Fort Bigham (Juniata County, Pennsylvania)

Juniata County · Pennsylvania · French and Indian War, Pontiac's War

Quick BriefFort Bigham, a privately built stockaded blockhouse near Honey Grove in Juniata County, Pennsylvania, was constructed in 1754 by settler Samuel Bigham and was attacked and largely destroyed in June 1756. The fort was rebuilt in 1760 and abandoned in 1763.

History & Significance

Samuel Bigham erected this stockaded blockhouse fort in late 1754 on his land near present-day Honey Grove in Tuscarora Township, building it to protect his family and neighbors from Indian raids. Bigham constructed the fort with the help of neighbors John and James Gray and Robert Hoag, anticipating Indian raids that were becoming increasingly frequent in the months before the French and Indian War.

Contemporary descriptions vary—one source describes it as a log cabin with loopholes for defense, while another refers to it as a strong blockhouse and small stockade. The fort occupied a strategic position on the Traders' Path connecting Cumberland County westward through Franklin County to Fort Shirley.

On June 11, 1756, the fort was attacked and burned by Indians; twenty or more persons inside were massacred or carried away. Bigham had fled to York County for safety and was absent during the assault.

The raid involved seven French soldiers and twenty Lenape warriors led by Tamaqua, who returned with eighteen prisoners and five scalps after finding Fort Shirley too well-defended. The fort was rebuilt in 1760 by Indian trader Ralph Sterrett, who had purchased the property from Bigham and renamed it Fort Bingham. During Pontiac's War in early 1763, a friendly Indian warned Sterrett of an approaching war party, allowing him, his family, and eighty neighbors to escape; the warriors burned the empty fort, which was never rebuilt.