Redstone Old Fort
Encyclopedia
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Redstone Old Fort or Redstone Fort
or (for a short time when built) Fort Burd on The Nemacolin Trail
Nemacolin's Path
thumb|450px|[[Braddock's Road|General Braddock's March]] follows or parallel's Chief Nemacolin's Trail from the Potomac River to the Monogahela. The wagon negotiable route from the summit to [[Redstone Creek]] was bypassed by Braddock...
was the name of the French and Indian War era
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
wooden fort built in 1759 by Pennsylvania Militia Colonel James Burd
James Burd
James Burd was a colonial American soldier in the French and Indian War, during which he played an important role in fortifying the Pennsylvania frontier.-Early life:...
to guard the ancient Indian trail's river ford on a mound overlooking the eastern shore of the Monongahela River
Monongahela River
The Monongahela River is a river on the Allegheny Plateau in north-central West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania in the United States...
(colloquially, just "the Mon") in what is now Fayette County, Pennsylvania
Fayette County, Pennsylvania
Fayette County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the2010 census, the population was 136,606. The county is part of the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area....
near, or (more likely) on the banks of Dunlap's Creek at the confluence. The site is unlikely to be the same as an earlier fort the French document as Hangard dated to 1754 and which was confusedly, likely located on the nearby stream called Redstone creek
Redstone Creek
Redstone Creek is a historically important widemouthed canoe and river boat-navigable brook-sized tributary stream of the Monongahela River in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. The creek is long, running from headwaters on Chestnut Ridge north through the city of Uniontown and reaching the Monongahela...
group=notes>located about a mile and a half (downriver) to the north, or slightly less than one mile north of the site of the elevated bridge of today's U.S. Route 40
U.S. Route 40
U.S. Route 40 is an east–west United States highway. As with most routes whose numbers end in a zero, U.S. 40 once traversed the entire United States. It is one of the original 1920s U.S. Highways, and its first termini were San Francisco, California, and Atlantic City, New Jersey...
and Nemacolin Castle but the naming situation which is already confused because that means the Hangard blockhouse was located along the banks of the larger Redstone Creek along the east bank of the Monongahela, down slope from where Nemacolin Castle was constructed on the bluffs above.. Red sandstones predominate the deposited rock column of the entire region, and
The fortress site was chosen to guard and command the crossing pointThe Mon river ford and related shallows were arrayed slightly upstream (south) in the vicinity of the Old U.S. Route 40 steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
arch bridge
Arch bridge
An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side...
connecting to West Brownsville.
Fort Burd was the last fort built by Colonel Burd, who'd spent most of the prior two years overseeing construction of forts in western Pennsylvania. Since a location on the south bank of Dunlap's Creek would have had a commanding field of fire (militarily) over the nearly adjacent river fording point. Nemacolin's Trail likely continued along the opposite bank of the Mon river south and upstreamthe path of PA Route 88 southbound away from California, Pennsylvania.
of the formidable east-west obstacle of the Monongahela River
Monongahela River
The Monongahela River is a river on the Allegheny Plateau in north-central West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania in the United States...
along the route of an Amerindian trail from the Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
along one of the few mountain passes allowing traffic between the Ohio Country
Ohio Country
The Ohio Country was the name used in the 18th century for the regions of North America west of the Appalachian Mountains and in the region of the upper Ohio River south of Lake Erie...
and the eastern sea board cities. During 1749 and 1750, the Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
Indian chief Nemacolin and Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
frontiersman Thomas Cresap
Thomas Cresap
Colonel Thomas Cresap was an English-born pioneer settler in the state of Maryland, and an agent of Lord Baltimore in the Maryland-Pennsylvania boundary dispute. During the dispute, Cresap became a notorious figure in the Conejohela Flats areathe Susquehanna Valley in the area south of Wright's...
supervised improving the trail from the east to Redstone Creek, but Chief Nemacolin was a continuing presence in the war against the Mingo and Shawnee, and anecdotes place him at Nemacolin Castle waiting for Colonel Burd.
Col. James Burd
James Burd
James Burd was a colonial American soldier in the French and Indian War, during which he played an important role in fortifying the Pennsylvania frontier.-Early life:...
