Fort Plain

Fort Plain (1779-1790) - A Revolutionary War Fort established in 1779 near the present day town of Fort Plain, Montgomery County, New York. Built under the direction of Colonel Dayton. Abandoned as a fortification between 1785 and 1790. Also known as Fort Rensselaer.

Fort Plain Blockhouse.
Fort Plain Plan.
a - Large Blockhouse, b - Small Blockhouses, c - Barracks

History of Fort Plain

Established as a Patriot fort during the Revolutionary War in 1779 on the south side of Mohawk River at the present day town of Fort Plain.

The plan of the fort was a stockaded quadrangle with a large three-story central blockhouse and two smaller blockhouses on opposite corners. The first story of the central blockhouse was thirty feet in diameter, the second forty, and the third fifty. The powder magazine of the fort was placed directly under the central blockhouse for protection.

Fort Windecker Mindenville (1779-1783)
Fort Willett St. Johnsville (1781-1783)
Fort Plank Fort Plain (1778-1782)
Fort Clyde Freysbush (1779-1783)
Fort Paris Stone Arabia (1777-1781)

In 1780-1781 a larger blockhouse was built. The Fort was the central focal point of some ten local fortifications, five of which formed a core defense. Used as a local Patriot headquarters after Fort Stanwix burned down in 1781. Visited by George Washington on 31 Jul 1783 on his tour of the Mohawk valley fortifications. In use as a fortification and garrisoned as late as 1785 but after that, the structures were dismantled and used to reconstruct buildings destroyed in the war. The fort was reportedly completely dismantled by 1790 except for the blockhouse which was torn down between 1796-1810.

**Fort Plain Partial Commanders List** (edit list)
Assumed	Relieved	Rank	Name	Cullum
1780	1781	Colonel	Willett, Marius	N/A
1783	1783	Colonel	Clyde, Samuel	N/A
Dates are formatted in yyyy-mm-dd to sort correctly. The Cullum Number is the graduation order from the United States Military Academy by year and class rank and links to a page for the officer on the website version of the Cullum Register. Listings without a Cullum Number indicate that the person was not a graduate of the United States Military Academy.

Current Status

Markers only, with some significant disagreement on the date the fort was established with some sources indicating 1776 and others indicating 1780. See the Fort Plain Museum - Research Report for an in-depth discussion of the issues. Undergoing archeological exploration.

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Location: Fort Plain, Montgomery County, New York.
Lat: 42.939° Long: -74.633° Elevation: 305' Bing, Google, OldMapsOnline, USGS, OHM

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See Also:

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 572-573.
Fort Plain Museum - Research Report

Links: