Prickett's Fort, West Virginia — History & Visitor Guide

Prickett's Fort (Marion County, near Fairmont, West Virginia)

Marion County, near Fairmont · West Virginia · Lord Dunmore's War

Quick BriefPrickett's Fort was built at the confluence of Prickett's Creek and the Monongahela River in Marion County in 1774 by Captain Jacob Prickett. Not a military fort but a civilian refuge designed to shelter local settlers from Indian attack, the fort could house up to 80 families from the surrounding countryside during periods of threat. The fort was never attacked, although militiamen from the confluence area were killed by Native Americans elsewhere. The fort officially opened as Prickett's Fort State Park during the 1976 Bicentennial.

Open to visitors

History & Significance

Prickett's Fort was built to defend early European settlers of what today is West Virginia from raids by hostile Native Americans, a portion of whose territory the settlers appropriated after the Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1768). After settlers led by Daniel Greathouse perpetrated the Yellow Creek massacre in 1774, initiating Lord Dunmore's War, all settlers in the Ohio River Valley faced peril from Native American attack; because there was safety in numbers, settlers built a number of refuge forts, including one on the homestead of Jacob Prickett.

Jacob Prickett, along with Captain Zackquill Morgan and Lieutenant James Chew, formed a militia to defend the region, constructing a stockade fort at the Prickett homestead. The fort was little more than a hundred-foot-square log palisade built around Prickett's house.

Perhaps as many as eighty families—several hundred people—gathered at Prickett's Fort during crisis periods, where they stayed for days or even weeks. The last written mention of Prickett's Fort occurred in 1780.

When, in 1973, the traditional site of the fort was threatened by a Department of Natural Resources parking lot, the Marion County Historical Society created the Prickett's Fort Memorial Foundation and announced plans to reconstruct the historic structure. The fort officially opened as Prickett's Fort State Park during the 1976 Bicentennial. The fort site is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Key Facts

StateWest Virginia

LocationMarion County, near Fairmont

Established1774

Decommissioned1780

War / eraLord Dunmore's War

Current statusState or National Park

Coordinates39.51527778, -80.09805556

NRHP reference74002404

Map

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🧳 Visiting

What you’ll see when you visit:

Reconstructed log palisade fort from the 1770s frontier
Period crafts demonstrations by costumed interpreters
Visitor center with exhibits on late 18th-century frontier life
Original homestead setting in Marion County
Living history interpretation of settler and Native American conflict era

Best time to visitSpring (April-May) and fall (September-October) offer mild weather ideal for exploring the outdoor fort grounds and attending demonstrations.

Getting thereNearest airport is MGW (Morgantown Municipal Airport), approximately 21 km away; drive to Fairmont in Marion County, West Virginia.

From the nearest major airportPittsburgh International Airport (PIT)🚗 93 mi by road⏱️ ≈ 2 hr 0 min drive

Prickett's Fort (Marion County, near Fairmont, West Virginia)

History & Significance

Key Facts

Map

🧳 Visiting

Sources

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