Fort Maidstone

Fort Maidstone (1756-1760s) - A French & Indian War Fort established in 1756 in Berkeley County, West Virginia just across the Potomac River from Williamsport, Maryland. Probably abandoned as a fortification sometime in the 1760s. History Established in 1756. A VA colonial militia stockaded fort at Evan Watkin's Landing and Ferry. The fort was built on the Evan Watkins farm near his ferry, Maidstone on the south side of the Potomac River across from present-day Williamsport, Maryland. It was on the main road connecting Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania which was originally known as the Great Indian Warpath now U.S. Route 11. During the fall & spring of 1755-56, Watkins’s farm served as an outpost and depot for the Virginia Regiment and it came to include a magazine of munitions. On 8 May 1756, Colonel George Washington directed Captain Robert Stewart to fortify Maidstone. On 3 Jul 1756, Stewart informed Washington that the fort now had entrenchments with adjacent high ground and a guardhouse. This fort was never directly assaulted by Indians and was probably abandoned as a fortification sometime in the 1760s. The abandoned log Fort Maidstone and the Rawlings tavern were still on the site when the Mason & Dixon line surveyors visited the site in September 1765. Fort Maidstone Partial Commanders List (edit list) Assumed Relieved Rank Name Cullum Notes Feb 1756 Lt. Lomax, John E. N/A Feb 1756 Ens. Deane, John N/A Apr 1756 Capt. Bell, David N/A Mid 1756 Capt. Stewart, Robert N/A Early 1757 Jun 1757 Capt. Stewart, Robert N/A Jun 1757 Capt. Lewis, Joshua 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 Unknown. A roadside marker on US 11 provides information about the ferry. {"selectable":false,"height":"-500","width":"-500"} Location: Marlowe, Berkeley County, West Virginia. Maps & Images Lat: 39.59999 Long: -77.83374 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: .....' GPS Locations: 39.59999, -77.83374 Watkins Ferry Marker See Also: French & Indian War Fortifications - West Virginia French & Indian War Fortifications - Virginia 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 845. Baker, Norman L., French and Indian War in Frederick County Virginia, 2000 reprint 2016, The Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society, Buckley's Printing, pages 156-159. Links: North American Forts - Fort Maidstone e-WV - Fort Maidstone Hmdb - Watkins Ferry Founders OnLine - Maidstone Fortification ID: WV0180 - Fort Maidstone Visited: No