Prince's Fort was built in South Carolina

South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

 for protection against the Cherokee Indians. It was near the residence of John Prince. Fort Prince was the general rallying point in times of danger when the people of the settlement sought safety. Just in front was a creek for their washing. Nearby stood a mill which ground corn, later known as Grays Mill. It stood for several years after the American Revolutionary War

American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

.

Size and Shape

Prince's Fort, circular in shape, was constructed of heavy logs. It was 150 ft (45.7 m) in diameter and 15 ft (4.6 m) high. Port holes were cut for use by riflemen, and it was surrounded by a ditch, the dirt from which was thrown against the walls to parapet height.

In 1777 Prince's Fort was commanded by Captain James Steen

James Steen (planter)

Lt. Col. James Steen was a successful planter who, at the time of the American revolution, resided in the Thicketty Creek area of what was once the northern part of Union County and is now part of Cherokee County, South Carolina. Steen, a stanch Presbyterian, had been born in County Antrim,...

 (promoted to Lieutenant Colonel by 1780), of Thicketty, South Carolina

Thicketty, South Carolina

Thicketty is an unincorporated community in Cherokee County, South Carolina, United States. It lies between Gaffney and Cowpens along U.S. Route 29. Thicketty is located about northeast of Spartanburg....

 (Thicketty Creek).

Location

Various descriptions of location exist, all written years later. One places the fort 2½ miles northeast of the present village Fair Forest on Fairforest Creek, a branch of the Tyger River, Ninety Six District, Union County, South Carolina. This may be an earlier fort by a similar name, Fort Prince, whose location was covered in 1971 by a new lake.

A second description locates it as southwest of the city of Union, South Carolina

Union, South Carolina

Union is the county seat of Union County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 8,393 at the 2010 census.It is the principal city of the Union Micropolitan Statistical Area , an which includes all of Union County and which is further included in the greater...

 where the road SC49 crosses over Fairforest Creek on a commanding height of land beside Gray's creek, a branch of the Tyger River.

Blackstock Road ran beside the Fort and intersected with the road to Earlesville, now known as Landrum, South Carolina

Landrum, South Carolina

Landrum is a city in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 2,376 at the 2010 census.It was founded in 1880 and incorporated in 1912...

. To the southeast, it became Charles Town Road.

The site of Fort Prince is shown on the 1858 Geognostic Map of Spartanburg District (by Oscar Lieber) as on the Blackstock Road near the North Tyger River and Nazareth Church. This map is available in the South Carolina Archives.

Directions to the Fort

As of 1978: follow I-85 west from Spartanburg to Greer exit, Rt. 29. Go 1/4 mile to top of hill. Fort Prince Cemetery is on the right. Turn right by the cemetery. D.A.R.

Daughters of the American Revolution

The Daughters of the American Revolution is a lineage-based membership organization for women who are descended from a person involved in United States' independence....

marker is in the cornfield - hard to find. Across Rt. 29 from cemetery is bicentennial marker erected by Wellford Bicentennial Committee in 1977.