It's believed to be the oldest building in Ohio, and possibly the Midwest. But the mystery remains: who built it and why?
Posted on 07/24/2012 5:51:29 PM PDT by Pharmboy
It's believed to be the oldest building in Ohio, and possibly the Midwest. But the mystery remains: who built it and why?
COSHOCTON, Ohio -- It's believed to be the oldest building in Ohio, and possibly the Midwest – built nearly a century before the American Revolution. But the mystery remains: who built the Old Stone Fort and why?
On an ordinary plot of farm land on County Road 254 in eastern Coshocton County sits what is arguably one of the most important buildings in Ohio history.
It is believed that the Old Stone Fort was built sometime around 1679.
As important as it is, however, hardly anything is known about the Old Stone Fort.
For example, no one knows who built the fort or why.
It's generally believed that it was built by Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville.
He was a French Canadian and brother of the founder of New Orleans.
It's believed that he traveled the nearby Tuscarawas River and built the fort to guard against the English in the fur trade battles.
Then, there's the George Croghan scenario.
He was an Irish fur trader working for England who moved into the Native American territories to trade furs with the Delaware tribe.
He was not born until 1718, which would mean that if built by Croghan, the fort isn't as old as presumed.
There's also the theory that the fort was built by unknown settlers as a way to defend themselves against the native tribes.
There are rifle ports on all sides, and archaeological digs have found evidence of a stockade.
Then, there's yet another theory.
"I'm going to get tarred and feathered and ran out of Coshocton, because I don't think it was a fort," said Margaret Lowe.
Lowe has studied the fort all her life and said she believes it was not nearly as historic as a fort or outpost, but it may have just been part of a farm.
"I think it was probably, and again, this is written during one version, that it was used as a spring house. Another version was that it was used for a meat house," Lowe said.
Could it have been all of the theories over the years?
In the French Canadian version, the fort was built nearly 100 years before the American Revolution, and oral history handed down over generations say it was built as early as 1800.
In 1918, a farmer dug up a French compass while plowing near the fort. In 1880, there was a tornado in the closest town of Evansburg, destroying the town, but the fort survived.
The town, named after the people who lived there, was never rebuilt.
Over the centuries, the fort was rebuilt after falling into disrepair.
Part of the doorway is preserved at the local museum, and the wood looks ancient.
It is only 14 square feet inside, and doesn't appear to have been used as living quarters.
At one time there was a ladder heading up to a second floor, but now the fort is boarded up.
What the Old Stone Fort has given the neighbors is a sense of wonder.
"I would have loved to have seen the stockade around it," said Dan Markley, a local historian. "This fort, everybody has a different opinion as why it was here and it's just a mystery. If you could find just one person, somewhere along the line who could give you a true answer."
Another mystery surrounding the fort is the owner. It's not clear who owns the building today.
Locals want to know the history, but likely will take their theories to the grave, never having an answer.
From the article:
Then, there's the George Croghan scenario.
He was an Irish fur trader working for England who moved into the Native American territories to trade furs with the Delaware tribe.
He was not born until 1718, which would mean that if built by Croghan, the fort isn't as old as presumed.
Croghan was, I think, a character mentioned in Alan Eckert's 'The Frontiersmen'. Eckert gives plenty of ink to the Iriquois in that, and even more to the Shawnee. But it's really Tecumseh and Simon Kenton's story.
If you haven't read the book (and can withstand the fact that it's a 'historical novel', if not actual fact), it's an amazing story.
The date may be totally in error....ignore it. It's a trap of a sort.
One DEFINITE pointer is the French compass found near the "supposed" fort along with the knowledge that the French built Fort after fort along the Ohio...convenience being the key....
Bet I can figure this one out and find it on an old map in less than 30 days.
The date may be totally in error....ignore it. It's a trap of a sort.
One DEFINITE pointer is the French compass found near the "supposed" fort along with the knowledge that the French built Fort after fort along the Ohio...convenience being the key....
Bet I can figure this one out and find it on an old map in less than 30 days.
http://ohiocountry.us/index.php?p=1_5_Croghan-Reappraisal
Lots of good information about George Croghan here, I havent read much about him, he is mentioned frequently in my old books about Westmoreland County PA
Interesting!
My hometown
http://www.hannastown.org/
http://www.hannastown.org/hannastown/index.cfm
The court system held here after 1771 was the last site of English (the King’s) law built west of the Alleghenies
My ancestors who built and lived there were the first sheriff (Matthew Jack) and the tavern keeper (Joseph Erwin), the jail and tavern being 2 of the builidngs that survive
That makes me and Simon's chillun' COUSINS!!!
Read all about him.
Wish we had lat/long on this so I can see the surrounds.
1679....That puts us in the LaSalle exploration period.
