"Pennsylvania in October is so beautiful it breaks your heart."
My best friend Andrea and I went on a trip to Monroe County yesterday in order to gather some more markers. We stopped for lunch at the Chestnuthill Diner in Brodheadsville; while at the table by myself, I was gazing outside at the trees and admiring the changing colors, and that was the thought which went through my mind. It was a gorgeous day, perfect for the purpose. I'm fattening up my hoard of markers for the coming winter, so that when I'm snowbound (as I'm likely to be at some point) I can still keep sharing the commonwealth's history with you.
Today we'll take a look at the story of Fort Norris. I mentioned this one in a few other fort-related posts; it was one of the 'chain' of forts commissioned by Benjamin Franklin to defend Pennsylvania's settlers from Native American attacks during the French and Indian War.
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| The marker stands at the former Polk Elementary School, 630 Interchange Road, Kresgeville |
This and other similar stories were related to Governor Morris, who fortunately knew a guy. Benjamin Franklin was appointed, along with James Hamilton, to oversee the construction of forts to combat the issue. Our friend Ben traveled to present-day Weissport in Carbon County and, while personally overseeing the development of Fort Allen, gave directions for what became Fort Franklin in Schuylkill County and Fort Hamilton in Stroudsburg. A third fort was also commissioned in what today is Kresgeville, rather pointedly situated near the site of the Hoeth murders. Ben traveled there personally to select the exact location; it stood about a mile southeast of present-day PA 209, roughly halfway between Forts Hamilton and Allen. Captains Trump, Orndt, and Hayes were summoned from those two forts to oversee the work, which Ben hoped might not take longer than ten days if the weather was good.
As usual in these fort posts, we have Thomas Lynch Montgomery to thank for much of what we know about Fort Norris. It measured 6,400 square feet and was erected on a farm belonging to Conrad Frable. Montgomery related the reports of Commissary James Young, whom I've mentioned in other posts as having inspected several of Ben's forts in the northeast; he reached Fort Norris in June of 1756. By that time, Forts Allen, Franklin, Hamilton, and Norris had been completed, and of the four, Young was most impressed with Fort Norris. He reported being met by 21 men with a sergeant commanding them; Captain James Orndt, the actual person in charge of the fort, was in Philadelphia to collect their paychecks. Young wrote:
This Fort Stands in a Valley ab't midway between the North mountain, and the Tuscorory, 6 miles from Each on the high Road towards the Minisink, it is a Square ab't 80 f't Each way with 4 half Bastions all very Completely Staccaded, and finished and very Defenceable, the Woods are Clear 400 y'ds Round it, on the Bastions are two Sweevel Guns mount'd, within is a good Barrack, a Guard Room, Store Room, and kitchin also a Good Well.
He also observed that the fort was very well supplied with arms and provisions. Montgomery credits Captain Orndt with the successful inspection, as he was "a most excellent and capable officer" who was later promoted to Major. He was later transferred to Fort Allen; Fort Norris then came under the command of a Captain Reynolds, who arrived in August 1756. Reynolds in turn was replaced by a Lieutenant Engell in March of 1757. Engell remained in command of the fort until it was abandoned a year later.
Exactly why the fort was abandoned I can't quite work out. Like its 'siblings' Forts Allen, Hamilton, and Franklin, it ceased to be garrisoned, and was used for shelter by locals. According to a local man Montgomery interviewed during his research, it was still standing in poor condition when he was a child in the 1840s; it's unclear whether it was eventually torn down or simply fell down on its own. There is, or was, a small cemetery about a hundred yards away from the site, similar to what I described when writing about Fort Wheeler in Columbia County, presumably used by the soldiers and settlers. Just like the cemetery at Fort Wheeler, I can't find any records online for the Fort Norris burial ground, and I have no idea if the graves are still visible. But Fort Norris, I can confirm, has been taken by time.
Sources and Further Reading:
Except where indicated, all writing and photography on this blog is the intellectual property of Laura Klotz. This blog is written with permission of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. I am not employed by the PHMC. All rights reserved.
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