Fort-on-Shore (Louisville, Kentucky)
Louisville · Kentucky · Revolutionary War
History & Significance
The stockade and fort, built 1778-79 on orders from General Clark, represented the first settlement in what is now Louisville. The fort was located near the current intersection of Twelfth and Rowan Streets.
The earliest settlements occurred during the latter stages of the American Revolutionary War by Virginian soldiers under George Rogers Clark, first at Corn Island in 1778, then Fort-on-Shore and Fort Nelson on the mainland. Stockade was occupied by troops of the American Revolution for the next four years.
Fort-on-Shore, the downriver and first on-shore fort, had proved to be insufficient barely three years after it was established. In 1782, Fort-on-Shore was replaced by Fort Nelson, a much larger fortification built north of present-day Main St. The fort served as the initial European military foothold at the Falls of the Ohio River, anchoring Clark's operations to secure the Northwest Territory for the American cause during the Revolutionary War.
In 1780, the Virginia General Assembly and then-Governor Thomas Jefferson approved the town charter of Louisville on May 1. Clark recruited early Kentucky pioneer James John Floyd, who was placed on the town's board of trustees and given the authority to plan and lay out the town. Jefferson County, named after Thomas Jefferson, was formed at this time as one of three original Kentucky counties from the old Kentucky County, Virginia.
Key Facts
Map
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Sources
- https://history.ky.gov/markers/fort-on-shore
- https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=161710
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort-on-Shore
- https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Fort-on-Shore
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Louisville,_Kentucky
- https://www.britannica.com/place/Louisville-Kentucky