Fort Nelson, built in 1781 by troops under George Rogers Clark including Captain

Richard Chenoweth The Chenoweth Massacre of July 17, 1789 was the last major Native American raid in present-day Jefferson County, Kentucky ( Louisville Metro). Captain Richard Chenoweth, builder of Fort Nelson, was stationed with his family northeast of present ...

, was the second on-shore fort on the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of ...

in the area of what is now

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ...

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

Fort-on-Shore Fort-on-Shore, built in 1778 by William Linn, was the first on-shore fort on the Ohio River in the area of what is now downtown Louisville, Kentucky. George Rogers Clark had directed Linn to move the militia post to the mainland from its origina ...

, the downriver and first on-shore fort, had proved to be insufficient barely three years after it was established. In response to continuing attacks from Native Americans and the threat of British attacks during the Revolutionary War, Fort Nelson was constructed between what is currently Main Street and the river, with its main gate near Seventh Street. It was named after Thomas Nelson, Jr., then the governor of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

. (Kentucky was part of Virginia at the time.) The fort was used as a courthouse and jail until one was built. The fort was garrisoned until the building of Fort Finney across the river at the site of what is today

Jeffersonville, Indiana Jeffersonville is a city and the county seat of Clark County, Indiana, United States, situated along the Ohio River. Locally, the city is often referred to by the abbreviated name Jeff. It lies directly across the Ohio River to the north of Louis ...

about 1784. In the fort's place today stands Fort Nelson Park, a shady plaza or 'pocket park' housing a granite monument commemorating the fort.

References

* Nelson Former buildings and structures in Louisville, Kentucky Nelson History of Louisville, Kentucky Parks in Louisville, Kentucky Pre-statehood history of Kentucky Kentucky in the American Revolution Military installations established in 1781 1781 establishments in Virginia {{Louisville-struct-stub

See also

References