtrust.org.