Fort Norris (Monroe County (near Kresgeville), Pennsylvania)
Monroe County (near Kresgeville) · Pennsylvania · French and Indian War
History & Significance
Construction of Fort Norris began in late January 1756 at the same time neighboring forts Allen, Hamilton, and Franklin were being built, following Indian raids on settlements in December 1755. On 10 December 1755, approximately 200 warriors attacked the Hoeth family farm, killing Frederick Hoeth, his wife, and seven of their eight children; the next day warriors burned Daniel Brodhead's Plantation and farms belonging to the Culvers, McMichaels, and Hartmanns.
Benjamin Franklin was charged with establishing a line of defense to protect Pennsylvania settlements from French-allied Native Americans; he supervised the construction of Fort Hamilton and Fort Depuy in December 1755 and Fort Norris, Fort Allen and Fort Franklin in early 1756. When Commissary General James Young inspected Fort Norris on 23 June 1756, he reported the fort as square, approximately 80 feet each way with four half-bastions, completely stockaded and well-defended, with clear ground 400 yards around it and featuring two swivel guns on the bastions, a good barrack, guard room, store room, kitchen, and well.
Of the four forts erected in present-day Monroe County, Fort Norris received the highest review and most positive remarks. On 27 September 1757, Deputy Governor William Denny ordered Colonel Weiser to abandon Fort Norris and transfer its garrison to the blockhouse at Wind Gap. A stone monument placed in 1945 by the Monroe County Historical Association is located east of Kresgeville, at the intersection of US Route 209 and Pennsylvania Route 534, commemorating the fort as "one of a line of frontier forts built under the direction of James Hamilton and Benjamin Franklin."
Key Facts
Map
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🧳 Visiting
What you’ll see when you visit:
- Ruins of a French and Indian War–era stockaded fort with square bastioned design
- Benjamin Franklin–directed defensive structure from 1756 frontier protection efforts
- Historic context: part of Pennsylvania's frontier garrison network against Native American raids
- Remaining stonework and earthworks visible on rural Monroe County site
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Norris
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_forts_in_the_French_and_Indian_War
- https://www.monroehistorical.org/articles_files/2012_1216_ftnorris.html
- https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=86932
- https://pamarkers.blogspot.com/2022/10/fort-norris-kresgeville-monroe-county.html
- https://thepennsylvaniarambler.wordpress.com/2021/06/20/fort-norris/
- https://explorepahistory.com/story.php?storyId=1-9-6.html
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