Ohio Forts

American Forts: East

OHIO

Last Update: 03/APRIL/2011

Compiled by Pete Payette - Š2011 American Forts Network

Highbanks Park Earthworks
(Highbanks Metro Park)
(Hutchins State Nature Preserve)
(800 - 1300), Orange Township, Delaware County
A Late Woodland period Cole Indian semi-elliptical earthen blufftop fortification located north of Columbus.

Camp Delaware
(1862 - 1864), Delaware
A Civil War training camp located one and one-half miles south of town on the east-side of the Columbus Road by the Olentangy River (South Sandusky Street at English Terrace and Olentangy Ave.). It was divided into two camps in 1863, the new portion one-half mile north on the west-side of the road. The old portion was afterwards used for Negro troops.

Fort Morrow
(1812), near Norton
Also known as Norton Blockhouse, a half-acre palisaded enclosure with two blockhouses built by the local militia, surrounding a brick tavern operated by Nathaniel Wyatt. The tavern operated until 1825. Site was surveyed in 1973 and later excavated. Marker located one-half mile north of town on east-side of US 23.

Upper Sandusky Trading Post
(1745 - 1748), Upper Sandusky
A French fur trade post. It was burned down by Indians.

Leeth's Trading Post
(1781), Upper Sandusky
A British (Tory) trading post.

Fort Ferree
(1812 - unknown), Upper Sandusky
A stockade with four blockhouses and barracks, built by General Harrison, at the time located within the Wyandot Indian Reservation. Site located two blocks northeast of the Wyandot County Courthouse, at the present-day Elks Lodge. One of the blockhouses stood until 1850, being used as a jail.

Fort Findlay
(1812 - 1815), Findlay
A stockaded supply base 50-yards square, with four blockhouses, built by General Hull. A marker is on South Main Street at the Blanchard River Bridge.

Camp Vance
(1861 - 1865), Findlay
A Civil War training camp.

Wyandot Indian Stockade
(1794), near Findlay
A Wyandot Indian fortified village located west of town.

Fort Necessity
(1812 - 1817), near Williamstown
A stockaded blockhouse. It was also known as Mud Outpost, due to conditions when built. A stone marker is at the site east of town.

Fort McArthur
(1812 - 1815), near Kenton
This stockade with two blockhouses guarded the main supply road. A stone marker is at the site, three miles west of town.

Camp Simon Kenton
(1861 - unknown), Kenton
A Civil War training camp, located at the present-day county fairgrounds.

Zane's Town Trading Post
(1786), Zanesfield
A British (Tory) trading post. The town was originally known as Zane's Town after settler Isaac Zane.

Alexander McKee's Trading Post (2)
(1778 - 1786), near Bellefontaine
A British (Tory) trading post at McKee's Town. Site located somewhere south of town (on McKee's Creek ?).

Joseph Vance's Blockhouse
(1812), Quincy
A local militia blockhouse.

Urbana Fort
(1812), Urbana
An unnamed War of 1812 defense built by General Hull.

Camp McArthur
(1861 - 1862), Urbana
A Civil War training camp.

Tawixtwi Town Trading Post
(1750), Shelby County
A British trading post located somewhere between Piqua and Fort Loramie. Also spelled Tweightewee.

Fort Loramie
(1769 - 1782, 1793 - 1798, 1812 - 1813), Fort Loramie
Originally a British (French-Canadian) trading post, known as Peter (Pierre) Loramie's Trading Post, then destroyed by American troops under Benjamin Logan in November 1782. Rebuilt in 1793 by General Wayne, simply a blockhouse with supply buildings, and used until 1798 as a supply depot. The fort was destroyed during the War of 1812. What was left remaining was sold in 1815 to James Furrow for a tavern and post office.

Fort Recovery (State Memorial)
(1793 - 1796), Fort Recovery
A rectangular stockade with four blockhouses built on the site of General Arthur St. Clair's November 1791 defeat, where General Wayne later "recovered" the area. The fort was later dismantled. A smaller reconstruction, with only two blockhouses and museum, is now located here. Of interest in town is the Fort Recovery State Museum. See also Siege of Fort Recovery from Ohio History Central.org

Fort Adams
(1794 - 1796), near Rockford
A diamond-shaped stockade with two blockhouses on the St. Mary's River at the mouth of Beaver Creek, built by General Wayne on his way to Fallen Timbers.

