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Fort McIntosh (Pennsylvania)
Encyclopedia
Fort McIntosh was an early American
log frontier fort situated near the confluence of the Ohio River
and the Beaver River
in what is now Beaver
, Pennsylvania
.
The fortress was constructed in 1778 under the direction of Lt. Col. Cambray-Digny
, a French engineer, and named in honor of General Lachlan McIntosh
. The fortress was the site of the signing of the Treaty of Fort McIntosh
on January 21, 1785. It was occupied until it was abandoned in 1791. After the Revolution, the fort was the home of the First American Regiment
, the oldest active unit in the United States Army.
The fort was in the form of a trapezoid, about 150 feet on each side, with raised earthen bastions on each corner. Log palisades connected the bastions, and a 15 foot wide ditch protected three sides of the fort, with the 130 foot slope to the Ohio River protecting the other side. Inside were three barracks, warehouses, officer's quarters, a forge, kitchen, and powder magazines. The fort may have had either two or four iron cannon.
Around the year 1976, citizens of the nearby community of Beaver decided, with great fanfare, to excavate the pilings and remaining stone foundations of the original Ft. McIntosh. They were successful in locating the outlines of the revolutionary era fort. Their efforts culminated in a dedication, presided over by retired Gen. William Westmoreland
, in the summer of 1977. In late 2010, a local business owner donated money for a granite
and sandstone
memorial on the fort site.
The fort site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1975. In 1996, most of Beaver was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the "Beaver Historic District
. At that time, the fort site was singled out as one of the most significant of the district's 1,250 contributing properties
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
log frontier fort situated near the confluence of the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
and the Beaver River
Beaver River (Pennsylvania)
The Beaver River is a tributary of the Ohio River in Western Pennsylvania in the United States with a length of approximately 21 mi . It flows through a historically important coal-producing region north of Pittsburgh...
in what is now Beaver
Beaver, Pennsylvania
Beaver is a borough in and the county seat of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States, at the confluence of the Beaver and Ohio Rivers. As of the 2000 census, the borough population was 4,775, having dropped from 5,641 in 1940....
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
.
The fortress was constructed in 1778 under the direction of Lt. Col. Cambray-Digny
Louis Antoine Cambray-Digny
Louis Antoine Jean Baptiste de Cambray-Digny was a French officer during the American Revolution.He was born in Italy to French parents...
, a French engineer, and named in honor of General Lachlan McIntosh
Lachlan McIntosh
Lachlan McIntosh was a British-born American military and political leader during the American Revolution and the early United States. In a 1777 duel, he shot dead Button Gwinnett, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.-Arrival in Georgia:Lachlan McIntosh was born near Raits, Badenoch,...
. The fortress was the site of the signing of the Treaty of Fort McIntosh
Treaty of Fort McIntosh
The Treaty of Fort McIntosh was a treaty between the United States government and representatives of the Wyandotte, Delaware, Chippewa and Ottawa nations of Native Americans...
on January 21, 1785. It was occupied until it was abandoned in 1791. After the Revolution, the fort was the home of the First American Regiment
3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment
The 3rd United States Infantry Regiment is a regiment of the US Army. It currently has three active battalions, and is readily identified by its nickname, The Old Guard, as well as Escort to the President. The regimental motto is Noli Me Tangere...
, the oldest active unit in the United States Army.
The fort was in the form of a trapezoid, about 150 feet on each side, with raised earthen bastions on each corner. Log palisades connected the bastions, and a 15 foot wide ditch protected three sides of the fort, with the 130 foot slope to the Ohio River protecting the other side. Inside were three barracks, warehouses, officer's quarters, a forge, kitchen, and powder magazines. The fort may have had either two or four iron cannon.
Around the year 1976, citizens of the nearby community of Beaver decided, with great fanfare, to excavate the pilings and remaining stone foundations of the original Ft. McIntosh. They were successful in locating the outlines of the revolutionary era fort. Their efforts culminated in a dedication, presided over by retired Gen. William Westmoreland
William Westmoreland
William Childs Westmoreland was a United States Army General, who commanded US military operations in the Vietnam War at its peak , during the Tet Offensive. He adopted a strategy of attrition against the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam and the North Vietnamese Army. He later served as...
, in the summer of 1977. In late 2010, a local business owner donated money for a granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
and sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
memorial on the fort site.
The fort site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1975. In 1996, most of Beaver was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the "Beaver Historic District
Historic district (United States)
In the United States, a historic district is a group of buildings, properties, or sites that have been designated by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided...
. At that time, the fort site was singled out as one of the most significant of the district's 1,250 contributing properties
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
.