(Virginia Militia, see detail below) ordered construction of the fort in 1759 on an earthwork mound
Mound
A mound is a general term for an artificial heaped pile of earth, gravel, sand, rocks, or debris. The most common use is in reference to natural earthen formation such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. The term may also be applied to any rounded area of topographically...
left behind by prehistoric Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
, known as the Mound Builders. The Anglo settlers called the mounds built by the Native Americans "old forts". This one had large red sandstone blocks that had been placed at the top, suggesting the site had been a fortress of some kind. It was also, after the area was settled, the site of the local settlement of the Religious Society of Friends
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
(Quakers) and the place they called "Redstone Meeting". Around this time (1750s–1760s) a far sighted businessman-farmer, anticipating that any settlements west of the Alleghenies had to funnel down Nemacolin's Trail to the River crossing
Ford (crossing)
A ford is a shallow place with good footing where a river or stream may be crossed by wading or in a vehicle. A ford is mostly a natural phenomenon, in contrast to a low water crossing, which is an artificial bridge that allows crossing a river or stream when water is low.The names of many towns...
acted to acquire ownership of the lands, which ultimately gave the area its later historic and current name: Brownsville, Pennsylvania
Brownsville, Pennsylvania
Brownsville is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, officially founded in 1785 located 35 miles south of Pittsburgh along the Monongahela River...
. Brown himself did not move to the lands but acted as landlord and real estate magnate, selling much of the land piecemeal, and large plots to Jacob Bowman, who became a prime mover in the tremendous industrial development of the town.
In 1789, historic Nemacolin Castle, trading post, and tavern was built up on the bluff about 0.75 miles to the east along Burd's Road (the western stretch of The Nemacolin Trail through Brownsville and across Washington County
Washington County, Pennsylvania
-Government and politics:As of November 2008, there are 152,534 registered voters in Washington County .* Democratic: 89,027 * Republican: 49,025 * Other Parties: 14,482...
to Wheeling, West Virginia
Wheeling, West Virginia
Wheeling is a city in Ohio and Marshall counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia; it is the county seat of Ohio County. Wheeling is the principal city of the Wheeling Metropolitan Statistical Area...
eastwards to the junction with Braddock's Road in Uniontown
Uniontown, Pennsylvania
Uniontown is a city in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh and part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. Population in 1900, 7,344; in 1910, 13,344; in 1920, 15,692; and in 1940, 21,819. The population was 10,372 at the 2010 census...
by Bowman near Redstone Old Fort and this crossing
Ford (crossing)
A ford is a shallow place with good footing where a river or stream may be crossed by wading or in a vehicle. A ford is mostly a natural phenomenon, in contrast to a low water crossing, which is an artificial bridge that allows crossing a river or stream when water is low.The names of many towns...
, at what became a major link in the first National Road
National Road
The National Road or Cumberland Road was the first major improved highway in the United States to be built by the federal government. Construction began heading west in 1811 at Cumberland, Maryland, on the Potomac River. It crossed the Allegheny Mountains and southwestern Pennsylvania, reaching...
(aka U.S. 40 twenty years later) at what is today the towns of West Brownsville
West Brownsville, Pennsylvania
West Brownsville is a borough in Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,075 at the 2000 census.-Geography:West Brownsville is located at ....
and Brownsville
Brownsville, Pennsylvania
Brownsville is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, officially founded in 1785 located 35 miles south of Pittsburgh along the Monongahela River...
of (Washington and Fayette Counties respectively), the joint sites of the first Iron Bridge built in the United States. The early settlement around the fort also came to be called Redstone, but eventually became eponymously known as Brownsville, Pennsylvania
Brownsville, Pennsylvania
Brownsville is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, officially founded in 1785 located 35 miles south of Pittsburgh along the Monongahela River...
after its farsighted developer Thomas Brown
Thomas Brown (businessman)
Thomas Brown, was the colonial era husbandman, businessman, and land speculator who along with his brother Basil acquired the bulk of the lands towards the end of the American Revolution from non-other than the somewhat infamous Thomas CresapColonel Cresap had worked with Delaware Chief Nemacolin...
. The use of "Redstone" devolved to apply to just one of its neighborhoods.
Geopolitically, Redstone was a frequent point of embarkation to cross the Monongahela River for travelers who had crossed the Alleghenies or were heading west via the Monongahela and 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...
s by boat. Its strategic importance had long been recognized and used by the indigenous
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
Amerindians. It was a target terminus of Braddock's Road during the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
Redstone Old Fort was the terminus of a Native American trail which settlers improved around the 1750. They afterward called it Nemacolin's Trail, named after the Indian chief
Tribal chief
A tribal chief is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies with social stratification under a single leader emerged in the Neolithic period out of earlier tribal structures with little stratification, and they remained prevalent throughout the Iron Age.In the case of ...
who assisted the improvement through the mountain pass
Mountain pass
A mountain pass is a route through a mountain range or over a ridge. If following the lowest possible route, a pass is locally the highest point on that route...
