Manada Gap is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in East Hanover Township, Dauphin County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, United States, located in the

Harrisburg Harrisburg ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat, seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50, ...

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

area, near

Fort Indiantown Gap Fort Indiantown Gap, also referred to as "The Gap" or "FIG", is a census-designated place and National Guard Training Center primarily located in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, United States. A portion of the installation is located in eastern ...

Fort Manada

Fort Manada (also known as James Brown's Fort) was a settler-built stockaded

blockhouse A blockhouse is a small fortification, usually consisting of one or more rooms with loopholes, allowing its defenders to fire in various directions. It is usually an isolated fort in the form of a single building, serving as a defensive stro ...

established by James Brown in response to Indian attacks in the area, and then improved and commanded by Captain Frederick Smith (Schmitt) as a sub-post of

Fort Swatara Fort Swatara (various spellings, sometimes referred to as Smith's Fort) was a stockaded blockhouse built during the French and Indian War in what is now Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. Initially a farmstead surrounded by a stockade, provincial tro ...

. Its exact location is unknown, but records indicate that it stood on what was the property of William Rhoads, about 300 yards west of Manada Creek, about midway between it and the road to

Jonestown The Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, better known by its informal name "Jonestown", was a remote settlement in Guyana established by the Peoples Temple, an American religious movement under the leadership of Jim Jones. Jonestown became in ...

and three-quarters of a mile south of Manada Gap.Clarence M. Busch, ''Report of the Commission to Locate the Site of the Frontier Forts of Pennsylvania,'' Vol. 1, State Printer of Pennsylvania, 1896
/ref> Captain Smith and his company were mustered into provincial service early in January 1756 and were ordered to establish a defense or occupy and improve the existing defense at Swatara and Manada.Hunter, William Albert. ''Forts on the Pennsylvania Frontier: 1753–1758,'' (Classic Reprint). Fb&c Limited, 2018; pp 340-344
/ref> As in the case of Fort Hunter, the settlers at Manada Gap had already constructed a stockaded blockhouse in late 1755. The garrison, probably around 20 men, was spread between the fort and settlers' homes, protecting the dwellings and the workers in the field. In February 1756, Captain Frederick Smith, with his company of troops, either completed the fort or built a new one, which they called Fort Manada. James Brown was killed by Indians on 6 August 1756. The fort was in use from late 1755 until May 1757, which is the last time it is mentioned in official documents. A historical marker was erected in 1970 by the

Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) is the governmental agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, responsible for the collection, conservation, and interpretation of Pennsylvania's heritage. The commission cares for hist ...

in East Hanover Township, on Mountain Road.Craig Swain, "Fort Manada," Historical Marker Database, October 15, 2008
/ref>

References

{{authority control Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area Unincorporated communities in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania Unincorporated communities in Pennsylvania 1755 establishments in Pennsylvania Manada Manada Manada Manada Military installations established in the 1750s Geography of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania