Fort George was the name of five different forts in what is now the state of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Military forts

;First fort (Lower Manhattan) The first Fort George was built in 1626 in the Dutch colony of

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam (, ) was a 17th-century Dutch Empire, 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 (trading post), fac ...

and named

Fort Amsterdam Fort Amsterdam, (later, Fort George among other names) was a fortification on the southern tip of Manhattan Island at the confluence of the Hudson River, Hudson and East River, East rivers in what is now New York City. The fort and the island ...

. The

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

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 The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

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 City, is the southernmost part of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The neighborhood is History of New York City, the historical birthplace o ...

. ;Second fort (Oswego, NY) A second Fort George was built by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

in 1755 at

Oswego, New York Oswego () is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 16,921 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Oswego is situated at the mouth of the Oswego River (New York), Osw ...

, but it was destroyed by the French commander Louis-Joseph de Montcalm in 1756. The site is now Montcalm Park, bordered by West Schulyer Street, Montcalm Street and West 6th Street. ;Third fort (Lake George, NY) 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 Fort William Henry was a British fort at the southern end of Lake George, in the province of New York. The fort's construction was ordered by Sir William Johnson in September 1755, during the French and Indian War, as a staging ground for a ...

facing Lake George, in the wooded area within Lake George Battlefield Park. ;Fourth fort (Staten Island) A fourth Fort George was an encampment built on

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

around 1777 in the area of St. George, Staten Island, likely Fort Hill. The hill, overlooking the harbor, was the location on Duxbury's Point or Ducksberry Point and was fortified by the British during the

. Hessian troops, who were contracted by the British, were stationed near the Jersey Street brook (or Hessian Springs). ;Fifth fort (Upper Manhattan) The last Fort George was built in 1776 in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

on Fort George Hill, near the current intersection of Audubon Avenue and West 192nd Street in

Upper Manhattan Upper Manhattan is the northern section of the New York City borough of Manhattan. Its southern boundary has been variously defined, but some of the most common usages are 96th Street, 110th Street (the northern boundary of Central Park), 1 ...

. It was briefly named Fort Clinton and finally Fort George.

Present-day Fort George neighborhood

The site of the fifth fort, in upper Manhattan, is on a hill at the northern end of the Washington Heights neighborhood. The site of the fort became a site of a

Victorian-era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed th ...

amusement park. From 1895 to 1914, the fort was the site of the

Fort George Amusement Park Fort George Amusement Park was a trolley park and amusement park that operated in the Washington Heights and Inwood neighborhoods of Upper Manhattan, New York City, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It occupied an area between 190th an ...

and is now the location of

George Washington Educational Campus The George Washington Educational Campus is a facility of the New York City Department of Education located at 549 Audubon Avenue at West 193rd Street in the Fort George neighborhood of Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York City, United S ...

and part of

Highbridge Park Highbridge Park is a public park on the western bank of the Harlem River in Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York City. It stretches between 155th Street and Dyckman Street in Upper Manhattan. The park is operated by the New York City Dep ...

. Fort George Hill is also the name of a present-day street that encircles the fort's site. The area encompassing the hill is also called Fort George, and is considered a sub-neighborhood of Washington Heights. It is sometimes given as West 181st Street to Dyckman Street, other times a smaller north/south area, east of Broadway to the

Harlem River The Harlem River is an tidal strait in New York City, flowing between the Hudson River and the East River and separating the island of Manhattan from the Bronx on the United States mainland. The northern stretch, also called the Spuyten Duyvi ...

.Hughes, C. J. (April 19, 2017
"Living In: Fort George, Manhattan: Nosebleed Heights and Down-to-Earth Prices"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' However, the name ''Fort George'' is not widely used by New Yorkers and could be considered an example of neighborhood rebranding.

References

External links

{{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