Fort Robinson (Pennsylvania)
Its spelling sometimes appears as Robison or Robeson. Located in what was then Shearman's Valley—today known as Shermans Dale—near modern Northeast Madison Township, it was constructed to protect settlers arriving after the Albany Congress.
Quick Facts
- Location
- Perry County, Pennsylvania, USA
- Built
- 1755
- In use
- 1755-1764
- Controlled by
- Privately owned land
- Garrison
- up to 40 men, local settlers
- Past commanders
- George Robinson
- Battles
- French and Indian War, Pontiac's War
Facts from the source article.
Location and construction
The fort was a log structure surrounded by a stockade, situated on a tableland with a good view of the surrounding country. The lowlands below were heavily wooded with large oak and maple, which also afforded protection in going to the fort. A spring was located at the foot of the bluff where water could be secured with the least exposure, the distance from the stockade being only the steep bank—probably twenty feet. The fort was evidently in the nature of a blockhouse, surrounded by a stockade built of heavy planks or poles. It was located along the famous Allegheny or Traders' Path and was the only source of protection for travelers along that path between the Kittatinny or Blue Mountain and the Tuscarora. Built on a bluff overlooking Bixler's Run, a tributary of Shermans Creek, on land owned by George Robinson, the fort was centrally located in Shearman's Valley on high ground with visibility in all directions. It stood close to a well-traveled trade route from Shearman's Valley to Harris' Ford, later the site of Harrisburg. The fort was built with private funds by local settlers and most likely consisted of a stockade surrounding a two-storey blockhouse, typical of non-military forts of that period. It was not occupied unless settlers needed to move there for security.
History
Gibson wrote that he was living outside the fort at the time. Because of recent Indian attacks, most local people had crowded inside for safety. Nearly every adult man was out working in the fields, leaving only two guards at the fort. Gibson, his mother, and a neighbor named Elizabeth Henry were outside searching for lost cattle when Lenape warriors attacked. Gibson’s mother was killed, and he was captured by a man he called “a son of King Beaver.” Elizabeth Henry was also taken, but the two were separated, and Gibson never saw her again. At the same time, Indians struck the fort itself, killing a woman and one guard before the men in the fields rushed back and drove them off. Mr. Woolcomber had been warned about the danger but insisted the Indians were harmless. When they knocked on his door, he invited them inside for dinner. A 15-year-old boy escaped to the fort and reported that his parents, sisters, and brother had been killed. Forty men from the fort went to the Woolcomber homestead to bury the dead. He said he had taken 19 men and scouted from Fort Hunter as far as Robinson’s Fort, where he stayed the night, keeping a guard of six men and one corporal on sentry. In July 1763, during Pontiac’s War, Shawnee Indians raided the farms of William White and William Anderson. They killed everyone except a 15-year-old boy. Because of the war, many settlers had taken refuge in Fort Robinson, but some had gone back to their farms to harvest their fields. A dozen men from the fort, including three of George Robinson’s sons, volunteered to warn those settlers and, if possible, confront the Shawnee war party. The Shawnees realized they were being followed and ambushed the Robinson party at Buffalo Creek, killing five of them before the settlers fled. Two of George Robinson’s sons, William and Thomas, were killed, but Robert Robinson escaped. He and the other survivors took several days to make it back to the fort. This fight is known as the Battle of Buffalo Creek.
Archaeology
Over three years, dozens of pits turned up nothing. Currently, investigators are exploring a new location along an old Indian trail called the "New Path" or "New Trail," where it crosses Shermans Creek.
More in Pontiac's War
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