Fort Steuben
In 1786, the United States government built Fort Steuben within the area known as the Seven Ranges in what is now southeastern Ohio. The federal government had arranged for a survey of this area in order to prepare for the settlement of the Northwest Territory. Fort Steuben served two purposes. Troops stationed at the fort were supposed to keep illegal settlers from moving into Ohio. In addition, the surveyors of the Seven Ranges used the fort as a base of operations. The fort was destroyed in a fire in 1790. Ironically, the fort did not deter people from moving into the Seven Ranges. After the fort was abandoned, these settlers established a town, which became known as Steubenville. The growing number of settlers also contributed to increasing tensions with Native Americans in the region.
References and Suggested Reading
- Barr, Daniel P., ed. The Boundaries Between Us: Natives and Newcomers Along the Frontiers of the Old Northwest Territory, 1750-1850. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 2006. - Available from Amazon.com
- Bond, Beverley W., Jr. The Foundations of Ohio. Columbus, OH: Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society, 1941.
- Hurt, R. Douglas. The Ohio Frontier: Crucible of the Old Northwest, 1720-1830. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1996. - Available from Amazon.com
- O'Donnell, James H., III. Ohio's First Peoples. Athens: Ohio University Press, 2004. - Available from Amazon.com
- Ricky, Donald B., ed. Encyclopedia of Ohio Indians. St. Clair Shores, MI: Somerset Publishers, Inc., 1998. - Available from Amazon.com
- Williams, Gary S. The Forts of Ohio: A Guide to Military Stockades. Caldwell, OH: Buckeye Book Press, 2003. - Available from Amazon.com
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Citation
"Fort Steuben", Ohio History Central, July 1, 2005, http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=718
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