. From this area, travelers could travel by water downsteam on the Monongahela river to what is now Pittsburgh, or overland, by by trails that later became Brownsville Road
Brownsville Road
Brownsville Road is a road in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. It has had several names over its history, and was also known at the Red Stone Road and the Brownsville Plank Road, or Southern Avenue.-Pre-history to eighteenth century:...
to the same destination.
Redstone Old Fort proved significant in the Colony of Virginia's war against the Mingo
Mingo
The Mingo are an Iroquoian group of Native Americans made up of peoples who migrated west to the Ohio Country in the mid-eighteenth century. Anglo-Americans called these migrants mingos, a corruption of mingwe, an Eastern Algonquian name for Iroquoian-language groups in general. Mingos have also...
and Shawnee
Shawnee
The Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...
tribes, known as Lord Dunmore's War (177475). It was occupied by Capt. Michael Cresap
Michael Cresap
Michael Cresap was a frontiersman born in Maryland. He was the son of the pioneer Thomas Cresap. He spent part of his adult years in the Ohio Country as a trader and land developer. He led several raids against Indians whom he believed were hostile to white settlement. Logan of the Mingo Indians...
to prevent the local Shawnee from controlling it. Cresap was the owner of a trading post. Under authority of the colonial government of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, Cresap had taken up extensive tracts of land at and below the mouth of Middle Island Creek
Middle Island Creek
Middle Island Creek is a river, 77 miles long, in northwestern West Virginia, USA. It is a tributary of the Ohio River, draining an area of 565 square miles on the unglaciated Allegheny Plateau...
(now Sistersville, West Virginia
Sistersville, West Virginia
Sistersville is a city in Tyler County, West Virginia, along the Ohio River. The population was 1,588 at the 2000 census. The Sistersville Ferry crosses the Ohio River to the unincorporated community of Fly in Monroe County, Ohio.-Geography:...
). He had gone there in the early spring of 1774 with a party of men to settle his holdings.
Ebenezer Zane
Ebenezer Zane
Ebenezer Zane was an American pioneer, road builder and land speculator. Born in what is now Moorefield, West Virginia , Zane established the settlement known as Fort Henry in Wheeling, Virginia on the Ohio River...
, afterward a famed "Indian fighter" and guide, was engaged at the same time and in the same way with a small party of men on lands which he had taken up at or near the mouth of Sandy Creek. A group under the command of James Harrod left the fort 25 May 1774 going down river to settle lands in Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, but returned to the fort due to the threat from the Shawnee.
A third and larger group that included George Rogers Clark
George Rogers Clark
George Rogers Clark was a soldier from Virginia and the highest ranking American military officer on the northwestern frontier during the American Revolutionary War. He served as leader of the Kentucky militia throughout much of the war...
, had gathered at the mouth of the Little Kanawha River
Little Kanawha River
The Little Kanawha River is a tributary of the Ohio River, 169 mi long, in western West Virginia in the United States. Via the Ohio, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of 2,320 mi² on the unglaciated portion of the Allegheny Plateau...
(the present site of Parkersburg, West Virginia
Parkersburg, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 33,099 people, 14,467 households, and 8,767 families residing in the city. In 2006 the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that Parkersburg's population had decreased 4.4% to 31,755. The population density was 2,800.5 people per square mile . There were 16,100 housing...
). They were waiting there for the arrival of other Virginians who were expected to join them at that point before moving downriver to settle lands in Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
.
Redstone Old Fort is mentioned in C. M. Ewing's The Causes of That So Called Whiskey Insurrection of 1794 (1930) as being the site of a July 27, 1791, meeting in "Opposition to the Whiskey Excise Tax," during the Whiskey Rebellion
Whiskey Rebellion
The Whiskey Rebellion, or Whiskey Insurrection, was a tax protest in the United States in the 1790s, during the presidency of George Washington. Farmers who sold their corn in the form of whiskey had to pay a new tax which they strongly resented...
. It was the first illegal meeting of that insurrection.
In 1803 Meriwether Lewis
Meriwether Lewis
Meriwether Lewis was an American explorer, soldier, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition also known as the Corps of Discovery, with William Clark...
mentioned Redstone Old Fort in a letter to President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
, in which he detailed his route from Harper's Ferry to Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
.
William Trent established the Hangard in January–February 1754 before moving on to join the construction crew working to build a fort on the Forks of the Ohio
External links
- Brownsville
- Meriwether Lewis route to Pittsburgh, National Park Service
- Nemacolin-Bowman Castle museum