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History of the Fort
According to historians, the horrors of indian warfare
against the helpless settlers of Pennsylvania during the
late summer and autumn of 1755 were impossible to
describe. The first raid struck a settlement in Snyder
County and soon the attacks spread east and
southwest. Settlers were murdered in Tulpehocken, in
western Berks County and near the present day
Stroudsburg in November of the same year. A large
group of irate citizens marched on Philadelphia and
demanded funds to build a chain of forts along the
foothills of the Blue Mountains. Conrad Weiser
supervised the building of the chain of forts westward
from the Lehigh to the Susquehanna river. Fort Henry,
near Bethel, in Berks County, was the key fort in this
chain. There was another, Fort Northkill, at present
day Strausstown. It is not known if the Indian Fort
located on these premises was one of the additional
forts that were later built at strategic locations in the
chain started by Conrad Weiser. However, the single
rifle port located on one of the walls of the fort leads to
speculation that this stone structure may have been
part of a more extensive fortification.
The fort itself is nearly two stories high and has six
sides; a door in one, a window in another, a fireplace
occupying one side and part of another, and one blank
side, the sixth side contains the rifle port.
against the helpless settlers of Pennsylvania during the
late summer and autumn of 1755 were impossible to
describe. The first raid struck a settlement in Snyder
County and soon the attacks spread east and
southwest. Settlers were murdered in Tulpehocken, in
western Berks County and near the present day
Stroudsburg in November of the same year. A large
group of irate citizens marched on Philadelphia and
demanded funds to build a chain of forts along the
foothills of the Blue Mountains. Conrad Weiser
supervised the building of the chain of forts westward
from the Lehigh to the Susquehanna river. Fort Henry,
near Bethel, in Berks County, was the key fort in this
chain. There was another, Fort Northkill, at present
day Strausstown. It is not known if the Indian Fort
located on these premises was one of the additional
forts that were later built at strategic locations in the
chain started by Conrad Weiser. However, the single
rifle port located on one of the walls of the fort leads to
speculation that this stone structure may have been
part of a more extensive fortification.
The fort itself is nearly two stories high and has six
sides; a door in one, a window in another, a fireplace
occupying one side and part of another, and one blank
side, the sixth side contains the rifle port.
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