Fort Randolph
(1794), Willshire
A post built by General Wayne on his way to Fallen Timbers.

St. Mary's Trading Post
(1760), near St. Marys
A French trading post located on the St. Mary's River two miles upstream of town.

Girty's Town Trading Post (2)
(1782 - 1784), St. Marys
A British (Tory) trading post that was burned down. Built by James Girty, Simon's brother.

Fort St. Mary's
(1784, 1794 - 1796, 1813 - 1818), St. Marys
Headquarters and supply depot for Generals Harmar, Wayne, and Harrison at various times. The 1813 rebuild was northwest of the 1794 fort. The Treaty of St. Mary's was signed here in September 1817.

Fort Barbee
(1813 - 1816), St. Marys
Originally an outpost of Fort St. Mary's. A hotel is now on the site.

Fort au Glaize (1)
(1748 - 1760, 1784), near Wapakoneta
A French trading post on the Auglaize River about one-half mile northeast of town. Also known as Wapakoneta Trading Post or AuGlaize Trading Post. Re-established as Francis Duchouquet's Trading Post in 1760 before it was captured and dismantled by the British. Re-established again by French-Canadian traders in 1784.

Fort Auglaize (2)
(1794, 1812), near Wapakoneta
An American fort originally built by General Wayne, later rebuilt (at same site or nearby) during the War of 1812. Probably at or near the site of the earlier French post.

Fort Amanda (State Memorial)
(1813 - 1815), Amanda Township, Allen County
On the west bank of the Auglaize River, east of Spencerville. A 50-foot granite obelisk (1915) marks the location.

Camp Lima
(1862), Lima
A Civil War training camp.

Fort Jennings
(1812 - 1815), Fort Jennings
Built by troops of the Kentucky state militia during the War of 1812.

Fort Brown
(1812 - 1815), Fort Brown
A wooden stockade. Located on the Auglaize River at the Little Auglaize River, one mile north of Melrose.

Byrd's Stockade
(1780), Defiance County
A British (Tory) work. Undetermined location.

Miami Trading Post (1)
(1750 - unknown), Defiance
A British trading post built by George Croghan. Taken over by the French in 1751, renamed La France Trading Post. Possibly located on the north-side of the Maumee River overlooking the point.

Girty's Town Trading Post (3)
(1792), Defiance
A British (Tory) trading post built by James Girty.

McKenzie's Trading Post
(1792), Defiance
A British (Tory) trading post.

Fort Defiance (Memorial)
(1794 - 1797, 1813 - 1815), Defiance
A 60-foot stockade with four blockhouses built by General Wayne's troops, in "defiance" of the ever-present British and Indians, two weeks before the Battle of the Fallen Timbers (August 1794). Camp Auglaize (or Camp Grand Oglaize) (1794) was established here before the fort was constructed. In 1813 the post was rebuilt 80 yards away by General Harrison and renamed Fort Winchester. It was used mainly as a supply base. Eventually it was discontinued. A reproduction of the original fort was built in 1894, but was torn down a few years later due to vandalism. A stone marker (1925) is at the original site in a small park overlooking the Maumee and Auglaize Rivers, at Fort and Washington Streets, adjacent to the Defiance Public Library. History of Defiance, Ohio from Defiance Tourism.com

James Girty's Trading Post
(1795), Henry County
A British (Tory) trading post. Undetermined location.

Camp Latty
(1861 - 1862), Napoleon
A Civil War training camp.

Lower Sandusky Trading Post (1) ?
(1764 ?), Fremont
A British trading post.

A French trading post may have possibly been located here earlier.

Girty's Town Trading Post (1)
(1775 - unknown), Sandusky River
A British (Tory) trading post built by Simon Girty. Undetermined location, possibly at Lower Sandusky (Fremont) (?).

Fort Stephenson
(1812 - 1815), Fremont
A stockade with three blockhouses on the west-side of the Sandusky River. Also known as Fort at Lower Sandusky or Fort Sandusky (5). Only one small cannon, "Old Betsy", was used during the August 1813 British attack and it was moved from blockhouse to blockhouse in a successful attempt to save the fort. "Old Betsy" can be seen at Birchard Library Park on Croghan Street. See also Battle of Fort Stephenson from Sandusky County Scrapbook.net

Campbell's Stockade (2)
(1812), Fremont ?
A local militia post. Also known as Lower Sandusky Trading Post (2).

