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Fort Miller (originally, Camp Barbour) is a former fort on the south bank of the San Joaquin River in what is now Fresno County, California, United States. It lay at an elevation of 561 feet (171 m). The site is now under
Millerton Lake Millerton Lake is an artificial lake near the town of Friant about north of downtown Fresno. The reservoir was created by the construction of 319 ft (97 m) high Friant Dam on the San Joaquin River which, with the lake, serves as much of ...
, formed by the
Friant Dam Friant Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the San Joaquin River in central California in the United States, on the boundary of Fresno and Madera Counties. It was built between 1937 and 1942 as part of a U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) water proj ...
in 1944. It is registered as
California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of ...
#584.


History

In early 1851, a temporary outpost was built along the banks of the San Joaquin River and named Camp Barbour, after the George W. Barbour, the California Indian Commissioner. It was here that Federal Indian Commissioners negotiated and signed a treaty with many California tribes in the area on April 29, 1851. The treaty established the Fresno River Reservation on which the tribes would live. The refusal of the Ahwahneechee and
Chowchilla The chowchilla (''Orthonyx spaldingii'') is a passerine bird in the family Orthonychidae. It is endemic to Australia. Taxonomy In their 1999 study, Schodde and Mason recognise two adjoining subspecies, ''O. s. spaldingii'' and ''O. s. mela ...
tribes to sign the treaty and relocate to the reservation led to the
Mariposa War The Mariposa War (December 1850 - June 1851), also known as the Yosemite Indian War, was a conflict between the United States and the indigenous people of California's Sierra Nevada in the 1850s. The war was fought primarily in Mariposa County an ...
. To supervise the newly established reservation and protect the booming mining activity on the San Joaquin River, it became clear that a permanent fort was needed. Once the Camp Barbour outpost was converted to a permanent fort and made operational by Lieutenant Tredwell Moore of the
U. S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
, it was renamed Fort Miller, named after Major Albert S. Miller. Fort Miller was constructed on one of the widest reaches of the San Joaquin River, above the river's navigable portion. The fort had easy access to the local mining camps. However, the surrounding foothills caused intense summer heat. The fort consisted of a blockhouse, barracks, officers quarters, mess hall and other buildings. A hospital was completed in 1853. Hostilities with the local tribes had receded by 1858 and the fort was evacuated of military personnel but left with all the buildings in-tact. It was given to a local caretaker for maintenance. Upon the outbreak of the American Civil War, an informant reported that nearby townspeople had "celebrated the occasion by a public demonstration, in which all joined (of both sexes), by firing a Confederate salute...cheering for them and groaning for the United States government and its officers." Soldiers were sent back to Fort Miller in 1863 to investigate the situation, but found no such trouble with confederate sympathizers. The Army again abandoned the post on December 1, 1864 and auctioned off the buildings in 1866. The property itself, with a few of the structures intact, became Judge Charles A. Hart's Fort Miller Ranch. William H. McKenzie later bought the ranch. The buildings stood until they were demolished to make way for the
Friant Dam Friant Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the San Joaquin River in central California in the United States, on the boundary of Fresno and Madera Counties. It was built between 1937 and 1942 as part of a U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) water proj ...
and
Millerton Lake Millerton Lake is an artificial lake near the town of Friant about north of downtown Fresno. The reservoir was created by the construction of 319 ft (97 m) high Friant Dam on the San Joaquin River which, with the lake, serves as much of ...
in 1944. The Fort Miller blockhouse was dismantled and displayed for a time in Fresno's
Roeding Park Roeding Park is a regional city park in Fresno, California established in 1903 via a gift from the Roeding family. The Fresno Chaffee Zoo occupies approximately one third of the acreage in the middle of the southern half of the park. The south ...
. It was dismantled again and given to the
Table Mountain Rancheria The Table Mountain Rancheria is a federally recognized tribe of Native American people from the Chukchansi band of Yokuts and the Monache tribe. It is also the tribe's rancherĂ­a, located in Fresno County, California. Reservation Founded in 191 ...
tribe.


Impact

Fort Miller lent its name to the civillian settlement which grew up west of it. The settlement was originally named Rootville but changed to Millerton and it served as the first county seat for Fresno county. The settlement was abandoned but the name remains in the form of Lake Millerton. The
Fresno Unified School District The Fresno Unified School District is a school district in Fresno, California, United States. Facts and figures *California's fourth largest school district *74,000 students *$1.6 Billion Budget *76 different languages represented over the last f ...
named a middle school after Fort Miller. Fort Miller is listed as a
California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of ...
. It was added as landmark #584 on May 22, 1957. It is also listed on the
Fresno County Fresno County (), officially the County of Fresno, is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 1,008,654. The county seat is Fresno, the fifth-most populous city in Cali ...
register of historic places. The Fort Miller blockhouse is considered the oldest remaining structure in Fresno County, since it was built first out of all the buildings in the fort. It is on the county register of historic places as a separate entry from the overall fort and it is also on the city of Fresno register of historic places.


References


External links

Miller Miller American Civil War army posts California in the American Civil War History of Madera County, California California Historical Landmarks Demolished buildings and structures in California Former buildings and structures in California Former settlements in Madera County, California 1852 establishments in California {{MaderaCountyCA-geo-stub