Fort Antes (Nippenose Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania)

Nippenose Township, Lycoming County · Pennsylvania · Revolutionary War

Quick BriefFort Antes was a stockade surrounding Colonel John Henry Antes's home, built circa 1778 on a plateau on the east side of Antes Creek overlooking the West Branch Susquehanna River in Nippenose Township. Militia held the fort briefly until ordered to abandon it during the Big Runaway in July 1778, yet it was one of only two structures in the valley to survive the flames.

History & Significance

Lieutenant Colonel John Henry Antes settled along the West Branch Susquehanna River circa 1772, with his property on the eastern frontier plateau of Antes Creek overlooking the river. In 1773, Antes built a gristmill along the creek—the most advanced construction of its kind in frontier north-central Pennsylvania.

After an attack near Pine Creek in December 1777, Colonel Samuel Hunter ordered Antes to gather militia forces, and they built a stockade at least 12 feet high enclosing approximately three quarters of an acre around the Antes home. Antes defended an extensive frontier under steady attack from Native American and Tory forces dispatched from Fort Niagara on Lake Ontario.

In July 1778, during the Big Runaway evacuation, Antes and his men were forced to abandon their efforts as raiding parties overwhelmed the militia. Fort Antes, built of hard-to-burn peeled oak logs, and the stone Wallis House in Muncy Township were the only structures to survive the flames. Antes was among the first to return to the valley following the evacuation, discovering his mill had been destroyed but his home survived; he soon built a larger home and the fort gradually decayed before being dismantled.