Fort Seneca
(1813 - 1815), Old Fort
A stockaded supply depot built by General Harrison, previously known as Camp Seneca (1813). The nearby community of Fort Seneca (settled 1836) also refers to this post.

Fort Ball
(1813 - 1815), Tiffin
A stockaded fort and supply depot, with three blockhouses.

Camp Noble
(1861), Tiffin
A Civil War training camp.

Camp Perry (State Military Reservation)
(Camp Perry Lodging and Conference Center)
(1907 - present), Camp Perry
An Ohio National Guard training camp and artillery firing range. This post has the largest outdoor rifle range in the world. Used by the U.S. Regular Army in 1917. Became a German and Italian POW camp in WWII. Use of the post has declined since the 1960's, but it is still active.

The Erie Army Ordnance Depot (1918 - 1965) was located adjacent to Camp Perry. It is currently the Erie Industrial Park.

Sandusky Bay Forts
(1680 ?, 1740 - 1747, 1750 - 1753, 1761 - 1763, 1764), Sandusky Bay
A French fortified trading post known as Fort Sandoske (2) (1750 - 1753) was built in late 1750 on the north shore of Sandusky Bay, south of Port Clinton located near Gypsum or Hickory Grove, at the southern end of the "deLery Portage" between the bay and the mouth of the Portage River that avoided the hazardous water route around Marblehead Peninsula. It was built to keep British traders away from the area, who had been in the general area in 1745 and 1750. The fort was reported to be already in ruins in August 1754. Monument located at the southern end of Fulton Street.

The first British Fort Sandusky (3) (1761 - 1763) was built in September 1761 on the south shore of the bay near the mouth of Cold Creek near Venice (state marker located at Venice Road and Fremont Ave.), and located about "one league" from the site of the palisaded Wyandot Indian village of Anioton (1740 - 1747) which was probably near Crystal Rock, and about three and one-half miles northeast of the Wyandot Indian village of Canoutout (1754 ?- 1763) near Castalia. The fort was burned during Pontiac's Rebellion in May 1763. Canoutout was burned in retaliation by the British in July 1763.
(NOTE: the map shown on the Ohio History Central.org link for Fort Sandusky is actually a depiction of Fort Stephenson at "Lower Sandusky" (Fremont).)

The British started building a replacement for Fort Sandusky (3) about 0.75 mile west of the old French fort site on the north shore of the bay in September 1764, but the work was abandoned three weeks later in October (Fort Sandusky (4)).

The palisaded Wyandot Indian village of Nunqunhanty (or Junundat) (1740 - 1747) was located near the mouth of Racoon Creek or Pickerel Creek near Bay View in present-day Sandusky County. Also known by the French as Nicolas' (Orontony's) Fort. British traders from Pennsylvania were here in 1745. Exact location probably eroded under the bay.

A French trade post was possibly located in the Bay View area in 1680.

(thanks to Ted Reising-Derby for providing corrections)

Johnson's Island Camp
(Johnson's Island Cemetery)
(1862 - 1865), Johnson's Island
A stockade and prison camp for Confederate officers. 3000 men were here in 1865, over 15,000 total during the course of the war. Defenses built outside of the prison stockade in the winter of 1864-65 included Fort Hill (2) and Fort Johnson. The prison closed in September 1865. The island, now primarily a private residential community, can be reached by private boat from Lakeside or Sandusky. See also Ohio History Central.org entry

Huron Trading Post
(1749), Huron ?
A French trading post.

Fort Sandoske (1)
(1750), Huron
A French trading post located at the mouth of the Huron River.

Huron Rangers' Blockhouse
(1811 - 1815), Huron ?
A blockhouse built by the Huron Rangers militia.

Fort Nonsense
(1812), Erie County
A local militia work. Undetermined location.

Fort Avery
(1812 - 1813), Avery
A fortified encampment with a blockhouse on the east-side of the Huron River, built by General Simon Perkins. Also referred to as Camp Huron, Camp Avery, Fort Huron, and Capt. Charles Parker's Fort.

