Fort Willett

Fort Willett (1781-1783) - A Patriot Revolutionary War Fort established in 1781 near St. Johnsville, Montgomery County, New York. Named Fort Willett after then Colonel Marinus Willett who commanded the area from Fort Plain. Abandoned in 1783. History of Fort Willett A Patriot Revolutionary War fort established as a part of the defenses around Fort Plain in the Mohawk Valley of New York. Construction began in the fall of 1780 and was completed in the spring of 1781 by the local militia to replace Fort Walrath which had been burned down by the British in August 1780. The fort was built with a 15 foot high palisade and blockhouses at the northeast and southwest corners and had an alarm gun. This large fort had ample room for huts for all the adjacent families and reportedly had a capacity for a large number of troops. The fort was dismantled after the war in 1783. The farmers that had contributed logs for the palisades recovered them from the fort and used them on their farms. Current Status No remains. The most definitive location information about the location was "Fort Willett stood about 165 rods west of the Sanders-Hallsville road and 40 to 50 rods north of the Fort Plain-Dutchtown and Indian Castle highway." Location: Near St. Johnsville, Montgomery County, New York. Maps & Images Lat: 42.97416 Long: -74.69411 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 900' See Also: Fort Plain Mohawk Valley Forts Sources: Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 592-593. Links: North American Forts - Fort Willett New York State Museum - Fort Willett Three Rivers - Fort Willett History of the Mohawk Valley: Gateway to the West 1614-1925 Chapter 60: 1776-1777, Mohawk Valley Revolutionary Forts. Visited: No