There are a number of ways to break limestone out of the matrix ~ then you trim it. It doesn’t travel far on horseback BTW, so someone can probably find where the rock came from then measure the weathering and come up with a pretty good date!
It was later part of a major land purchase by a group of Swedish noblemen (almost all Swedes are noblemen of course).
Although all of its history starts with that purchase, the "RENNO" on the oldest map, right there adjacent to the fording spot on the White River, means, en espanol, REINDEER! About 5 miles from that spot is the only location known in Indiana to have a plant called REINDEER MOSS, vital to their survival.
The Ten O'clock line begins just outside of town at the Indian council circle ~ so this was a rather important spot in between Indian lands and American lands. Earlier, this was the Northernmost part of the Louisville French furniture complex, and before that it was settled by people who lived in quite primitive log cabins (Indian or Spaniards ~ ). The main business was fur and possibly native copper (once available in this area) and possibly aluvial gold ~ now all worked out.
The money guys in Europe who bought large tracts in America were frequently in possession of old maps that identified valuable farm lands, potential mineral wealth, useful rivers and lakes.
DeSoto, who crossed the Mississippi at Evansville Indiana, sent a wagon cross country to just NE of Seymour ~ to roughly the Whitewater park area ~ and came back with a pile of iron pyrite (fool's gold, but actually an important source of iron for the Spanish) and some native copper. That was in 1541.
NOTE: Back in the day before DesIsles drew his maps the Mississippi took a big right turn and became what we now call the Ohio ~ which, BTW, provides 90% of the flow in the Mississippi. Always keep this in mind when you read the old stuff ~ their idea of where the Mississippi was located is really different than our own.
Can’t we tell anything from the style of construction? Time period? Country of origin? Thanks...
They are the fellows who discovered the ROUTE TO THE MISSISSIPPI, which was already well known, just no one knew how to get there from the Great Lakes ~ maps of the day show a void of sorts.
After that discovery the French became a big pain in the tail to the Spanish ~ otherwise known as erstwhile allies!
Earlier Cardinal Carvajal in Spain averted a schism with Rome by convincing Philip I to allow ALL THE ORDERS to go to the Americas to seek Indian converts.
So, Joliette took along Father Marquette because.... ta da ..... he was allowed to be there (per the deal with King Philip earlier) ~ so there'd be no questions if they ran into Spanish gold hunters or peddlers.
You really have to read through the Treaty of London (1604) to understand the division of lands among the French, Spanish, Portuguese and Scotland ~ and then the part allocated to the Protestants (not England BTW, but all the Protestants with the exception of the Dutch) ~ that's where the English colonies started.
Earlier than 1604 it's all Spain all the time. They moved into the Mississippi Valley quickly, and penetrated every useful river in their search for gold or other wealth.
Hapsburg surveyors laid down benchmarks to demarkate King Philip II/III's lines ~ and that includes the current border between New York and PA in the early 1600s (some of their surveyors got caught up in a battle circa 1613). That line extends all the way to the point on Cape Cod and forms the basis for the Massachusetts/CT and RI state lines. Virginians are all familiar with the baseline stones placed along the cordilera of the Appalachians to set the bounds between the Eastern Protestant preserve and Spanish lands to the West.
Virginia extended South to what is now the NC line, and everything South of there in 1609 was still Spanish territory. A baseline was set there as well.
Some of these baselines appear to have been set up over enormous distances, and mostly by the same group of surveyors.
The Spanish survey was completed by the 1650s. Later surveyors actually respected the earlier work of the Spanish. Take a good look at Coshockton County ~ see how crooked it is? That's because it's obviously a Spanish Land Grant for somebody ~ and it got surveyed. That's First Class Top Soil in that area ~ so that was prime land. Later surveyors ~ most likely the Washington family ~ kept the Spanish lines.
NOTE, I'm not discounting work by the French in that area, but they'd barely ventured into the area South of the Great Lakes when the English started to really push on them which necessitated keeping the courier du bois in line so they didn't entice the English back to the homeland. By 1754 that was all over ~ the English took the whole thing and kept the French at home in Quebec.
Widespread European farming didn't get going until just some time after the French and Indian War ~ in this area.
That name occurs in many places ~ and it denotes very early European interest ~ very early!
That name occurs in many places ~ and it denotes very early European interest ~ very early!
East of there is a town worth looking at ~ Newcomerstown ~ somebody called the earliest German settlers "newcomers" ~ they've since made sure all the local history books start with them!
The building is a barn. The stockade was in reality animal pens.
The rifle ports might be rifle ports and the barn a redoubt in case of attack by the savage natives
There are some basic conventions anyone can learn, and do. Don't worry about how they fit ~ just cut rectangular hunks.
Then, as you build trim to fit.
It'll look just great!
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