Fort George was the name of five forts in what is now the state of
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
.
The ''first Fort George'' was built in 1626 in the Dutch colony of
New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam ( nl, Nieuw Amsterdam, or ) was a 17th-century Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''factory'' gave rise ...
and named
Fort Amsterdam. The
British Army renamed it Fort James in 1664. It was briefly reoccupied by the
Dutch from 1673 to 1674 as Fort Willem Hendrick. The British renamed it Fort William Henry in 1691, Fort Anne or Queen's Fort in 1703, and finally Fort George in 1714. The north side bastions and ramparts were destroyed in the
American Revolutionary War in 1776 by the Americans and finally demolished in 1790. The site is now the location of the
Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House in
Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...
.
A ''second Fort George'' was built by the
British in 1755 at
Oswego, New York
Oswego () is a city in Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 16,921 at the 2020 census. Oswego is located on Lake Ontario in Upstate New York, about 35 miles (55km) northwest of Syracuse. It promotes itself as "The Port C ...
, but it was destroyed by the French commander
Louis-Joseph de Montcalm
Louis-Joseph de Montcalm-Grozon, Marquis de Montcalm de Saint-Veran (28 February 1712 – 14 September 1759) was a French soldier best known as the commander of the forces in North America during the Seven Years' War (whose North American th ...
in 1756. The site is now Montcalm Park, bordered by West Schulyer Street, Montcalm Street and West 6th Street.
A ''third Fort George'' was built in
Lake George, New York, in 1755. It was destroyed in 1777 and abandoned in 1780. It was located southeast of
Fort William Henry facing Lake George, in the wooded area within
Lake George Battlefield Park.
A ''fourth Fort George'' was an encampment built on
Staten Island
Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...
around 1777 in the area of
St. George, Staten Island, likely Fort Hill.
The ''last Fort George'' was built in 1776 in
New York City on Fort George Hill, near the current intersection of
Audubon Avenue
The National Audubon Society (Audubon; ) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such organ ...
and
West 192nd Street in
Upper Manhattan. Briefly named Fort Clinton and finally Fort George, from 1895 to 1914 it was the site of the
Fort George Amusement Park and is now the location of
George Washington Educational Campus and part of
Highbridge Park. Fort George Hill is also the name of a present-day street in the area. The neighborhood surrounding the hill is called Fort George and is considered a subneighborhood of
Washington Heights. It is generally agreed to run from
West 181st Street to
Dyckman Street east of
Broadway to the
Harlem River.
[Hughes, C. J. (April 19, 2017]
"Living In: Fort George, Manhattan: Nosebleed Heights and Down-to-Earth Prices"
'' The New York Times''
References
External link
{{anchor, Manhattan, Fort George, Manhattan
Buildings and structures demolished in 1780
George
George
George
1626 establishments in North America
1626 establishments in the Dutch Empire