Fort Shirley (Shirleysburg, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania)
Shirleysburg, Huntingdon County · Pennsylvania · French and Indian War
History & Significance
Initially known as Croghan's Fort, this palisade fortification grew from a trading post that became a small community called Aughwick Old Town, augmented by some two hundred Iroquois, Lenape, and Shawnee refugees following the 1754 destruction of Logstown. In September 1755, Croghan began fortifying his post to protect against Native American attacks after General Edward Braddock's defeat at the Battle of the Monongahela.
In December 1755, the fort was taken over by the government of the Province of Pennsylvania, garrisoned with provincial troops, and Croghan was given a captain's commission. In January 1756, the fort was named Fort Shirley in honor of William Shirley, who was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the British Army in North America upon the death of General Braddock.
Although two French and Native American war parties were sent to capture it, Fort Shirley was never attacked. In late October, the Pennsylvania Regiment abandoned and destroyed Fort Shirley because "the fort [was] untenable and of no further use, the inhabitants of Sherman's Valley having entirely abandoned their plantations." Recent archaeology (2009–2012) uncovered musket balls, pewter buttons, glass trade beads, a copper charm with Arabic inscription, charred palisade logs, and over 25,000 artifacts, establishing the fort's foundations at 135 feet by approximately 165 feet.
Key Facts
Map
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🧳 Visiting
What you’ll see when you visit:
- Colonial-era stockade built 1755 by George Croghan during the French and Indian War
- Defended against French and Native American attacks, never successfully breached
- Archaeological artifacts on display from excavations
- Replica of Croghan's original trading post at the heritage museum
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Shirley
- https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=44836
- https://explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=1-A-8D.html
- https://huntingdonhistory.org/links/fort-shirley-heritabe-association/
- https://sah-archipedia.org/essays/PA-01-0003-0004
- https://thejuniatacri.weebly.com/fort-shirley.html
Other Forts in Pennsylvania
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