Erie Trading Post
(1787 - 1791, 1793 ?), near Milan
A British trading post among resettled Indian tribes at Pequotting on the east bank of the Huron River.

Bloomingville Blockhouses
(1812 - 1815), Bloomingville
Two palisaded blockhouses for settler refuge, also garrisoned by local militia.

Camp Monroeville
(1861 - 1862), Monroeville
A Civil War training camp.

Camp McClellan (2)
(1861), near Norwalk
A Civil War training camp located west of town on the East Branch Huron River.

New Haven Blockhouse
(1812), New Haven
A fortified encampment with a blockhouse, built by General Hull.

Early Pioneer Settlement Forts of Ohio

Auglaize County:
Murray's Trading Post (1795), undetermined location.

Defiance County:
Ironside Trading Post (1792), undetermined location.

Delaware County:
Alum Creek Blockhouse (1812), near Kilbourne. It survived until 1849.
Berlin Blockhouse (1812), near Cheshire, 40-feet square with cellar.
Cheshire Blockhouse (1812), Cheshire, later used as a school. Site inundated by the Alum Creek Lake (1974).
Delaware Blockhouse (1812), undetermined location.
James Stark's Blockhouse (1812), on Walnut Creek at Stark's Corner.

Erie County:
Benschooter's Blockhouse (1812), undetermined location.
Clark's Blockhouse (1812), undetermined location.
Ramsdell's Blockhouse (1812), undetermined location.
Simon's Blockhouse (1812), Huron.
Sprague's Blockhouse (1811), Florence. Attacked by Indians in 1813, who were repulsed by the all-female garrison while the men were away.

Hardin County:
Kenton Trading Post (1812 ?), Kenton. Located at the present-day Kenton National Field Trial Grounds.

Logan County:
Hiram Curry's Blockhouse (1812), near De Graff, built for protection of the settlers following the surrender of General Hull in the War of 1812. It stood on the north bank of Stony Creek, opposite the old Indian village of Old Town Seneca, along present-day Township Road 63.
James McPherson's Blockhouse (1810 - 1817), Bellefontaine.
James McPherson's Trading Post (1817), Lewistown.
Capt. James Manary's Blockhouse (1812), near Bellefontaine. Located three miles north of town, it was bought by a war veteran in 1823, who subsequently plugged up the rifle ports. The house was moved northwest to Lakeview in 1924 and made into a museum.
Robert Robitaille's Trading Post (1793 - 1800), Zanesfield.
Zanesfield Blockhouse (1812), Zanesfield.

Marion County:
Grand Prairie Blockhouse (1812), Grand Prairie.
Boland's Trading Post (1819 ? - 1830 ?), near Brush Ridge. A simple log cabin built by a mulatto named Boland to trade with the Delaware Indians, located just south of the then Delaware Reservation boundary (on OH 423 below the present-day county line).
Green Camp Blockhouse (1812), Green Camp. Built by Aramus Ashbaugh. Also called Scioto Blockhouse (4). No remains. Marker on west-side of OH 203. Site now occupied by the Carter Lumber Company.
Prospect Blockhouse (1812 - 1820's), Prospect.

Mercer County:
Recovery Trading Post (1816), Fort Recovery.

Ottawa County:
Parson's Blockhouse (1812), near Danbury.

Sandusky County:
Whittaker's Trading Post (1812), undetermined location.

Shelby County:
Capt. Cephas Carey's Blockhouse (1810), Hardin. It was still standing in the 1850's.
Jackson's Blockhouse (1812 ?), undetermined location.
Sidney Blockhouse (1812), Sidney.

Union County:
Adler's Post (1813 - 1819), a wooden blockhouse on a stone foundation, located three miles north of Marysville on Mill Creek. Later dismantled and used for lumber.
Mill Creek Blockhouse (2) (1812), undetermined location on Mill Creek.
New Dover Blockhouse (1812 - 1819), New Dover. Later converted to a private residence.

Wyandot County:
Whiteacre's Trading Post (1804), undetermined location.

NEED MORE INFO:
Towns:

Special thanks to Jim Geisler and Willis Thomas for providing info on most of the early blockhouses, trading posts, and pioneer settlement forts of Ohio.

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