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    Pricketts Fort
    Pricketts Fort
    Pricketts Fort
    Ebook162 pages41 minutes

    Pricketts Fort

    By Greg Bray

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    About this ebook

    Pricketts Fort was built on the land of Jacob Prickett in 1774, during what is known as Lord Dunmore s War. It provided sanctuary for local settlers before and during the American Revolution and was a safe haven from the attacks of American Indians until the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794. Constructed by local militia on a small rise near the confluence of Pricketts Creek and the Monongahela River, Pricketts Fort provided refuge for approximately 80 families. The fort itself was large by 18th-century standards. It had blockhouses at each corner, with walls 12 feet high and 110 feet long. Although the fort was never attacked, many outlying homes were, and a number of settlers lost their lives. Today, Pricketts Fort hosts visitors looking to learn more about day-to-day life on the western Virginian frontier.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateAug 11, 2014
    ISBN9781439646670
    Pricketts Fort
    Author

    Greg Bray

    Greg Bray became associated with Pricketts Fort at the age of 12, when the fort was reconstructed in 1976. In 1982, he became a volunteer, and in 1994, he started as the resident blacksmith for the historical fort. In 2001, Bray was named assistant director, responsible for the day-to-day operations in the historical area. He is currently the executive director of the Pricketts Fort Memorial Foundation. The photographs in this book are provided by the foundation.

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      Book preview

      Pricketts Fort - Greg Bray

      Foundation.

      INTRODUCTION

      Pricketts Fort was originally built in 1774 on the land of Jacob Prickett, during what is known as Lord Dunmore’s War. Built on a small rise near the confluence of Pricketts Creek and the Monongahela River by local militia, Pricketts Fort provided refuge for approximately 80 families. The fort itself was large by 18th-century standards. The fort had blockhouses at each corner with walls 12 feet high and 110 feet in length. Although the fort was never attacked, many outlying homes were and many settlers lost their lives.

      Nothing is known of the demise of Pricketts Fort, except that tradition indicates between 1789 and 1799, the fort fell into disrepair and had discontinued to be in use by area settlers.

      The first efforts to rebuild Pricketts Fort began in 1927, when a commission of three men was appointed by the governor of West Virginia to buy no more than 10 acres of land in the area of Fairmont, which was to include the site of the original fort, when funds became available. These lands were in the process of being purchased from the Prickett family, but the Great Depression prevented any such land acquisitions to be completed.

      After World War II, new members were appointed to this commission every few years, but the land was not purchased until 1966 when the US Army Corps of Engineers obtained the property. Fortunately, at that time, the Marion County Historical Society intervened to prevent the current site of Pricketts Fort from becoming a parking lot. The West Virginia’s Department of Natural Resources had leased the land for the further development of a state park and recreational facility. Then the Department of Natural Resources and the Marion County Historical Society helped in the formation of the Pricketts Fort Memorial Foundation.

      In 1970, the foundation was incorporated as a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of the history and culture of the Upper Monongahela Valley. The foundation’s first act of business was facilitating memberships and to secure funds to rebuild Pricketts Fort. At the same time, the Marion County Historical Society was given the task of researching 18thcentury construction methods and having working drawings prepared from which the fort structure could be built, which resulted in three years of research. This involved visiting other forts and cabins in the region. The final drawings from which the fort would be modeled after were not finished until after July 1974. Early in the planning stages, it was decided by the foundation and the construction committee that the fort should be constructed out of salvaged logs from houses and barns, which were still quite plentiful in the 1970s. Newspaper articles told of the plans to build Pricketts Fort and the donations of log buildings came in faster than the foundation could procure the funds to have them brought to the construction site. In August 1973, with $4,000 in the bank and small loans from three different area banks, the foundation was far from the estimated $150,000 needed to complete the project of rebuilding Pricketts Fort.

      By the time the winter of 1973 hit, the foundation’s money had dried up, but cash donations and memberships continued to come in throughout the winter. It also became apparent that at the rate donations were coming in, the foundation would not meet its target day of May 30, 1976, for opening. The foundation then decided to ask for financial assistant from the State of West Virginia. They entered into negotiations with then governor Arch A. Moore Jr. who showed some interest in the project. Upon being shown pictures of the progress of construction and being impressed with how much work was completed with little financial resources, Governor Moore and the state legislature appropriated $200,000 to complete the project.

      Work commenced in October 1974 and continued throughout the winter when weather would permit. By the spring of 1975, the project began to take shape. By early spring of 1976, the realization set in that the completion date of May 30 would come and go. A new date of June 30, 1976, was set, and the fort was turned over to the foundation on July 3, just in time for the bicentennial.

      Pricketts Fort was brought about by a cooperating effort

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